Last verified:
A first import order from Thailand starts with nothing more than a product list — brand names, photos, links or a spreadsheet — and ends with a consolidated shipment arriving under one set of documents. Between those two points sit six steps: enquiry, sourcing, quotation, confirmation, consolidation, and shipping. You commit money only in the middle, when you approve a proforma invoice. This guide walks the whole journey the way a first-time buyer actually experiences it.
What do you send to start?
A list of what you want to sell. It does not need to be polished: brand names, photos of products you have seen, links, or a spreadsheet all work, sent by contact form, email or WhatsApp. Add rough quantities or an overall budget, your destination country, and any deadline. Missing half of that? Send what you have — scoping the rest is part of the job, and enquiries are free.
Two things you genuinely do not need: trade vocabulary and a freight contact. If you have never heard of an Incoterm, the plain-words guide exists, and picking one is a conversation, not a prerequisite.
What happens to your list?
It gets sourced. Each line is matched to Thai suppliers, and what comes back is the practical truth of your list: what is available, in which pack sizes, at which per-line minimums, and on what lead time — with close alternatives flagged where an item is unavailable. There is no single site-wide minimum order; minimums are set per supplier and per product, and consolidation lets smaller lines travel together in one shipment.
What does the quotation look like?
One document for the whole mixed order: product pricing, consolidation, documentation and freight, priced under the Incoterm you choose — EXW, FOB, CIF or DAP. One quotation instead of a dozen supplier negotiations is most of the point of using an export partner.
Read it the way you would any commercial offer: check the lines, the pack sizes, the terms, and ask about anything unclear. Questions before commitment cost nothing.
When do you actually pay?
At the proforma invoice. You approve the final list and terms on a proforma, with the payment terms set out in the quote — that approval is the commitment point. Before it, everything is free; after it, orders are placed with suppliers and production and collection get scheduled.
What should you check before approving the proforma?
The proforma invoice is the commitment point, so it deserves ten minutes of real attention. Four checks cover it:
- The lines. Every product, quantity and pack size should match what you agreed at quotation — and pack size matters more than it looks, because “24 × 250 ml” and “12 × 500 ml” are different products to your customers even when the litres match.
- The Incoterm. Confirm the term on the proforma is the one you chose, because it defines exactly what the price includes — where the goods are handed over and which legs of the journey are still yours to arrange.
- The payment terms. How much is due, when, and against which documents should be written on the document itself, not remembered from a chat.
- The bank details. Before your first payment to any Thai company, verify the company exists and that you are paying the company. ABIT TRADING CO., LTD. is registered with the Thai Department of Business Development, and the verify us page shows how to check the public record yourself — company name, registration number, status. Check that the account you are paying belongs to the registered company, and treat any last-minute “our bank details changed” message as a fraud flag to verify by a separate channel. That habit is worth applying to every supplier you ever use, not just this one.
Nothing on this list requires trade experience — it is the same discipline as reading any contract before signing it.
How do the goods get checked?
At the warehouse, before anything is packed. Goods from every supplier arrive at aBit Trading’s own Bangkok warehouse, where each line is checked against your order and spec sheet before consolidation. Problems surface there — at the warehouse — rather than at your port, where fixing them is slow and expensive.
What arrives with the shipment?
The export document set: commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, and bill of lading, with factory certificates such as GMP, HACCP, ISO 22000 or Halal passed through where they exist. The shipment moves from Laem Chabang, Thailand’s main deep-sea port, under the Incoterm you picked. Your side of the paperwork is the import side: licences or registrations your country requires, a customs broker, and the duty payment — the corridor guides for Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh cover those specifics.
Common questions
How long does a first order take? It depends on what is in it — production time varies by supplier and line, and the lane adds its own time. The honest answer is set out per order in the quotation, not promised in a guide.
Can I visit before ordering? You can, but nobody requires it. Orders can run entirely over WhatsApp and email, in English — with Thai, Hindi, Nepali or Dzongkha welcome for the conversation.
What if something I want is out of stock? Unavailable lines are flagged at sourcing with close alternatives where they exist, and struck from the order rather than silently substituted.
What is the smallest sensible first order? There is no fixed floor — it depends on your lines’ per-supplier minimums and what ships economically to your destination. Send the list; the quotation answers this for your case.