In this post, we break down exactley what we had to pay to source basketball tiles, import these into Australia, coordinate freight, clear an area, box up a slab, order the concrete and materials and piece the whole court together. 

All prices listed are in Australian dollars (AUD) and I think you will be suprised by how cost effective this exercise was. I will also break down some timelines involved.

Cost 1: Measure a space and sourcing the tiles.

• An obvious first step is to make sure you have enough room in your yard for a basketball court. I didn’t want this court taking up our whole yard, so we opted for a smallish 7×5 (35 square metre) court and begun sourcing quotes based off this sizing.
• Once we had established rapport with a manufactuter in China (via Alibaba), we ordered a total of 200 square metres of tiles. Whilst I only needed 35 square metres, we have at least two other family and friends who also wanted to order these tiles for their own spaces, so we went a slightly larger order.
• The total cost for 200 square metres of module ourdoor basketball sports tiles, which includes professional line markings (keyway, free throw lines etc), external edging around the sides of the court, a line marking paint machine and sea shipping from China to Australia, cost us a total AUD $4307 (or approx $21.53 a square metre). This is not the final cost (as you will see if you keep reading).

Cost 2: Logistics and freight costs in Australia

• It’s one thing to arrange shipping with a Chinese manufacturer, but just be mindful that if you are importing a decent quantity of materials into Australia, you will need a logistics company to help you coordinate its arrival as well as help you pay your customs clearance and duties taxes. 
• A logistics company will assist you with the preparation of your documentation for importing goods in Australia, and can help you source documents from your manufactutrer or shipping company that you probably never knew existed. These may include a packing declaration (a mandatory document for sea freight shipments that ensures there are no harmful materials entering the country). A Bill of Lading, which is like a receipt or a contract issued by the freight company which spells out the quantity, type, and destination of your goods. And a Chafta COO, or a Certificate Of Origin or evidence that goods originate in Australia or China in accordance with the provisions of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.
• There may be other important documents to be aware of, and feel free to check with your logistics provider on what you need for your cargo. We used and recommend Energy Logistics in QLD, who are great communicators and kept us up to date with documentation as well as shipment arrival dates and freight from the ports to our residential address.
• The total costs for the logistics, documentation and freight came out at AUD $2218 (or $11.09 a square metre). It’s worth noting that logistics costs don’t always scale with weight or volume, meaning if we doubled the size of our order then it  is likely these costs would of become more economical, and only may have gone up a very small amount. Something to be aware of with small import orders.

Cost 3: Prepare the area and the slab

• Now, this may not apply to everyone, especially if you are fortunate enough to have a clear, flat space with good access, or even better, a flat hard surface (lucky you!).
•  In my case, I had needed multiple trees cleared, a surface area dug out and stumps, soil and bushes cleared.
• Whilst I was able to cut the trees down myself, I sourced a professional digger operator for 2 hours to come to my home, dig out the 35 square metre space, dig down the soil approx 100mm deep and clear the debris. A 100mm slab is recommended for a basketball court, to withstand the usage as well as stay strong against underground tree roots.
• This saved me soooooo much time mucking around, and only cost me AUD $400