Trade Spotlight Archives
 Deciphering Your Broker's Bill
How much are you really paying your
broker to clear your entries?
$60……$70……$80……$90…..$150…..$200+
Quotations for customs brokerage services are usually dependent on a number of factors including the complexity of the entry, your anticipated entry volume and sometimes your level of experience in the business. The base entry fee broker’s charge is usually between $75-$100. What many importers fail to recognize is that even if they are quoted a dollar amount entry fee, that might not be all that they are paying for. If the invoice from your broker contains multiple lines of charges then this is what is commonly referred to as the laundry list fee schedule. As you can see in the chart to the right the entry fee was quoted at only $45, but the accumulation of fees resulted in an actual entry fee of $142. Many of the line items on the bill were for “out-of-pocket” payments to other service providers such as carriers, local truckers, Customs or a terminal. The remaining items on the invoice are considered revenue items or a component of the broker’s income for handling this transaction.
The bottom line is that despite thinking your base entry fee is only $75; if your invoice contains any one of these charges; your entry rate is more than $75. We recommend that you carefully review your broker’s invoices to ensure that the fees charged are consistent with the fees quoted and that the fees charged are also warranted.
To access the tool TRG has created to help you decipher your own broker’s bill click here.
What can I do to lower my costs, I’m not a licensed Customs Broker?
File your entries in-house with our ABI system and realize there is no guessing to what you are paying for. When we say a “flat rate”, we mean a “flat rate”. After your initial one time start up fee (either $1,000 or $2,000) there are two pricing options available
- $30/entry
- $20/entry + $1,200 yearly fee
Another cost savings our customers appreciate is the guarantee that they will only be charged once per entry. Brokers may charge you multiple times for the same entry if they need to go back and make a correction or change to your entry. With TRG Direct, you can alter your entry as many times as you need and will only be charged for the initial transaction.
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