How to Import Handmade Glass Without Breakage: Packing, Freight & Claims Guide

The question every first-time buyer of handmade glass asks is the same: “How much of it will arrive broken?” After 15 years of exporting hand-blown glass from Cairo to 30+ countries, our answer is: with the right packing and the right process, almost none — and the little that does break should never be your risk. Here is the playbook we use, which you can apply to any fragile-goods supplier you work with.

1. Packing is 90% of the game

Export-grade packing for glass means: every piece individually wrapped, honeycomb or foam dividers so pieces never touch, double-wall cartons rated for stacking, void fill in every gap, and fragile labelling on all sides. Ask any supplier for photos of a packed carton before you order — a serious factory has them ready.

2. Air or sea? A simple rule

• Air freight (5–10 days): best up to roughly 100 kg — samples, first trial orders, urgent seasonal top-ups. Higher cost per kilo, gentler handling, faster claims.
• Sea freight (2–5 weeks from Alexandria): the economical choice for carton and pallet quantities. The landed cost per piece drops dramatically — which is why importers order Christmas stock in summer.

3. Understand your incoterm before you pay

EXW (you collect from the workshop), FOB (supplier delivers export-cleared goods to the vessel), or DAP (delivered to your door, you pay import duties). There is no “best” term — there is the term that matches your freight experience. New importers usually start with DAP or a DHL door-to-door sample shipment, then graduate to FOB with their own forwarder. Our full terms are published in our Shipping Policy.

4. Insurance and documentation

For sea shipments, cargo insurance typically costs a fraction of a percent of goods value — always worth it. Make sure your supplier provides a commercial invoice and packing list, and ask about a Certificate of Origin: under the Egypt–EU trade agreement, it can reduce your import duty on Egyptian-made goods.

5. What a real breakage policy looks like

A supplier who believes in their packing will put it in writing. Ours is simple: report within 7 days with photos, and broken pieces are replaced or credited — no negotiation. First order? You choose replacement, credit or refund. If a supplier's breakage terms are vague, that tells you everything. Read ours: Refund & Breakage Policy.

6. Start small, scale with confidence

The professional path: order a sample box → place a one-carton trial → scale to pallets once the process proves itself. Any factory worth working with will respect that progression — we credit the sample shipping to your first bulk order precisely because of it.

Questions about a shipment you're planning? Message us on WhatsApp — we'll answer even if you don't buy from us.