In short: A quote sheet isn't a price. It's a starting position. Almost every one is missing the same lines — tooling cost, sample freight, payment terms, lead time, and what happens if the units arrive wrong. Ask for those before you compare numbers.
A factory emailed me a quote sheet this morning.
Five lines. A price, a quantity range, a lead time, a payment term — and a word I had to look up.
Most buyers read one line: the price. It's also the line that means the least on its own.
The number on top isn't the price
When a quote sheet says "$3.20," that number is rarely what you'll pay per unit in the end. Here's what sits behind it:
- Quantity. Almost every factory quotes in tiers — 500 units at one price, 2,000 at another, 10,000 at a third. If you're reading one number, you're reading one tier, usually the one you can't reach yet.
- What's included. The unit alone, or the unit in a box, in a carton, on a pallet? Every layer adds cost.
- What isn't. Tooling. Sampling. Packaging artwork. Inspection. Freight. The sheet has a total, but it doesn't have every line that gets you there.
Four words you'll see, and may not know
MOQ. Minimum order quantity — the allest run a factory will take before starting the line stops being worth it. It isn't a negotiation tactic. It's arithmetic. Setup takes hours, and those hours cost the same whether you order 200 or 20,000.
Tier pricing. The rate drops as quantity rises. Normal, and it's why a factory will nudge you toward a bigger order. Sometimes that's good for you. Sometimes it's good for them.
Ex-works vs FOB. Ex-works means the price stops at their door — you arrange and pay for everything after. FOB means they get it onto the ship. Those two words can be a 10–15% difference in your landed cost, and buyers miss them constantly.
Neutral packaging. No logo, no branding, plain box. If you're selling under your own name, you want this specified. If you don't say it, you may get their box — with their brand on it.
The lines that aren't there
The most useful thing about a quote sheet is what it leaves out. Five things to look for, and ask about if you can't find them:
- Tooling cost. One-time, or amortized into the unit price? This changes everything about your first order.
- Samples — and who pays the freight. Samples are usually cheap. Shipping them usually isn't.
- Payment terms. 30/70, 50/50, or 100% before production? The split tells you how much risk the factory thinks it's carrying.
- Lead time — and lead time from when. From order, from deposit, or from artwork approval? Those are three different dates.
- What happens if it's wrong. Rework, replacement, refund, or silence? If it isn't written, it isn't agreed.
What I do with a quote sheet
I read it twice. Once for the number, once for the gaps.
Then, before it goes to a client, I ask five questions:
- Is this price for my quantity, or a bigger one?
- What's in the unit cost, and what isn't?
- What's the tooling situation?
- What are the payment terms, and what does the split mean?
- If the units arrive wrong, what happens?
A good factory answers all five. A quote sheet answers none of them on its own.
The honest part
A quote sheet isn't a price. It's a starting position.
Treat the number as the first line of a conversation, not the answer to it. And the factory that's easiest to work with usually isn't the cheapest — it's the one that wrote everything down.
Want a second pair of eyes on a quote before you commit? Message me on WhatsApp — the button is on every page.
— Damon, Founder
