From brief to door.
A clear, five-step path from your initial enquiry to delivery in Australia. Full operational transparency — read this before requesting a quote.
Request a Quote
Submit your product brief. Include what you want, quantity, target landed price, destination postcode, and timeline. Business buyer or private — same form.
Sourcing Engagement Fee
Sun Top charges a non-refundable sourcing engagement fee at the start of every project — $250 / $500 / $1,000 AUD depending on project complexity. The fee is fully credited against your final invoice if you place an order within 60 days. This fee covers our factory shortlist work, RFQ outreach, sample coordination, and quote build.
Sun Top Quote
For active categories (lighting, supermarket fit-out, stone benchtops, commercial furniture), you receive a detailed quote within 5–10 business days. For cold-start categories that require new factory sourcing, allow 10–20 business days. Every quote shows full landed AUD cost, indicative delivery timeline, and complete project terms.
Production and Logistics
On order confirmation and deposit, Sun Top handles factory production, third-party quality control, ocean freight booking, AU customs clearance via a licensed Australian customs broker, and door-to-door delivery to your nominated address. Production photo updates available on request so you can see your goods as they come off the line.
Delivery
Goods arrive at your nominated Australian address as kerbside or ground-floor delivery. You unload, unpack, and dispose of crates and packaging. Sun Top's job is done at the door.
Common questions, plain answers.
Why is your quote turnaround longer for some categories?
Sun Top has existing vetted factory relationships in lighting, supermarket fit-out, stone benchtops, commercial furniture, event AV, and industrial cleaning. For these categories we can return detailed quotes in 5–10 business days because the factory work is already done.
For cold-start categories (luxury goods and niche items) we begin a fresh factory shortlist, run RFQs, and verify candidates before quoting. Allow 10–20 business days for these projects.
What does the sourcing engagement fee cover and is it refundable?
The fee covers Sun Top's actual sourcing work: factory shortlist build, RFQ outreach, sample coordination, quote compilation, and project scoping. We charge $250 / $500 / $1,000 AUD depending on complexity.
The fee is non-refundable but is fully credited against your final invoice if you place an order within 60 days. This protects our time on serious enquiries and ensures buyers who proceed pay nothing extra.
What is included in "door-to-door" delivery?
Door-to-door means Sun Top handles every step from the factory floor in China to your nominated Australian address: inland freight in China, ocean freight, AU customs clearance, import duty and GST payment to AU customs, and final-mile delivery in Australia.
Delivery is kerbside or ground-floor at the nominated address. You are responsible for unloading the truck, moving goods inside, unpacking, and disposing of crates and packaging.
How do you handle GST?
Sun Top invoices are issued from Hong Kong and contain no GST (HK has no GST/VAT). The buyer is named as importer of record on every shipment and is liable for import GST (~10% on landed value) at the AU port. Sun Top's customs broker pays this on your behalf and the amount is shown clearly in every quote.
GST-registered businesses can reclaim the import GST via their BAS — but it isn't always worth doing. To substantiate the claim your AU customs broker has to lodge an Import Declaration in your name, which adds broker and paperwork fees (roughly $300–500 per shipment) on top of your accountant's BAS lodgement time. On smaller orders the admin cost can match or exceed the GST you'd get back, so plenty of buyers just treat the import GST as part of their landed cost and move on. On larger shipments the refund clearly outweighs the paperwork. Tell us which path you prefer on the quote and we'll structure the documentation to match. Private buyers and non-GST-registered buyers always carry the import GST as part of their landed cost.
What if my goods arrive damaged or defective?
You have 14 days from delivery to inspect goods and report visible defects, damage, or shortages to Sun Top in writing with photographs. We handle the supplier dispute, replacement, or credit.
If you are a private consumer protected by Australian Consumer Law (ACL), the non-excludable consumer guarantees apply and override the 14-day window where relevant — for example for latent defects discovered later.
What are your payment terms?
Standard terms are 50% deposit on PO, 50% balance on shipment readiness (before vessel sails). Payment in AUD to Sun Top Trade Co. Limited's nominated bank account. Larger custom projects are structured 50% deposit on PO, 30% on shipment, 20% on landing in Australia.
The sourcing engagement fee is invoiced and paid separately at project commencement.
Can I cancel after I've paid the deposit?
No. Once your deposit is paid and the factory has been instructed, the order cannot be cancelled. This is the reality of buying direct from China — factory deposits, tooling, and allocated production capacity are non-refundable, full stop. There is no "stock-product" exception. Make sure your spec is final before paying the deposit.
Honest delivery timelines — these are estimates, not promises.
China-to-AU sourcing involves a long chain of variables that no operator controls end-to-end. Factories run late, vessels miss tides, weather closes ports, biosecurity holds containers, last-mile carriers reschedule. We give you indicative windows so you can plan — but treat them as ranges, not delivery dates.
Indicative ranges only:
Sea freight, stock or quick-turn orders: typically 8–14 weeks door-to-door from order confirmation.
Custom-manufactured orders (bespoke kitchens, custom furniture, complex AV systems): typically 14–20 weeks — factory production alone can run 8–12 weeks before shipment, and complex bespoke work routinely overruns.
Air freight (urgent orders): typically 4–8 weeks door-to-door. Cost: 3–5× sea freight. Only viable for high-value, low-volume goods.
What can push the window out: factory production delays, Chinese public holidays (Chinese New Year shuts factories 2–4 weeks each Jan/Feb), Golden Week, raw-material shortages, weather closing Chinese or Australian ports, port congestion, ocean freight reschedules, AU customs inspections, AU biosecurity (AQIS) holds, AU last-mile delays. Any one of these can add weeks. Two or three stacked together can add months.
Sun Top does not guarantee specific delivery dates and does not accept time-of-the-essence orders. If you have a hard event date (showroom opening, build handover, lease commencement), order with at least 6–8 weeks of buffer beyond our indicative window. When it gets there, it gets there — we deliver as quickly as the supply chain allows and keep you updated at every stage so you can plan around the actuals, not the estimates.
GST treatment — your choice.
Sun Top Trade Co., Limited is registered in Hong Kong, where no GST or VAT applies. Sun Top invoices do not include GST.
Import GST of approximately 10% on landed value is payable to Australian customs at port. The buyer is named as importer of record on every shipment.
- GST-registered, claiming the GST back: Reclaim import GST via your BAS as a normal input tax credit. Net cost = landed price.
- GST-registered, not claiming (simpler): Many buyers prefer to skip the BAS paperwork and treat the import GST as a cost. Faster, cleaner, no extra admin — your landed cost stays exactly as quoted.
- Private buyers and non-GST-registered: Import GST is part of your landed cost and cannot be claimed back.
Sun Top's licensed Australian customs broker handles all import paperwork on your behalf. You provide your ABN (if business) or personal identification (if private). The amount of import GST owed is shown in every quote — claim it or don't, your choice.