What are the options?
Three tiers. Express courier — DHL, FedEx, UPS — for parcels up to a few dozen pieces, door to door in days. Air freight for larger consignments, airport to airport or door to door through a forwarder, in one to two weeks. Sea freight for pallets and containers, in three to seven weeks depending on destination.
Which is cheapest per piece?
Sea, by a wide margin, once the volume justifies it. A 500-piece pallet by sea costs a fraction per piece of the same goods by air. Below around 50 pieces the fixed costs of sea freight — port handling, customs brokerage — outweigh the saving, and courier or air freight wins.
How long does each take from Pakistan?
Courier: 3 to 6 days to the Gulf, 5 to 12 to Europe, North America and Asia. Air freight: a week to two including handling. Sea: two to three weeks to the Gulf and Singapore, four to six to Europe, five to seven to North America, Australia and New Zealand.
How does customs differ?
Courier shipments clear under the courier's own entry and the recipient pays duty and tax before delivery. Air and sea freight need a formal customs entry, usually through a broker or forwarder, with a commercial invoice, packing list and HS codes. The duty is the same; the paperwork is heavier but it is one entry rather than many.
What should I ask the supplier for?
A commercial invoice at the real transaction value, a packing list with piece counts and weights, HS codes for used clothing, and a shipping quote that states which tier is used. We provide all of these as standard.
What do we recommend?
Courier for 20 to 50 pieces, air freight for 50 to 200, sea for 200 and up or for any standing monthly order where lead time can be planned. Mixing a small courier top-up with a larger sea shipment is a common pattern for stores.
We grade 97 pieces by these rules
Everything written here comes from grading and reworking Carhartt every day. Browse what's in now, or message us and we'll send photos and measurements of anything.