You send the same request to three Chinese factories.
A few days later, the answers come back:
€8.20.
€9.10.
€11.50.
Same product. Same quantity. Same specifications.
At first, the choice seems easy.
Why pay €11.50 if someone else can do it for €8.20?
But before choosing the cheapest quotation, there is one thing we always check:
Are they really quoting the same product?
Very often, this is where things get interesting.
The Product Name Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story
A product name or a photo is rarely enough to compare suppliers.
Take an aluminium profile.
Three factories may all say, “Yes, we can produce it.”
But are they using the same aluminium grade?
Is the thickness the same?
What about the surface treatment?
Are the tolerances the same?
What looks like one product on an RFQ can actually mean slightly different things to three different factories.
The same happens with plastic products, textiles, glass, furniture and many other categories.
A small change in the specification can have a real impact on the factory price.
That’s why, when we compare quotations, we look at the details first and the price second.
The Cheapest Material May Not Be a Problem
A lower price doesn’t always mean lower quality.
Sometimes a supplier has simply found a more efficient way to manufacture the product.
In other cases, they may be using a different material.
That can be perfectly acceptable if the material still meets the client’s requirements.
For example, perhaps the product doesn’t need the highest available material grade. A more economical option could work just as well.
But the buyer needs to know about the change.
This is why, instead of simply asking a factory to “reduce the price”, it can be more useful to ask:
“Is there anything we can adjust to reduce the cost without affecting the performance we need?”
That’s a much more productive discussion.
The factory may suggest a different material, a simpler finish or a more efficient production method.
Then you can decide whether the saving is worth the change.
Different Factories Have Different Costs
Chinese factories are not all working with the same equipment or production setup.
One factory may have a highly automated line.
Another may rely more on manual work.
One may already produce thousands of similar units every month.
Another may need to make changes to its production line for your order.
Naturally, their costs will be different.
This is one reason we don’t assume that a higher quotation means a factory is simply “too expensive”.
The factory may have better equipment, more control over the production process or lower rejection rates.
On the other hand, a very low quotation deserves a closer look.
Neither price tells the full story by itself.
Quantity Can Change the Price Quite a Lot
Here’s a simple example.
A factory quotes:
€12 for 500 pieces
and:
€9.80 for 5,000 pieces.
That’s normal.
A larger order allows the factory to spread setup costs and other fixed costs over more units.
It may also make production planning easier.
This is why a proper China supplier price comparison needs to use the same quantity for every supplier.
Comparing €12 at 500 pieces with €9.80 at 5,000 pieces doesn’t tell you which factory is cheaper.
It only tells you that they are quoting different production volumes.
Then There Is the Packaging
Packaging is another detail that can easily get lost in an RFQ.
One supplier may include a standard export carton.
Another may offer stronger cartons with individual protection.
A third may include pallets, labels or customised retail packaging.
The product itself may be identical.
The quotation isn’t.
Packaging can also affect your logistics cost.
If one factory uses larger cartons, you may fit fewer products into a container.
That €0.20 saving on the product could disappear once you calculate the additional freight.
This is why we prefer to look at the product and its packaging together.
Tooling Can Make Two Prices Look Very Different
Custom products are another good example.
Let’s say you need a new mould.
Factory A already has a mould that can be adapted.
Factory B needs to make one from scratch.
Factory A may quote a higher unit price but almost no tooling cost.
Factory B may offer a lower unit price but charge several thousand euros for the mould.
Which one is cheaper?
It depends on how many pieces you plan to produce.
For a small order, the existing mould may be the better option.
For a long-term project, the new mould could make more sense.
Again, the unit price alone doesn’t give you the answer.
What About Testing and Certifications?
European buyers sometimes discover this one a little too late.
The supplier’s quotation looks good.
Then you realise that the required testing isn’t included.
Or the factory has quoted its standard product, while your project requires additional documentation or certification for the European market.
Suddenly, the price is no longer the same.
When comparing Chinese supplier quotations, make sure everyone is working from the same requirements.
Otherwise, you may be comparing a complete quotation with an incomplete one.
Check the Incoterm Too
This is another easy one to miss.
A factory quotes:
€10 EXW
Another says:
€10.60 FOB
The first number looks cheaper.
But these are not equivalent prices.
The supplier responsibilities and included costs are different.
The same applies when comparing EXW, FOB and CIF quotations.
Before deciding which Chinese supplier offers the best price, check what is included and where the supplier’s responsibility ends.
Otherwise, a “cheap” quotation can become much more expensive once the missing costs are added.
When One Supplier Is Much Cheaper
This is usually when we start asking more questions.
Imagine three suppliers are around €10, and one comes back at €7.50.
That’s interesting.
Maybe they have a very efficient production line.
Maybe they already manufacture a similar product.
Maybe they have better purchasing conditions for the raw materials.
All good reasons.
But there could also be something different in the specification.
Maybe the material isn’t the same.
Maybe packaging isn’t included.
Maybe testing isn’t included.
Maybe the quotation is based on a different quantity.
We don’t assume the cheapest factory is wrong.
We simply want to understand why the price is lower.
Once we know that, the client can make a much better decision.
We Don’t Ask Every Supplier to Match the Lowest Price
This is tempting.
You receive a €7.50 quotation and send it to the other factories:
“Another supplier offers €7.50. Can you match it?”
Sometimes they will.
But that’s not necessarily a good thing.
If the factory has no way to produce the product profitably at €7.50, something may have to change.
Perhaps the material.
Perhaps the packaging.
Perhaps the production process.
You may not notice the difference immediately.
It can appear later, during production.
A better approach is to understand the price difference first.
If a supplier has a genuine cost advantage, that’s great.
If the lower price comes with a compromise, at least you know what you’re accepting.
How We Compare Supplier Quotations
When we receive several quotations for a project, we don’t simply highlight the lowest number.
We first make sure the quotations are actually comparable.
We check the:
- Product specifications
- Materials
- Order quantity
- Packaging
- Tooling
- Testing and certifications
- Production lead time
- Incoterms
- Logistics requirements
Only then can we make a meaningful China supplier price comparison.
And sometimes, the cheapest supplier is still the right choice.
There is nothing wrong with choosing the lowest price when the products, specifications and conditions are genuinely comparable.
The problem is choosing it without knowing why it is cheaper.
Look Beyond the Factory Price
When buying from China, it’s easy to focus on the number written next to “Unit Price”.
But that’s only the beginning.
Your real cost may also include packaging, tooling, testing, transport and other project-specific expenses.
A €9 product can end up costing more than a €10 product if the first quotation leaves several important costs out.
So when three Chinese factories give you three different prices, don’t immediately ask:
“Which one is cheapest?”
Ask:
“What is different between these three offers?”
That question usually leads to a much better sourcing decision.
At Eurasia Consultis, this is how we approach supplier quotations. We don’t just collect prices. We try to understand what is behind them, so European buyers can compare suppliers on something more meaningful than the final number on a spreadsheet.
Because in China sourcing, the cheapest quotation isn’t always the cheapest solution.