per unit at 1,000 units — goods, agent fee, freight, US import fees and delivery. Duty is not included; see below.
Basis: Aggregated from 45 current wholesale listings in this category, costed with our standard import model. volume and weight assume a typical export carton for this category, not one supplier's packing list — 60 × 50 × 45 cm, 20 per carton, 13 kg gross, giving 0.00675 CBM and 0.65 kg per unit; your own carton will move the freight line. duty excluded, because the rate depends on how your product classifies — the table below shows what any rate adds. figures as of 1 September 2026. individual figures are not attributable to any one supplier.
What duty adds
We do not publish a single duty rate for this category, because classification depends on the product's construction and materials rather than on what it is called. Rather than print a number that would be wrong for some readers, here is what any given rate does to the figures above.
| Duty rate | Landed per unit | Versus no duty |
|---|---|---|
| No duty | $4.69 | — |
| 5% | $4.86 | +3.7% |
| 12% | $5.11 | +8.9% |
| 25% | $5.56 | +18.6% |
| 37% | $5.98 | +27.6% |
Establishing your own rate is your responsibility as importer rather than your supplier's — our guide to classification sets out how, including requesting a binding ruling if you intend to import repeatedly.
A pet bed is filling wrapped in fabric, and both of those are sold by weight while the shipping is charged by volume. That mismatch is the whole commercial problem. Whether the bed can be vacuum compressed for transit, and how much it recovers afterwards, will move your landed cost further than any conversation about the unit price.
Where the money goes
Freight is a large share here, for the same reason it is in any bulky-light category. The difference is that pet beds can often be compressed, which changes the calculation completely — but compression that is too aggressive produces a product that never fully recovers its shape, and a flat bed is a returned bed.
The other major variable is filling weight, which is where cost is most quietly removed. A bed with noticeably less filling looks nearly identical in a photograph, feels different immediately, and collapses much sooner.
What drives cost in this category
Filling weight and type
Specify the weight, not "well filled". This is the most common place for cost to be removed between sample and production, and the least visible.
Compression and recovery
Vacuum packing transforms the freight maths. It also has to be tested — the bed must return to shape after unpacking, and that is a specifiable, checkable requirement.
Fabric and construction
Durability under claws and washing. A removable, washable cover is the feature buyers most often add late, after it has stopped being cheap to add.
Market-specific requirements
Some destinations and channels impose flammability or labelling requirements on filled soft goods. Check for your market before production rather than after.
Minimum order quantities
| Factory's existing model and fabric | Lowest floor. Colours limited to what is already being run. |
| Your fabric or colour | Set by the fabric mill's minimum, which is usually the binding constraint. |
| Custom size or shape | Requires new patterns; moderate increase and a longer sampling cycle. |
| Custom printed fabric | Highest floor, driven by the printing setup rather than the sewing. |
Where these are made
Soft pet goods sit inside the wider home textiles supply chain. For lower quantities and multi-SKU ranges, Yiwu is the usual entry point; larger runs with custom fabric tend to sit with dedicated textile factories and route out through Ningbo.
What goes wrong
- Under-filling. The defining substitution. Specify filling weight per unit and have it weighed at inspection — it is one of the easiest checks there is.
- Poor recovery after compression. Beds that arrive flat and stay flat. Require a recovery test with a stated time and criterion.
- Zip and seam failure. Washable covers fail at the zip first. It is a cheap component and a common complaint.
- Shrinkage after washing. A cover that no longer fits the insert after one wash, which is functionally a total failure of the product.
Weighing the filling and running a wash-and-refit test are both quick, cheap and rarely requested. Both belong in the inspection scope, and both need to be in the specification first to be enforceable.
