Three factories quote your bottle and the numbers land within 15%. That closeness is misleading: the quotes are not for the same product. One includes a pump, one quotes EXW, one quietly drops the carton. A first-time importer comparing headline prices is comparing three different things. Demand eight identical lines first.
Quick answer
- Never compare a total. Compare eight named lines: body, closure, liner, decoration, setup, packaging, freight, total.
- EXW, FOB, CIF and DDP are four different products. Normalise the incoterm before you compare unit prices.
- A quote without a written validity window and lock condition is not a price, it is an opening position.
Why do three quotes for the same bottle never match?
Because a unit price is the output of about a dozen inputs, and a quotation shows three or four of them. If you send five suppliers the same photo and the same capacity, each fills the blanks differently — a different assumed gram weight, a different resin grade, a different cavity count, a different closure position — and those defaults are where the spread lives.
| Input | Usually on the quote? | Why it moves the price |
|---|---|---|
| Empty gram weight | Rarely | Resin is priced by weight; the bottle is sold by the piece |
| Resin grade | Rarely | Virgin and certified recycled are not interchangeable |
| Masterbatch ratio | Sometimes | A deep opaque shade costs more per kilo than natural |
| Cavities and cycle time | Almost never | More cavities per cycle means lower conversion cost per unit |
| Decoration method and passes | Usually | Priced per colour per pass |
| Closure, pump or liner | Sometimes | Often the most expensive single component on the bottle |
| Process scrap allowance | Almost never | A realistic allowance is priced in; some quote zero and renegotiate later |
| Carton spec and packing method | Sometimes | Affects material cost and freight volume at the same time |
| Payment terms and currency | Usually | Terms and FX exposure are real cost, not paperwork |
| Price validity window | Sometimes | 15 days and 90 days are different risks at different prices |
The practical consequence: a quote that is silent on gram weight is not comparable to one that states it. When three quotes disagree, the first move is not to negotiate — it is to request the missing inputs in writing from all three, in the same email.
Why does a line-item quote beat a total-price quote?
Because a total hides the only information you need. A supplier quoting “USD 0.42 per piece complete” has told you nothing about whether a pump is inside it, whether the carton is, or whether the price holds for six months. Force every supplier onto the same eight lines and the comparison becomes arithmetic instead of guesswork.
| Line | Must state | The trap when it is missing |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bottle body | Model, material, grade, gram weight and tolerance | Two different weights at two different prices |
| 2. Closure / pump | Type, neck finish, material, output per stroke if a pump | “Cap included” may mean a screw cap where you need a pump |
| 3. Liner / insert | Wadded, foam or foil liner, stated separately | Omitted, then added later as an “upgrade” |
| 4. Decoration | Method, colour count, passes, artwork version | “Printing included” with one pass, then a second pass invoice |
| 5. Setup and tooling | Colour development fee, mould fee, amortisation basis | Free tooling that appears in the second invoice |
| 6. Packaging | Pieces per carton, dimensions, gross weight, assembled or separate | Freight billed on volume nobody calculated |
| 7. Freight | Named incoterm, named port, who arranges what | EXW compared against a DDP delivered price |
| 8. Total and validity | Grand total, currency, validity window, lock condition | A number with no end date |
If a supplier will not fill in all eight, you are not comparing products — you are comparing answers. That refusal is itself a data point.
How do you make three quotes comparable on the same basis?
Comparability is a specification problem before it is a price problem. Fix five variables across all three suppliers and send the identical request each time: the specification (material, capacity, gram weight, neck finish, colour), the quantity (the same number, not “your MOQ”), the incoterm, the currency, and the validity window you need.
| Variable to lock | Locked as | What happens if it is not locked |
|---|---|---|
| Specification | One page, identical wording, sent three times | Each supplier quotes their own default bottle |
| Quantity | One number per tier, e.g. 5,000 / 10,000 / 25,000 | Supplier A quotes your MOQ, B quotes your annual volume |
| Incoterm | FOB named port, plus EXW on the same line | Headline prices are not the same product |
| Currency | One currency for all three | FX noise is mistaken for a price difference |
| Validity | Same requested window, e.g. 60 days | You compare a locked price against an expiring one |
The deeper reason two honest factories differ on identical-looking quotes is conversion cost: cavities per cycle, cycle time, automation, scrap policy, and whether mould amortisation has to be recovered somewhere. None of that is visible on a quotation, which is why the specification has to do the work instead. The full breakdown is in why two quotes for the same bottle differ by 30%, and the one-page spec to send is in how to request and compare packaging quotes.
