For customers interested on receiving their slabs on a flatbed truck instead of in containers, they can consider the weight limit of 21,300kg (47,000lbs), so average of 7 bundles with 40 to 45 slabs of 3cm or 60 to 65 if 2cm. For this option we would send the container to our warehouse in Houston for unloading followed by a flatbed truck delivery on A-frames. (you can read more about this at item 7.3 below).
3.2- Choosing your bundles:
You can choose any bundle you see available online. You can mix colors anyway you want too. Just try to pay attention to the total number of slabs and the total weight of the order before submitting the order, to make sure you are under your weight limitation. Our sales representatives will always pay close attention to that in case you select bundles over your limit as well. If the order is slightly over or under your weight limit, that’s ok since we will make sure to adjust the quantity of slabs to be the closest as possible to your limitation.
You can simply browse thru all our website. If you want to see everything we have in stock, make sure to visit the Full Inventory Tab. If you are looking for good deals make sure to visit the On Sale and Outlet tabs. If you want our advice for materials we recommend, visit the recommended tab. If you are constantly visiting our website, you might want to keep an eye at the new arrivals tab. We usually have new materials arriving in our warehouse every 2 to 5 days.
Please notice that when you click on a bundle once, it will open the main picture from that bundle. Once you click again on that main picture, then you will see the further detailed information from that bundle, including the “comments” section and the slabs information. Please read all information from that bundle before you reserve it.
3.3- Submitting the order:
Once you select the bundles for your order, click on the shopping cart located on the top right corner of the website. Then click on "View Cart” to review the order and get estimated shipping costs. Once inside your shopping cart, you can delete bundles, write comments and even get shipping estimates. Select “Container” in case you want to know costs for receiving a container at your door or “Bundle Delivery” for receiving your slabs on a flatbed truck instead.
Make sure to submit the order once you are done selecting your bundles. The materials will only be on hold for you once you submit the order. The system does not actually hold any bundle before you submit the order.
Please notice that once you submit an order, it does not mean you are fully commited to buy that particular order. Once the order is submited we understand that it is an order proposal, and our sales department will then contact you to finilize all details, such as send Pro Forma and actual shipping costs for your final approval before committing to the order.
Once the order is submited, all bundles will automatically be on hold for you and you can access your orders at My Account -> Orders History, or just copy and paste this link at your internet browser:
http://www.brothersingranite.com/Records.aspx
You can not delete orders or bundles nor even change bundles once you submitted the order. Instead, you should contact your sales representative to do so for you.
At Orders History you can always follow up with all your orders. Once the order is shipped, we will always update its status until delivered. You can also download documents and follow up with pending Invoices, etc. Please make sure to always visit the Your Orders page since it will contain everything you need to know about all orders with us.
Notice that we do not mind holding orders for a while until you decide to go ahead or not with it. Feel free also to place mock orders just so you can see final numbers and understand all savings and benefits by importing from us!
IMPORTANT: For the full guide of how to buy using our website, please watch this video below:
https://recordings.join.me/BFbOoOXwu0mAE7fYZd8k5A
4- Quality guarantees:
Please pay close attention to the section found inside each bundle details which says “descriptions". There you will find any notes we have about any problems on any material available in our inventory.
Please make sure to always check also the slab quantity, sizes and other details about the bundle you are holding, such as composition, thickness, etc.
5- Inspection Report:
After you submit the order, our sales representative will contact you to finalize the order. Once finalized, they will send you the Pro Forma, Packing List and actual shipping quote along with a inspection report by e-mail. In this inspection report it will be described any comments we might have about the materials selected, for the case you missed the “descriptions" section inside each bundle detail.
Only after your final approval by e-mail on the Inspection Report your container will be shipped.
6- Claims / Warantees:
For the case you still find any problems on the materials after their arrival, which were not described at “descriptions" nor in the inspection report, we take full responsibility by giving discounts on the same or on a next order, or even refund you back entirely.
