One request goes to two suppliers: 2,000 pieces, delivered to Dubai port. One answers 2.20 USD a piece, and the other answers 2.50.
Both are plain packaging at the factory gate, so the gap is not in the packaging and it is not in the trade term either. The gap is in five things:
- The material. Which grade, how thick, how many grams per square metre?
- The process. What tolerance, how the surface is treated, what standard it is inspected to?
- Service and after-sales. How long is the warranty, what happens when something goes wrong, how fast does he answer?
- Profit. Some quote tight, some quote loose.
- The fees. Sampling, moulds, certification testing: in the price or not?
Neither number is a verdict. The cheaper one may be exactly right: the same material, a thinner margin, a bigger line, material bought last year, a factory closer to the port, and service just as complete, because he wants the long relationship. The dearer one may genuinely have a better grade of material and fuller service. He may also simply be quoting loose, at costs no higher than the first supplier's.
So your job is not to guess who is better, but to find out where the 0.30 comes from. Two outcomes are possible. The cheaper one turns out to be the best buy, or the extra 0.30 buys something else you want. Both are fine, as long as you know what you are buying.
This page is about how to ask. It covers how to ask about the five things, how to put two quotes into one table, how to negotiate once the answers are in, which moves make a supplier stop taking you seriously, when to walk away, and what goes on the PI at the end.
This page does not tell you to buy the dear one or the cheap one. It gives you two sets of questions, and after you ask them you will know which supplier to buy from.
The numbers 2.20 and 2.50 are examples, to show how far two quotes can sit apart. They are not our prices.
Why can't 2.20 and 2.50 be compared directly?
Because the gap can come from five places, and three of them never show on the page.
- Material grade. Thickness, weight per square metre, grade, and whether a material certificate comes with it. One quotes 2.5 mm, the other quotes 1.8 mm. Both can be honest quotes, and they are not quoting the same thing. New material and recycled material are two prices. Food grade and standard grade are two prices as well. The page says only "ABS".
- The process. The same material can be worked in different ways. Moulded or machined, one pass or two, polished or not, inspected to which standard. The two suppliers' tolerances and defect rates can sit a fair distance apart, and the quote sheet usually does not say.
- Service and after-sales. How long the warranty runs, whether a fault brings a replacement or a rework, how fast messages come back, whether third-party inspection is accepted. None of this changes the material inside the unit price. All of it decides what you pay out after something goes wrong.
- The margin. Some quote tight, some quote loose. A tight quote can come from a thin margin, a big line, material stocked last year, or a factory near the port. This one opens a gap with no difference in the product at all.
- Hidden fees. Sample fee, mould fee, certification and test fee. One supplier built them into the unit price, the other left them to be billed later. The 2.20 you see on the page may not include any of the three.
Quantity is not one of the five. You gave one quantity, and both suppliers quoted 2,000 pieces. Ask each of them to write one line, "this price is for 2,000 pieces", and then stop worrying about it.
So the question is not who is cheaper by 0.30. The question is what the 0.30 buys. Ask, and the two numbers become two things you can choose between.
What does the price cover, and what service does this supplier give?
Ask two sets of questions, separately. The first set is about what the price covers: material, process, fees, terms. The second set is about the service this supplier gives: warranty, replacement, response, cooperation, order follow-up, inspection, technical documents.
They are asked separately because the price does not tell you the service, and reading service off a price gets it wrong every time.
What is the material quoted on?
- Thickness, weight per square metre, grade: take a number for each one. Do not accept "same as the sample". Ask for "2.5 mm, tolerance ±0.1".
- Does a material certificate come with it? For anything that carries load, takes heat, or carries a safety claim you have to print, ask him for the certificate. A certificate from the supplier's own lab is a notch weaker than one from a third-party lab.
- New material and recycled material, food grade and standard grade, are all legitimate options at different prices. You are not after "better material". You are after two quotes that name the same material.
What standard is the process held to?
