Jiang Su Jinmao Environmental Technology Co., Ltd
+86 187 0628 9900
Aug
Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, has loose policies and is suitable for transit; Saudi Arabia has strict regulations, and second-hand shoes require disinfection and compliance documents; Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt can be imported but import permits are required.The whole is divided into six stages: pre-customer and compliance confirmation→ domestic factory stocking and loading → export customs declaration and shipping → port of destination customs clearance and tax payment → local warehousing sorting → wholesale distribution and sales.
1. Pre-docking and compliance confirmation (the most important before shipment)
Confirm the qualification of cooperative importer
In the Middle East, a local company must be the consignee, and individuals generally cannot directly import the whole cabinet of second-hand shoes.Importers need to have: trade licenses, and some countries need special second-hand commodity import licenses (Egypt, Jordan).
Practical route: ① Direct export to local importers in the destination country; ② Sent to the Dubai Free Trade Zone, the free trade zone is tariff-free, and then distributed and shipped to neighboring Middle Eastern countries
Confirm the document requirements of the destination country and inform the factory in advance
General requirements: commercial invoice (bilingual in English and Arabic), packing list, certificate of Origin, seal, bill of lading.
Second-hand shoes: disinfection / fumigation certificate (compulsory in Saudi Arabia, proving that the shoes have been sterilized and are free of germs and pests).
Saudi Arabia: SABER/SASO related declaration of conformity, the inspection rate of second-hand textiles and footwear is very high, and the missing documents are directly deducted from the cabinet, and the cycle is 15-25 working days.
Key point: The invoice cannot write used shoes in general. It needs to specify the material of the upper and sole to distinguish between sports shoes, leather shoes, and casual shoes. It is strictly prohibited to under-report the value of the goods. The customs will do a market valuation, and the under-report will be fined and deducted.
Product selection and classification
Middle East preferences: Men’s casual shoes, sports shoes, and slippers are in high demand; sizes are concentrated in medium and large sizes; avoid damaged, severely glued, and severely stained goods, and confirm the Grade A/B grade ratio
2. Domestic factories stock, pack, and load the cabinets
The factory sorts, classifies, disinfects, and packs it into standard bundles (50‑60kg/bag, common in the second-hand industry), and labels the grade and category outside the package.
Book the cabin and get the SO empty cabinet; the factory builds the cabinet and completes the cabinet sealing.
Saudi ports require that the cabinets be stacked as palletized as possible, and fines will be incurred for bare cabinets in bulk.
Organize a full set of export customs declaration information, and do domestic export customs declaration and release.
Shipping time reference
Chinese port→ Dubai Port of Jebel Ali: 18-25 days; to the port of Dammam, Saudi Arabia: 22-30 days; Alexandria, Egypt: 28-35 days.
3. Arrival at the port of destination, customs clearance and tax payment
Before the goods arrive in Hong Kong, the importer uploads a full set of documents (Saudi FASAH system, Dubai Dubai‑Trade, Egypt NAFEZA) in the customs system of his country in advance, and pre-reviews them in advance to avoid late fees after arrival in Hong Kong.
Pay customs duties + value-added tax：
UAE: Customs duties are 5% and value-added tax is 5%; goods in the free trade zone do not need to pay taxes, and taxes are only paid when they are transferred out of the country.
Saudi Arabia: Customs duties 5-15%, value-added tax 15%.
Egyptian customs duties are about 30%, additional taxes and fees, strict foreign exchange controls, and long payment cycles.
All audits are completed, the cabinets are released, and the cabinets are picked up and shipped to the local warehouse.
4. Secondary sorting and sorting of local warehouses
After the cabinet is placed in the warehouse, the local wholesaler will operate：
Unpack and sort again: separate out goods A (direct wholesale), goods B (discount processing), and damaged and scrap products.
Simple dust removal and sorting, re-subcontracting.
Many traders in Dubai: here they repackage second-hand shoes in small packages and ship them by land to Jordan, Iraq, Oman and other neighboring countries for re-export trade.
5. Distribution and sales (three mainstream models)
Mode 1: Wholesale in the local mass market (mainstream)
Supply the graded goods to local secondary wholesalers, market stall owners, and small shops.Sell by package, by kilogram, or you can pick up the goods and sell them by double; the Middle East bazaar (souq) is the largest offline circulation channel for second-hand shoes.
Mode 2: B2B distribution to neighboring countries (advantages of Dubai Free Trade Zone)
As a hub, Dubai splits the whole cabinet into small batches, which are shipped by land/sea to Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain, etc. To earn the difference in re-export, and there is no need to repeat the domestic process.
Mode 3: Online + offline retail
Instagram Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc.) retail and retail sales on online social platforms; offline street second-hand shoe stores sell.
6. Refund and repurchase
Trade terms commonly used FOB Chinese ports: foreign customers pay sea freight and all risks at the port of destination；
Be cautious about long-term accounts. Foreign exchange in Egypt and other countries is tight, and try not to prepay part of the payment.
Simple comparison of two business paths
Direct export to Saudi Arabia/Egypt: the profit is higher, but the compliance documents are complex, the inspection risk is high, and the quality of second-hand shoes and disinfection documents are strictly required.
Transit to the Dubai Free Trade Zone first: the policy is friendly, the customs clearance is simple, and it is convenient to radiate all Middle Eastern countries. It is a safer path for novices to enter the Middle East for second-hand shoes.