5 Tips You Need to Know
before Importing Pool Pumps

Written by Catherine Zhou

If you are new in the market for pool pumps, you may be wondering if it is worth importing one from pool pump manufacturer overseas. Pool pumps can be expensive, so it is important to do research before making a purchase. In this blog post, we will discuss five tips that you need to know before importing pool pumps.

Tip1: How much margin you can get from this importing business.

Firstly, you should know the average retail price of pool pumps in your target market.

The price of a new pool pump can vary depending on the type and size of the pump, as well as the brands you check from. I suggest you refer to the median price of a swimming pool pump. For example, a 1.5 hp non-famous brand pool pump in US costs $200 in average and a 1.5 hp Hayward pool pump could be $800. If you are new in the swimming pool pumps market, I think it is better that you refer to the price of non-famous brand pool pumps.

Secondly, research the cost of the pump from different oversea manufacturers.

In China, prices can vary widely depending on the quality of the pump. I saw some complaint on amazon saying: you’ll get what you pay for. This is also true when it comes to source pool pumps. Please do not focus on the lowest price listed on some B2B websites. I suggest you also refer to the median price of these suppliers. Usually trade companies’ quote will be higher than that from factories, this is normal since the trade companies usually provides with better service than that of factories. 

However, I do see some factories that supply good service or even better service than trade companies, if you meet one of these amazing factories, work with them immediately! Let me tell you more, Ningbo Jade Pool Technology Co., Ltd. is one of these factories supplying energy efficient pool pumps and trustworthy service, why not contact us now?

Let’s come back to the point. Based on my 9 years experience in pool industry, usually the direct factory price of a non-famous 1.5 hp pool pump ranges from $90 to $150 for bulk orders based on volume.

Thirdly, find out if there are any import duties or taxes that will be applied to the purchase.

In order to find out if there are any import duties or taxes that will apply to your purchase, you will need to contact the local customs authority. They will be able to provide you with information on the applicable rates and how they are calculated. We usually use HS code begins with 841370, this is a universal number in the world, the rest numbers will be different in different Countries. Please check with the customs authority agency.

Fourthly, consider the shipping costs from the supplier to your Country.

It is important to know the exact dimension of pool pumps from the supplier since the sea freight is mainly calculated accroding to the dimension of goods. Usually a 40′ HQ container space is 68CBM which can carry 1200 pumps. So if you know the cost of the 40′ HQ container, you will know the shipping cost of each pump. The sea freight fluctuates sharply in recent years, please check the lastest shipping cost with your forwarder or ask them for a cost efficient solution in transportation.

Tip2: Which pump type is more popular?

Based on pool type

There are inground pool pumps and above ground pool pumps in the market. Usually, an inground pool pump has higher lift than above ground pool pump, and it is called “self-priming”; An above ground pool pump has bigger flow than inground pool pump of the same HP, but it is not self-priming, it should be located below the water level.

Inground Pool Pump

Above Ground Pool Pump

You will also have to know the percentage of in-ground and above-ground swimming pools existed in your Country. In US, 65% of the swimming pools are inground type and 35% are above ground type. Those data is for private pools instead of commercial swimming pools So maybe you should consider imporing more inground pool pumps than above ground ones.

Based on speed

There are single speed, two-speed and variable speed pool pumps available. In US residential market, two-speed pool pumps take up 55% of the total market and single speed only has about 20% since two-speed can save energy costs a lot. So maybe you should consider importing more two-speed swimming pool pumps than single speed pump.

There’s also another pool pump type which seems more popular than previously when pool owners consider to source energy efficient pool pumps, that is variable speed pumps. More and more people prefer variable speed since the energy cost becomes more expensive year by year, but the market share is still not quite big due to its relatively high cost. So you may also consider to import variable speed swimming pool pump to diversify your business. As far as I know, there are not so many Chinese factories(Less than 3 factories) have the ability to manufacture a perfect variable speed pump. I’m pround to say that our factory — Ningbo Jade Pool Technology Co., Ltd. is one of those who makes amazing variable speed pumps, we developed the 1st variable speed pump in 2015, during 7 years improvement, now our variable speed pump is quite user friendly, and has received plenty of good reviews from thousands of pool owners. Many distributors benefit from dealing with our variable speed pumps. If you are also interested, please contact us immediately for more details.

Tip 3: Please note the electric power supply specification in your Area.

Here are some main specifications that you should focus on. Fail to follow may cause trouble in your pool pump business.

Voltage and Frequency

Wrong voltage or frequency can burnt the pump motor easily. You will have to find our the voltage and frequency supplied in your Country. For example, the voltage in US is 110-120V/60Hz and 220-230V/60Hz, usually 110-120V power supply needs a power plug while 220-230V doesn’t. Most inground swimming pool pumps are supposed to be wired with 220-230V power supply and most above ground pool pumps require 110-120V supply. So, you can save the power cord cost by offering inground pool pumps without power cord.

Power Plug Type

There are also various plug types in different area. For example, the plug type in US is NEMA, In Europe, the voltage is 220-240V/50Hz and the plug type is Schuko or BS. The wire size could be different as well. You will also need to find out if a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) is required in your Country. If you get these information wrong, the customer will be very confused.

 

Tip 4: The plumbing specification of your Country

The suction and discharge port size of the pool pump is usually standardised to be mm or inch in diameter. You will need to check with your local plumber or pool builder what is the most popular size they are using. This is because different Countries have different plumbing standards.

For example, in US residential market, the pipe size is usually 48mm(1.5 inch) in many old houses and 60mm(2.0 inch) in mang new houses. But in Europe, people use 50mm and 63mm pipes. Wrong size pump ports can be a big problem for your business. But don’t worry, our factory has worked with customers from all over the world, we have rich experience about the pipe size in difference areas. 

Moreover, you’d better also check if the fitting to be used on the pool pump you imported is easy to source in local shop, this is an important point that pool owners will consider when they are searching pumps. No one wants to replace the whole pump because of a fitting problem. We offer various fitting types for our pumps, you may keep some spare parts as well as fittings in stock in case required by the end user.

If you want to know more about plumbing suggestion, please feel free to contact us. We are glad to help no matter you are interested in our products or not.

Tip 5: Find out the regulation in your Country to sell pool pumps

There are certain standards that pool pumps have to meet in order for them to be sold in a Country. You will need to find out what these standards are and make sure that the pump you are importing meets these standards.

Safety Standards

This is a base standard for electrical products, you have to prove the products will not cause serious injury to end users via safety test by authorized labs. For example, in US, the CSA (Canadian Standards Association) and ETL (Intertek) certification is required. In some other Coutries, CE, SAA, SGS could also be a mandatory certificate.

Energy Standards

You should also check if there are any other special regulations in your Country that you need to be aware of. For example, in US, the pool pumps have to be DoE-compliant in order to be sold. This is an energy efficiency regulation which took into effect in July 19th, 2021. Please double check with the supplier if their products are approved by all the mandatory regulations.

We hope these tips could help you a little bit in your import decision. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us. Our team would be happy to assist you further. Thank you for reading!

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