- What tolerance, how the surface is treated, what standard the goods are inspected to. AQL (acceptable quality limit) is the defect rate allowed at inspection. A quote with no AQL carries no quality level.
- What defect rate is assumed, and who pays for the scrapped part.
- A process difference shows up in both directions. A part that needs hand finishing costs labour, and a surface that scratches in transit costs returns. Ask what the process is first, then judge whether it fits the way you sell.
Which fees are in the price and which are extra?
- Sample fee, mould fee, certification and testing, a colour box or a printed label, shipping marks, barcode, manual, inspection. In a plain-packaging, factory-gate quote, none of these is included.
- Ask fee by fee: in or out, and how much to add if it is out.
- If a supplier says "all included", have him write that sentence on the PI. "Included" in a chat is not included on the invoice.
- A sample fee is normal. It pays for the mould, the print plate, the setup, the material and the labour of a short run. Ask whether it comes off the goods payment, from how many pieces, and until what date.
- A new mould changes the questions. Who owns the mould, how its cost is spread over the first few orders, and what happens to it after you stop ordering?
What other conditions hang on the price?
- Quantity. Confirm the price is for your 2,000 pieces, not for his usual run. While you are there, ask for the MOQ (minimum order quantity), the smallest run he will take.
- Payment. How much deposit he wants, and whether the unit price moves with it.
- Exchange rate and validity. Which rate the price was built on, and until what date it holds.
These three are also the way to reach his margin. You cannot ask "how much do you make", and you do not need to. Payment terms, quantity and a written schedule can each push that number down a little.
What service does this supplier give?
Ask this as its own set of questions, and do not read it off the price.
- How long is the warranty? What it covers and what it does not. Whether consumable parts count, such as batteries, blades, seals.
- What happens when something goes wrong? Replacement, rework, or refund? Who pays the freight both ways?
- How fast does he answer? How long a normal message takes, and who you go to when something has actually gone wrong. Is there a named person?
- How flexible is he? Can he change an order, rush one, ship in several batches?
- Order follow-up. Does anyone watch production progress, and will he send you photos of it?
- Inspection. Is third-party inspection accepted, and how many days ahead do you need to book it?
- Technical documents. Will he give you the specification sheet, the test reports, the BOM (bill of materials)? A BOM is the list of parts a product is made of.
None of these sits in the unit price, and on the day something breaks they decide how much of your own money goes in. They have no fixed link to price. The cheaper supplier may give just as full a service, because he wants the long relationship. The dearer one may simply be quoting loose, or may really have put more staff on it. Both happen, so you have to ask each supplier on his own.
A supplier who answers both sets has really costed your order. One who answers only a couple of questions has given you a number that may change next week.
How do you put two quotes into one table?
Write your one request at the top, fill the same rows for both suppliers, and write "not provided" where something is missing. The last row is the total cost at the port, not the unit price.
- The header is one request. Quantity, specification, packaging level, destination port. Away from that header a line means nothing, and both suppliers have to quote against the same header.
- Five blocks, two columns. Material, process, fees, terms, service and after-sales. Put a number in every row you can fill.
- The material and process must match across the two columns. If one column is 2.5 mm new material and the other is 1.8 mm recycled, the two unit prices cannot be compared yet. That is exactly the problem the table solves.
- Every fee, included or extra, with an amount. Then add your own ocean freight and insurance to both columns, quoted by the forwarder you appoint.
- A blank is information. An empty row means one of two things: he did not cost that item, or he would rather not say. Both are worth knowing before you pay.
- The last row decides. Compare the total cost at the port. Sometimes the cheaper one is still cheaper once everything is added, and it is simply the better buy. Sometimes the 0.30 buys a thicker wall, a tighter tolerance, or a test you cannot do without. Sometimes the 0.30 buys nothing extra and the quote is just loose. All three happen, and only the table tells you which one you have.
When both columns are full, you know what you are arguing about: material, process, fees, service, or the unit price. Most of the time it is the first three.
How do you negotiate once these answers are in?
With both totals on one sheet, move one lever at a time: quantity, payment, specification, written schedule.