How do you read a tiered quotation without being misled?
Tier pricing is not a discount schedule — it is a curve, and the shape tells you where the factory’s real floor sits. The steep part of the curve is at the low end, where fixed costs are spread over few pieces. The flat part is where more volume buys you almost nothing.
| Quantity | 100 ml flat set, FOB | 500 ml HDPE body, EXW | 65 ml PETG body, bare | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 | USD 0.23 | USD 0.35 | USD 0.15 | Entry point; set-up at its heaviest |
| 10,000 | USD 0.18 | USD 0.31 | USD 0.13 | Where the real saving is |
| 20,000 | USD 0.17 | USD 0.28 | — | Approaching the floor |
| 25,000 | — | USD 0.28 | — | Flat against 20,000 |
Three rules when reading a tier table. First, budget on the tier you will actually order, not the tier you hope to reach. Second, if the 20,000 and 25,000 prices are identical, the curve is already flat and the extra volume buys you nothing but cash. Third, a supplier who quotes one tier has not shown you a curve at all — a single number can always be made to look competitive. Minimums differ by line too: 5,000 per bottle model, 5,000 per colour, 5,000–10,000 per closure at our factory, which is covered in packaging strategy by brand stage.
What is the real difference between EXW, FOB, CIF and DDP?
These four terms decide who pays for which leg of the journey, and therefore who is exposed if something goes wrong on it. Comparing an EXW number against a DDP delivered number is the single most common error in a three-quote comparison, and it produces a false winner every time — usually the supplier who has quietly priced the most risk into the smallest number.
| Incoterm | Price covers up to | You arrange and pay for | Risk passes to you at |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXW | Goods at the factory gate | Inland haulage, export clearance, freight, insurance, import | The factory gate |
| FOB | Goods loaded on the vessel at the named port | Ocean freight, insurance, import clearance, duty | On board at the port |
| CIF | Goods loaded, plus ocean freight and minimum insurance to the named port | Import clearance, duty, inland delivery | On board at the port |
| DDP | Goods delivered to your named address | Almost nothing, except your own receiving | At your door |
For a first-time importer comparing three factories, ask all three for FOB on the same named port as your common basis, and treat EXW as a supplementary line. FOB is easier to compare because inland haulage and export formalities are inside the quoted number instead of hidden in a footnote. Then price the identical forwarder leg yourself onto all three. A higher EXW price can land cheaper once you price the inland leg and export documentation; a DDP price that looks lowest is often a supplier who has priced a slower, cheaper route. The mechanics are in shipping bottles from China: freight, customs and incoterms.
How should you read quote validity and price-lock clauses?
A quoted price is a statement about resin, labour and currency on one date. Validity windows commonly run 15–90 days depending on the supplier and the resin outlook. The date on the quotation is the easy part; the lock condition is what matters.
| Validity clause | What it actually promises | Risk it leaves with you |
|---|---|---|
| Valid 15 days | Price holds only while resin is stable | All of it. A long sampling cycle guarantees a revision |
| Valid 60 days, subject to resin movement | Supplier will try, but can reopen | Most of it — you are the fallback |
| Valid 60 days, price locked | Supplier carries resin risk for two months | None on price, but expect it priced in the headline |
| Valid 90 days, locked, quantity confirmed | Locked against a firm order quantity | You must order at that quantity or lose the lock |
Three things to establish in writing. What the price is locked against — resin index, quantity, or both. In which currency it settles, because a quote in your currency puts the exposure on the supplier and a quote in theirs puts it on you. And what happens at the deposit date if the window has expired — re-quote, or honour. Longer validity is rarely free: it usually appears as a slightly higher headline, a smaller discount at the higher tier, or a shorter payment term. Ask where it sits rather than assuming.
What buyers actually asked us
Real questions from inquiries we handled. Company names, countries and order quantities have been removed, because those are our customers’ business, not ours to publish.
