Open a gym · Stage 6 of 8 · Equipment and freight
Until an RFQ comes back, your equipment number is a placeholder
This is the stage this site was originally built for, so we will be blunt about the two mistakes that define it. The first is budgeting equipment from a catalogue price, which is neither a real quote nor a landed cost. The second is ordering from a factory nobody has verified, which is how deposits disappear.
Get real quotes, not price lists
Turn your stage 5 layout into an equipment schedule, then send it as a request for quote to a shortlist of manufacturers, three or more, same schedule to each so the answers are comparable. Ask every supplier for, in writing:
- FOB price per line, with the port named.
- Nameplate electrical data for every powered item. This is not paperwork for its own sake. It is the input your electrician's maximum-demand assessment needs, and a supplier who cannot produce a nameplate rating for a sauna heater or a chiller is telling you something.
- Lead time from deposit, and the payment schedule.
- Warranty terms, and who performs warranty work in Australia. An overseas warranty with no local agent is a freight bill with extra steps.
Our manufacturer directory exists for exactly this step. Every listing carries an explicit verification tier that says what we checked and what we could not, and the tiers are derived from documented checks, never self-claimed. We publish no prices, because a price without your schedule attached is marketing.
What “landed” actually means
An FOB quote is not what the equipment costs you. The landed cost adds freight, insurance, duty, GST and port charges, and for a first-time importer the gap is the budget surprise. The current mechanics for China to Australia, as modelled in our calculator, rates as at 25 July 2026:
- Duty: 0% under ChAFTA for typical gym equipment, but only with a valid Certificate of Origin. No certificate, no concession. Ask your supplier to confirm they will provide it before you order. Published rate full detail, including classification under HS 9506.91, in the import guide.
- GST: 10%, charged on the value of the goods plus freight, insurance and any duty, not on the FOB price alone. Published rate
- Sea freight: roughly US$2,500 to US$5,500 per container, a line that has moved hard inside a year, which is why we date it. Modelled calculator assumption as at 25 July 2026.
- Port, handling and broker charges: roughly A$1,500 to A$3,000. Modelled same basis.
Run your actual FOB quote through the landed cost calculator before you compare suppliers, because a dearer FOB price with honest freight can land cheaper than a bargain that did not mention the container.
What we could NOT verify
Your final freight rate, which moves with the market and your timing, so treat our range as a screen and your forwarder's written quote as the number. And any given factory's current production reality beyond what our verification tier states: tiers record what we checked on a date, not a guarantee. The questions to ask a supplier directly are in the import guide, including the diligence steps most freight guides skip.
Where the professionals come in
A licensed customs broker or freight forwarder for classification, the import declaration and the Certificate of Origin mechanics. Your electrician gets the nameplate data. If you are financing the schedule rather than paying cash, get written quotes from the finance directory and put the structure in front of your accountant. Nothing here is customs or financial advice; the broker's and accountant's answers are the ones that count.
Do this now
Shortlist three factories in the manufacturer directory, filter by category and verification tier, and send the same RFQ to each. The directory shows you exactly what we verified about every one, and what we could not.