FOB vs CIF vs EXW: Which Incoterm Should Playground Equipment Buyers Choose?

The short answer: choose FOB for most playground equipment orders and quote your own ocean freight, so that you can see and compare the real cost. Choose CIF only when the factory can buy freight cheaper than any forwarder you can reach, or when you want a single price to your destination port, and check what insurance cover is actually included. Choose EXW only if you have a forwarder in China who will collect from the factory and handle export clearance themselves. The three terms change who pays and who carries risk. They do not change what goes into the container.

1. What each term actually covers

EXW (Ex Works, named place) is the widest obligation for the buyer. The seller only makes the goods available at their own premises; the buyer arranges everything from that point: collection, export declaration, ocean freight, insurance, customs and delivery. Risk passes at the factory door. One practical trap in China: the export declaration and VAT refund paperwork are normally handled by the seller’s own agent, so a buyer without a Chinese entity usually cannot run a true EXW shipment. Many suppliers quote EXW and file the export declaration anyway. Agree in writing who handles it.

FOB (Free On Board, named port of loading) is the standard for container shipments. The seller delivers the goods on board the vessel, pays inland haulage to the port, export clearance and origin terminal handling. Risk passes when the goods are on board at the loading port. The buyer books and pays the main freight, arranges insurance, and pays destination charges. Because the buyer controls the booking, FOB keeps freight visible and lets you use your own forwarder and cargo insurance.

CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight, named port of destination) adds ocean freight and marine insurance to the seller’s side, up to the destination port only. The most misunderstood point is that risk still passes at the loading port, exactly as under FOB. If a container is lost at sea, the seller does not carry that loss just because the seller paid the freight; the buyer claims on the insurance. That cover is usually the minimum Institute Cargo Clauses (C), at 110% of the invoice value, and it does not pay for many types of damage that a playground equipment shipment can suffer.

Term	Who books and pays main freight	Insurance	Risk passes	What the buyer still pays
EXW	Buyer	Buyer	At the seller’s premises	Collection, export clearance, freight, insurance, terminal charges, duty, delivery
FOB (port of loading)	Buyer	Buyer	On board at the loading port	Ocean freight, insurance, destination charges, customs, duty, delivery
CIF (port of destination)	Seller	Seller, minimum cover	On board at the loading port	Destination charges, customs clearance, duty, delivery to warehouse

2. Which term fits your order

Use the stage of your import programme, not habit, to decide. A first container of slide combinations, playpens or kids tables and chairs is usually best bought FOB with your own forwarder, because it is the only version of the price where the freight line is visible and negotiable.

Your situation	Recommended term	Why
First FCL order, you want to compare freight quotes	FOB	Freight is visible and you can change forwarders without changing supplier
You have an agent or forwarder inside China	EXW or FOB	Your agent handles collection and export documents faster than a remote buyer can
The factory’s freight rate beats every quote you can get	CIF	Simpler, but verify the insurance cover and destination charges
Small LCL trial order with several combinations	FOB or CIF at a named CFS	Name the consolidation facility, or LCL charges get unpredictable
Air freight or door delivery	FCA, CIP, DAP or DDP	FOB and CIF are sea and inland waterway terms only

3. The numbers behind the choice

Playground equipment is bulky. A slide combination ships knocked down, so cube, not weight, drives the freight: on LCL, ocean freight plus origin and destination charges can reach 15–30% of the order value, while a full container spreads that over far more goods.

Duty is the other line that moves with the term. The United States assesses duty on the transaction value, which normally excludes international freight and insurance, so FOB is close to the customs value. The EU and most Middle East markets assess duty on the CIF value, so switching to CIF raises the declared value and the duty you pay, even when the landed cost is similar. Always compare landed cost, not FOB price against CIF price.

Cost item	Inside a CIF quote?	Who pays it under FOB
Inland haulage and origin terminal handling	Yes	Seller
Ocean freight	Yes	Buyer
Marine insurance	Yes, minimum cover	Buyer
Destination terminal handling and port charges	No	Buyer
Customs clearance and import duty	No	Buyer
Delivery to your warehouse	No	Buyer
Demurrage and detention	No	Buyer

4. How to write it into the purchase order

Name the place, not just the rule: FOB Ningbo, CIF Hamburg, EXW Foshan warehouse. State the Incoterms edition, normally Incoterms 2020, so that both sides read the same obligation list. Ask for the packing list with carton dimensions, CBM and gross weight before you ask anyone for a freight rate, because a quote without the cube is a guess. For LCL, name the consolidation facility. For CIF, ask for the insurance certificate wording and the sum insured, and for a written list of the charges that stop at the destination port. Finally, confirm who pays the export declaration when the term is EXW, and put that sentence in the contract.

The right term is the one that matches who can buy freight best in your market. Buy FOB while you are learning the route, keep an EXW option open once you have a China-based forwarder, and treat CIF as a convenience price rather than a safer one. For the surrounding decisions, read our guides on MOQ and quality control for first orders and how to load a 40HQ container, or check the certifications buyers ask for. You can also browse the slide range and swing range, read our story, or contact us with your market, model and target quantity.