Ask for three quantities
Ask for the unit price at 500, 2,000 and 5,000 pieces. Each answer is a definite price for that quantity.
- Doubling the quantity usually earns a step of 3–8% in our experience. That is a working range drawn from conversations with suppliers, not a published rate and not a promise.
- Putting several categories with one supplier usually works better than raising one category alone. 10,000 pieces across five categories give the factory a full week of line time. 3,000 pieces in one category do not.
- Filling a container changes the inland freight and the carton cost, and sometimes the trade term.
If the price barely moves between 2,000 and 5,000, this supplier has priced the material, not the quantity.
Pay earlier
A factory charges for time, and your money replaces money it would otherwise borrow.
On a direct order with a factory, moving from a 30% deposit to full prepayment usually buys 1–3% in our experience. The deposit is the part you pay before production starts.
Our own terms do not change: 100% T/T in advance. T/T is a bank wire transfer. If you need payment terms, say so at the start, and we will tell you plainly that we cannot do it.
Change the specification
Small changes to the material usually buy more than a long argument about margin.
- Fewer colours in one order.
- A printed colour box changed to a white box with a printed label.
- A branded battery cell changed to a cell of the same specification.
- A lower carton grade, where the shipping route allows it.
- A test or certification removed because you do not actually need it.
Every change lowers the cost and also changes the product. Whether that is acceptable only you can say. A supplier who makes these changes without telling you is swapping material, not negotiating.
Put the volume into a written schedule
"We will place a big order later" means nothing. The only volume promise that counts is a schedule on paper.
- Name the period: 12 months.
- Name the quantity per quarter.
- Name the date of the first repeat order.
- Give a rolling forecast, not a guarantee.
- Lock the price for the first two quarters, then review.
With a real first repeat order behind it, a 12-month schedule usually buys 2–5% in our experience. Again a working range, not a price list.
What makes a supplier stop taking you seriously?
Five moves spend your money and his attention at the same time: opening with a 30% cut, a competing price with no proof, a volume promise with no numbers, the same email to eight suppliers, and price as the only subject.
- Opening with a 30% cut. The factory has two roads: refuse, or agree and quietly change the material. A 30% cut on a quote that was costed leaves only those two.
- Pressing him with another supplier's price, with no proof. "I can get 12% less elsewhere", with no specification, no quantity and no terms, tells him you are making it up. Send one page of comparison at the same material and the same process, and black out the other name.
- A volume promise with no numbers. He cannot check it, so he prices this order and nothing more.
- The same email to eight suppliers. You will get the lowest price and the least attention. Three to five is enough for a real comparison.
- Talking only about price. If you never discuss the payment date, the packing or the specification, the supplier learns that price is your only subject, and he quotes only that.
All five have one thing in common: each gives the supplier something he can check.
When should you walk away?
If he will not let you see the product before you pay, do not pay. There are four more cases below, and you walk when you meet one.
- No sample, no specification sheet, order now. A factory that will not make a sample has no process that can run your specification.
- The price drops the moment you mention quality. You say "we need good quality" and he takes 15% off at once. That 15% was the quality he was holding back.
- The money goes to an account that is not the company's. Check the company before you pay anything, with our page on finding out who the supplier really is.
- A lead time that cannot be real. A new mould plus 50,000 pieces delivered in seven days means one thing: take the deposit, then apologise.
A low price says nothing by itself. His costs may simply be low. What you have to judge is not whether the price covers his cost, but what material, what process and what service that price corresponds to.
Write your last condition as one short paragraph: same specification, same quantity, this price, these terms, answer within 48 hours. Then stop writing. Most suppliers answer a clear last condition properly. The ones who do not were never going to agree.
What goes on the PI after the negotiation?
Every line you asked about goes onto the PI, with a number.
The PI (proforma invoice) is the page the supplier sends before you pay. On most small and mid-size orders it is the contract. A term that is not written on it counts as not agreed.
- The unit price and what it rests on. Currency, how many pieces the price is for, which specification it matches, and whether Chinese VAT is included.
