Samples
$149, credited to the Project Plan. Door fronts, stone, tiles and a tap from the shortlisted factories, in your hands before you spend anything bigger.
What comes
- Door fronts or a joinery corner in your chosen board and finish.
- Stone samples for the benchtops.
- Tiles for the floors and walls, from the production batch where the factory can.
- A tap or mixer from the tapware shortlist, so you can feel the weight.
- Each one labelled with its factory code and the line it is for.
How it gets to you
The shortlisted factories send their samples to one point in Foshan, and they travel to you in one express box. DHL, FedEx and UPS take about 2 to 4 days from Guangdong to Australia once the box is packed. Allow 1 to 2 weeks in all, because the factories prepare the samples first.
| Route | Indicative cost for a 3 to 10 kg box | Transit |
|---|---|---|
| Express courier through a Guangzhou forwarder | About US$40 to US$80 | 2 to 4 days |
| EMS (China Post) | About A$150 for 5 kg | 7 to 10 days |
Customs and biosecurity
- A sample box worth A$1,000 or less clears without duty or border GST, on a self-assessed clearance the courier lodges.
- Timber samples must be clean, bark-free and declared. Painted or laminated board travels easily. Raw solid timber can be held for treatment.
- No engineered stone. Engineered stone benchtops, slabs and panels have been banned from use in Australia since 1 July 2024, and their import has been prohibited since 1 January 2025. Every stone sample we send is natural stone, porcelain or sintered stone, with the factory's silica test report.
The golden sample
For anything custom, the factory makes a golden sample you sign off. Production is checked against it at inspection. Keep yours: it is the reference if anything is disputed later.
Questions
What if I do not like any of them?
Tell us. We go back to the shortlist, and the $149 still comes off the Project Plan if you go ahead.
Do I have to send them back?
No. They are yours.
Sources
- Welltrans Logistics, express courier bands from Guangzhou (indicative)
- Goodhope Freight, EMS rates to Australia from Guangzhou (indicative)
- Australian Border Force, self-assessed clearance fact sheet
- DAFF, personal imports of timber and wooden articles
- Australian Border Force, engineered stone import prohibition
- Safe Work Australia, engineered stone ban
- Elje, how it works: the model, the fees and the worked example