7- Terms of Sale:
7.1 - FOB:
All prices shown in the website is for delivering the container at our local port in Vitoria, Brazil (FOB - Free on Board). That means the international freight is importer's responsibility, from our local port until its final destination. However we have a very close relationship with a few shipping companies located both in Brazil and USA/Canada, who can handle your containers from the Brazilian port to your door. Please ask us for shipping quote and we will guide you to one of these shipping companies.
The price for the international freight usually varies from US$2,500 to US$ 6,000 depending where you are located at. The closest you are to the Southeast in USA, the cheaper. So in order to calculate prices on the materials once landed at your door, you can consider from US$1.50/sft to US$2.50/sft on top of our FOB prices.
Please notice that in this case the freight should be paid for the shipping company direct, not to us. The payment to the shipping company should be sent once the container arrives in final port in USA, before delivered at your door.
Please ask us for a shipping quote and we will be happy to guide you to a reliable shipping company. Usually these shipping companies have their own customs brokerage crew, so they can also set you up into getting a bond and clearing your containers at customs. They do a good job on making sure you have no troubles when importing, other than just unloading you container.
If you have any doubts on how to safely unload a container of granite slabs, please visit our tab FAQ/TIPS or just copy and paste this link to your internet browser:
http://www.brothersingranite.com/Custom.aspx
7.2 - CIF - Containers:
We also offer the option for CIF on the freight. This means we will take care of all procedures and costs related to freight from our factory until delivered to your door.
In this case, whatever amount for the shipping quote which the shipping company send to you, we would be adding that same amount in our own Invoice to be charged together with our materials to you. So instead of paying the shipping company for the freight separately, you will be paying everything to us.
In this way, we would be doing all import procedures under our own company and so you won’t need to go thru any paper work related to imports, not worrying about customs clearance, etc. Whatever the shipping quote is sent to you, it will be including everything, such as ocean freight, truck delivery, customs clearance, import duties and even the cargo insurance.
All you would need to do would be to unload the container once it gets there. For that we also recommend you to use an Open Top container instead of a closed top in case you are doing this for the first time. By having an Open Top container, which will cost you just $300 more if compared to a closed top, you would need to simply rent a crane at any local company and unload each bundle at a time from the top of the container. This is the fastest and safest way to unload a container. Our customers say you can do this with less then 2 hours and have only one crane operator and another guy inside the container handling the bundles.
Please notice that you will get 2 hours of free allowance to unload the container once it gets there. In case you need more then that, you should be paying around $85 more per hour for the shipping company.
Here's a video showing how to unload an Open Top container using a regular crane: https://youtu.be/1VeqpB2PARg
7.3 - CIF - Slabs delivered on a flatbed truck:
In case you do not want to unload a container, we also offer the option of delivering the slabs on a flatbed truck instead. In this case, we will unload your container at one of the 3 warehouses where we have a partnership at, located at major cities in USA (Norfolk, Houston or Los Angeles), and then we would deliver the slabs by truck on A-frames to you.
For this option, we also take care of everything related to imports (freight, bond, duties, customs brokerage, insurance and slabs delivery). For this option your weight limit should be of 21,300kg, which means you can can select 7 bundles (around 43 slabs of 3cm materials) you like from our live inventory in our website, then choose “Bundles Delivery” to get an estimate shipping quote all included for having the slabs delivered at your door on a flatbed truck.
For this option, the total paid for freight should be slightly higher then of when receiving a container instead. It can vary from $0.50/sft to $1.50/sft more of when importing into containers. This will vary depending where you are located in USA. So if your price for shipping and receiving a container is of $2.00/sft, you will be paying between $2.50/sft to $3.50/sft more on top of the prices of our materials.
