What do the terms FOB and CIF mean?
FOB (Free On Board) – The seller must take care of any paperwork or expenses necessary to remove goods from his country and place them on an international carrier. With regard to airfreight, the term FOB port of departure means the goods must be placed in the custody of an air carrier at an airport. It does not mean the must actually be loaded on a plane. I typically quote FOB (port name in China and CIF port name in America) which does not include shipping costs from the Chinese port. Those costs I then add in separately and then give the customer the total price. CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) – with a CIF shipment, the exporter must also buy insurance. Tehchnically, he sells the insurance policy to the importer along with the goods. Thus, if you import beer CIF and most of the bottles are broken, you will have to file a claim against insurance that was bought by the exporter.