“Please quote the container pieces for each annual volume tier, the FOB price, and the tier prices. We also need the import data to complete our documentation: incoterm, tariff heading, certificate of origin, dangerous goods yes or no, total shipment weight, weight per carton, units per carton, total cartons, units per pallet, pallet dimensions, number of pallets, units to bring, transport mode and port of loading. The price supplied must apply for one year.” — personal care company, Latin America
“This is a custom mould / OEM project rather than a stock item. We need a quotation that separates the tooling cost from the unit price, so we can see how the mould pays back across our first orders.” — OEM project buyer, South Asia
“Could you quote the bottles and the caps as separate line items? My cap quantity will be larger than my bottle quantity, and I would like the freight shown on its own line as well.” — bath and shower brand, North America
Three mistakes we see every year
1. Comparing a bundled set price against a body-only price. One factory quotes the finished set, another quotes the bare bottle, and the gap looks like a 40% saving. It is a different product. Ask for a body-only line on every quote so the comparison exists, then add the closure, liner and decoration back yourself.
2. Letting sample charges land inside the unit price. A supplier who waives or discounts sample fees to win the comparison is moving cost, not removing it. Ask whether the sample fee is credited against the first order, refundable at a stated order quantity, or simply gone — and get the answer on the quotation.
3. Comparing different freight bases. EXW against FOB, or one supplier’s FOB against another supplier’s DDP, makes the cheaper-looking quote the more expensive one once you price your own forwarder. Force a single incoterm and a single named port across all three, then add the identical freight leg to each.
How to run a three-quote comparison without a spreadsheet
One page, eight columns, three suppliers. Fill it only from written quotations — if a cell cannot be filled from the document, the document is incomplete, and that is a finding in itself.
- Write one specification page — capacity, material, gram weight, neck finish, colour — and send the identical file to all three factories
- Ask for the same eight lines: body, closure, liner, decoration, setup, packaging, freight, total
- Fix the quantity at the same tier for all three, not each supplier’s own MOQ
- Fix the incoterm at FOB on one named port, and request EXW as a separate line
- Fix the currency, and record the quote validity window and its lock condition
- Add the same carton spec and the same container-loading assumptions to each
- Price your own forwarder leg identically onto all three, then compute landed cost per unit
- Rank on landed cost, then check gram weight, defect allowance and lead time before signing
The specification itself is worth getting right — the five numbers on a bottle spec sheet that matter covers which ones decide price. If the cheapest landed quote is also the one that states its gram weight, its validity window and its lock condition, you have probably found the right supplier.
Frequently asked questions
Should I ask suppliers to quote against each other’s price?
No. Asking a factory to “beat USD 0.42” invites a thinner bottle rather than a better price. Share the specification you are comparing on, not the numbers, and let each supplier quote against the same written spec.
How many tiers should a quotation contain?
At least three: 5,000, 10,000 and 25,000 at our factory. One tier cannot show you a curve, and the curve tells you where the real floor is and whether a bigger order is worth anything.
Is EXW or FOB better for comparing suppliers?
FOB, on the same named port, because it includes inland haulage and export clearance in the quoted number. EXW comparisons hide those costs and are only meaningful if you have your own forwarder’s rates for all three origins.
What is a normal quote validity period?
Commonly 15–90 days depending on the supplier and the resin outlook. Ask what the price is locked against — resin index, quantity or both — and whether it is honoured or merely re-quoted at expiry. Longer validity usually costs money somewhere in the quote.
Should tooling be a separate line when comparing quotes?
Yes, always, with the amortisation basis stated. A supplier offering free tooling may be recovering it in the unit price. Put the mould cost on its own line and divide it by your realistic lifetime volume before you compare.
What if one quote is much lower than the other two?
Usually one of three things: a thinner specification, an incomplete quote missing the closure or decoration, or a price that will not hold. Ask for the missing inputs in writing before you conclude anything.
About Shijin Packaging
Shijin Packaging Products Co., Ltd. has been manufacturing plastic packaging in Shenzhen, Huizhou and Guangzhou since 2003. We hold more than 2,000 existing moulds, run ISO 9001, GRS and SGS audited production, and ship roughly 500,000 bottles a day for cosmetic, personal care, household, car care and food-grade customers. We quote to a fixed written specification, on the same eight lines, so three quotes can be compared without anyone guessing what was left out.
Send us your specification and any competing quotes you already have: we will quote against the same written spec, list every line separately, and tell you plainly where the differences actually come from.