8- Transit Time:
The usual transit time from our local port in Vitoria, Brazil to the main ports in USA and Canada are:
Southeast Coast USA = from 20 to 30 days
Northeast Coast USA / Canada = from 25 to 35 days
Southwest Coast USA = 30 to 40 days
Northwest Coast USA / Canada = 40 to 60 days
* If you are located far from one of the coasts, please ask the shipping company for the transit time. We consider from 5 to 10 days from the port to any location inside USA and Canada.
9- Cargo accidents / Insurance:
Every container shipped from us has cargo insurance included by the shipping company. In case there is any accidents from the local port in Brazil to your door, by having insurance applied, the shipping company will cover 100% from the value of your materials Invoice and freight. The insurance cost should not be over US$150.00 per container.
In case you have your own shipping company handling your contianers, please make sure to ask them to apply the cargo insurance.
10- Terms of payment:
Our usual terms of payment is 50% in advance (before loading the container) + 50% Cash Against Documents (CAD). The first 50% should be sent once you receive and approve the inspection report we sent by e-mail. From there, we will load the container. Once it arrives at final port in USA, before heading for final delivery, the last 50% should be sent. Once final payment is received, the container will then be delivered. We always suggest you to make that final payment a few days before arrival of the container at final port, to avoid any delays. International wire transfers usually take from 24 to 48 hours to clear in a bank account in Brazil.
We can also provide you with terms for after arrival of the container if that's something you are looking for. In order to do this, you would need to let us know the name of at least 2 companies you already import from with terms for after arrival. In case you've never imported from any company with terms and you have the desire to do so you will need to start by paying for your first 2 or 3 containers with the terms of 50% in advance + 50% once arrives into final port as explained above. Once a business relationship is established with us, then we should be able to improve your terms for a percentage for after arrival. Please make sure to let your sales executive know that this is something you seek with us and we will be happy to explain you some more about it.
11- Customers References / Brothers' reputation:
We are part of an association called Stone Fabricators Alliance (www.stonefabricatorsalliance.com) from which the majority of our customers come from. This is a non-profit organization with main objective to share information and expertise about the stone industry in USA and Canada. Mostly formed by stone fabricators, most of its members know us very well and they would be happy to share with you about our reputation.
We are very transparent when regarding to the quality of the stones we sell. We display pictures and notes of all details cornering the materials shown in our website. All problems any materials eventually have will be described at the “descriptions” section from the details of each bundle. Furthermore, once you select your bundles you want from us we will make sure to point out those problems again by email in case you didn’t pay attention while selecting your order.
In case you still find any problems once you receive the container we will take full responsibility on it by providing you credit for a future order or even refunding you back entirely.
We stay behind the products we sell and you won’t be disappointed. Please send us an email at
[email protected] and we will be happy to send you by email a list with some of our current customers so you can call and check references about us.
12- Method of payments:
1- The most common method of payment used by our customers is
wire transfers thru banks. In this case only the regular bank fee should be charged by your bank when transferring money either to our account in Miami, FL or Brazil.
2-
Credit Card: We accept payments by Credit Cards thru Paypal. In this case a fee of 2.9% should be applied.
- In case you have interest, we can suggest you with a financing company (
ascentiumcapital.com) which works as a bank for loans to finance your imports. They usually charge 1% of interest per month. Please let us know in case you want to know more about this.
- Unfortunately we do not accept checks.
13- Getting ready to roll!
We’d like to encourage you to give us a try. All you need to do now is to select 7 bundles of whatever you like from our website. Once you do that, we will send you a Pro Forma and Packing List along with pictures and inspection report for your final review.
We will be sending you also the complete shipping costs all included until the container, or the slabs on a flatbed truck, is delivered to your door.
So with all this in hand you will know exactly how much everything will cost and how profitable and easy it really is to import from us!
Please go ahead and select your 7 bundles by accessing the link below. If you don’t want to commit with those 7 bundles, don’t worry! Just tell us this is just a simulation order and we will guide you thru the process until you are finally ready to roll!
http://www.brothersingranite.com/FullInventory.aspx
Please take a minute also to read more about us at
www.brothersingranite.com/blog