Buying Guides
EXW vs FOB vs CIF for Digital Scales
Which Incoterm fits your buying profile, where risk transfers, what each quote includes, and the mistakes that appear when FOB and CIF are read as door-to-door prices.
Three terms, three different jobs
EXW, FOB and CIF are not three prices for the same service. They are three allocations of cost, risk and paperwork. The Incoterms rules define each one, but the definition only becomes useful when you match it to who can actually book freight, clear export and insure the cargo. Before comparing quotes, decide which party is doing each job. The term should describe that decision, not hide it. The version matters as well, because the rules have been revised and older contract templates may reflect an earlier set.
EXW leaves everything at your supplier's door
Under EXW the seller makes the goods available at its premises and the buyer takes over from there. The buyer arranges export clearance, inland transport, main carriage and import clearance. Risk passes when the goods are placed at the buyer's disposal at the named place, before any loading or export step. That can work well for a buyer with a China-based forwarder who consolidates several suppliers. It is a poor fit for a first-time importer with no local entity, because export declaration and pickup coordination become the buyer's problem. Confirm with your forwarder who can be named on the export documents.
FOB puts risk on board, not at your warehouse
Under FOB the seller clears the goods for export and delivers them on board the vessel at the named port. Risk transfers at that point. The buyer pays main freight and insurance and handles import. A common mistake is reading FOB as door-to-door: it does not include inland freight at destination, unloading, or duty. Another is assuming the seller books the container. Under FOB the buyer usually controls the booking, which is the point: it keeps freight visibility and avoids a supplier markup hidden inside the freight line.
CIF pays freight and minimum insurance
Under CIF the seller pays the cost of carriage to the destination port and buys insurance for the buyer's benefit. Risk still transfers when the goods are on board, even though the seller has paid the freight. The insurance required by CIF is minimum cover, not all-risk cover, and it may not pay the full commercial value of a damaged carton. Buyers who assume CIF means the seller carries the risk until the container reaches port are surprised when a claim is handled by their own insurer.
Ask two questions before accepting CIF. First, what insurance cover is actually placed, and does it cover the invoice value plus freight? Second, which destination charges remain with you? A CIF quote that stops at the port still leaves terminal handling, customs brokerage and inland delivery on your side. If the goods are fragile or the route involves transshipment, price an all-risk cover separately and compare the total, not the seller's freight line alone.
Match the term to the buyer profile
A distributor with its own forwarder and a consolidated container usually wants FOB, because it controls routing and can combine scales with other goods. A buyer with a China agent who handles pickup and export may prefer EXW. A smaller importer buying a first trial order often chooses CIF for simplicity, then discovers the destination charges and insurance gap later. None of these is wrong. The wrong choice is picking a term because the quoted number looks lower without checking what the number excludes.
Where quotes hide the difference
Ask for a cost breakdown under the named term: goods, export documentation, inland haulage, origin charges, ocean freight, insurance and destination charges. A CIF quote may look complete but still exclude terminal handling at destination. The CX-818 carton of 40.3 x 34.5 x 27 cm at 14 kg gross is the unit your forwarder prices, so ask whether actual or volumetric weight applies. Comparing three totals without the breakdown is not a comparison. Ask each supplier to quote the same term, at the same port, with the same cargo ready date.
Common mistakes that cost money
The first mistake is assuming FOB includes inland freight at destination. The second is treating CIF insurance as full cover. The third is accepting EXW without checking who can file the export declaration. The fourth is ignoring destination terminal charges, which fall on the consignee under EXW, FOB and CIF unless the parties agree otherwise, though a DDP term shifts them to the seller. The fifth is letting the supplier choose the term to suit its own freight account. Customs procedures and port charges vary by market, so confirm the details with your forwarder rather than relying on a generic explanation.
What to put in the purchase order
Name the Incoterm and the version you are using, the named place or port, and the destination port. Add the cargo ready date, carton count, gross weight, marks and the document list. State who books the freight and who insures the cargo, and for CIF, what insurance cover is required. Record the HS code as declared by the importer's broker, not as guessed by the seller. If the term is FOB, name the port and who is responsible for the vessel cut-off. These details prevent the most common dispute: two parties with different assumptions about where the seller's job ends.