- Material and process. Grade, thickness or weight, tolerance, surface treatment, inspection standard, and the defect rate you accept.
- What the price covers, line by line. The plain packaging grade, and any fee already built into the unit price.
- What is added on top, item by item with the amount. Sample fee, mould fee, colour box and print plate, shipping marks, barcode, manual in each language, test or certification, inspection, and the inland freight to the port.
- What you pay yourself. Ocean freight and insurance, quoted by the forwarder you appoint, with the quote date written down.
- Quantity. Each category, each colour, and the plus or minus you accept, for example ±3%.
- Trade term and place. "FOB" must be followed by a port. If the goods leave through Ningbo or Shanghai, the PI names that port. Our quotation basis is FOB Yiwu, and the PI records the actual port of shipment.
- Payment. 100% T/T in advance, or the deposit percentage and what triggers the balance. Ours is full prepayment.
- The lead time basis. Which event it counts from, and that it is in working days, excluding public holidays.
- Inspection. A self-check record or a third-party report, and who appoints the inspector.
- Service and after-sales. The warranty period, what it covers and what it does not, replacement or rework when something fails, who pays the freight both ways, how fast he answers, and how many days ahead inspection is booked.
- Documents. Packing list, invoice, export papers, and who issues each one.
- Change clause and validity. Any specification change is quoted again in writing, and production starts only after you agree. The price holds until the date written on the PI.
Two more checks. The company name on the PI, the name on the bank account and the name on the business licence must be the same company. The date on the PI comes from the factory. The rest is our job: we watch the line, we check progress, and we tell you the moment anything changes. When you ask when the goods will ship, the answer you get is one we have verified, not the factory's line passed on.
Packaging is the item buyers leave vague most often, and our page on what an export carton does not tell you covers what to write down. Inspection is the other one: a self-check record and a third-party report are two different documents, only one of them is ours, and this page covers the difference.
Do-this checklist
- Send one request: quantity, specification, packaging level, destination port.
- Ask each supplier for the material grade, thickness and weight, and write the answers down.
- Ask for the tolerance, the surface treatment and the inspection standard.
- Ask fee by fee: included or extra, and how much each one adds.
- Get a number for sampling, moulds, testing, the colour box, shipping marks, the manual and the inland freight.
- Get the ocean freight and insurance quoted by the forwarder you appoint.
- Ask about service separately: warranty, what happens when something goes wrong, response time, flexibility, order follow-up, inspection, technical documents.
- Draw one table with the same rows, fill in both suppliers, and write "not provided" in the empty cells.
- Treat an empty row as a question, not as a zero.
- Compare the total cost at the port, not the unit price.
- Confirm the price matches the quantity you gave, and ask for the MOQ.
- Move one lever at a time: quantity, payment, specification, written schedule.
- Do not open with a 30% cut.
- If you want a lower price, press with a one-page comparison at the same material and the same process.
- Check the validity of the quote and the exchange rate behind it.
- When you see a very low price, ask first what material, what process and what service it corresponds to, and do not treat it as a problem.
- Write every line, every fee and every after-sales promise on the PI, and check that the PI name, the licence name and the account name match.
- Decide on the filled-in table, not on a hunch about who seems more reliable.
Related reading
Related products
Sources
- International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Academy) — Insider thoughts: Bob Ronai on Incoterms® 2020 Rules — https://academy.iccwbo.org/incoterms/article/insider-thoughts-bob-ronai-on-incoterms-2020-rules-what-are-they-about/ — checked 2026-10-28. "FOB (Free on Board), CFR (Cost and Freight) and CIF (Cost Insurance and Freight) the seller must place the goods on board the vessel."
- YIWU RUIHA TRADING CO.,LTD. — service terms, confirmed first-hand with staff — checked 2026-10-28. "FOB Yiwu, tax not included; 100% T/T in advance; the sample fee is deducted from the goods payment once the order is placed."
To get a quote or to source products, contact our Yiwu sourcing team → Request a quote