Exporting goods from Turkey can often be daunting for first-time buyers, especially if you are new to purchasing wholesale and not sure where to start or which shipping companies are the right ones for you. That’s where we step in and make this process as simple as possible, so grab a pen and take some notes!
You will need a cargo company before you can even start sourcing from Turkey..
This isn’t Alibaba, where vendors will happily recommend or use their own cargo companies to send inventory to you. Most wholesalers will request your cargo information to forward your goods. Some will even ask for your cargos information prior to sending you their telegram links, it’s also a way for vendors to filter and vet reputable buyers. My advice is to make sure you already have a cargo company you’re working with before sourcing products. Although a small percentage of wholesalers may recommend shipping companies to use, the reality is, wholesalers are not experts at selecting the right ones tailored to your home country. For example, a cargo that specialises in shipping to Africa such as Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana, may not have much knowledge on sending goods to Europe. You can’t just work with random shipping companies in Turkey without conducting prior research and cross-examining price points.
Each cargo has its pros and cons. Some don’t speak English, others charge extortionate fees, and many have shipping requirements. I could write an essay about exporting goods from Turkey but will save that for another day. Luckily, I have given you a free one called Fesmina Cargo to get you started, they are based in Laleli and ship worldwide, not to mention super affordable.
FIVE TYPES OF SHIPPING OPTIONS
There are many ways to export your goods from Turkey, such as airfreight, road freight, sea freight and even rail freight. But it’s important to first distinguish which option serves best for your supply chain.
The most popular being airfreight, although more expensive it still remains the fastest mode of transportation. The second being sea freight due to it’s low-cost however more time-consuming. But here are some points to consider. Sending small volumes as a 30kg box of wholesale stock will work out cheaper using airfreight as you can bypass customs delays and other logistical hurdles. Low volume parcels will also usally not be accepted using other freight options such as road or sea. Ocean freight is essentially a cost-effective method for companies that have large, heavy, or bulky items to transport. As a start-up, your package volumes will essentially be low. Road freight tends to work on a pallet basis, if you’re only sending a couple of 28kg boxes, this also won’t be the best option. Hence airfreight will most likely be your mode of transport for exporting goods for now. Of course, this also depends on the country you are shipping too.
TRANSPORTING GOODS FROM WHOLESALERS TO YOUR CARGO
The process of getting your stock from the wholesalers to your cargo is simple. You will place your order with the wholesaler, give them your cargos information and they will schedule a collection of your stock to be sent to your cargo’s office. Some cargo companies have their own couriers who will come and collect the goods from the vendors and bring them straight to the cargo’s depo. Whilst others expect the wholesaler to drop the items to the cargo instead. Some wholesalers may even charge you a small fee for this, but this is usually not more than 30-60 lira which works out to be $4. It honestly depends on the wholesaler and their shipping processes. There is no guarantee your goods will be collected and dropped off at the cargo company the same day, so give them at least 24 hours.
Remember to contact the cargo company first and establish a business relationship with them, let them know who you are, where your goods need to be sent and the wholesalers you’re working with. The worst thing you can do, is start giving the wholesalers your cargo information before you even notified the cargo first. Once the goods are at the depo you can now communicate with the cargo agent and pay them directly. They will usually pack all your goods into a brown box, place the box on the scale and send you images of the weight and cost. You can send the money to them via bank transfer which may take 1-3 days depending on your bank. Or you can send the money same-day through western union or MoneyGram.
