Quote gaps
A quotation's silences are the finding.
Price is the easiest line to compare and the least useful on its own. We read the whole document for what it does not say, and name the thing to ask for.
Line by line
What the quote says, next to what it leaves open.
The layout puts the two side by side because the omission is the finding. Where a term is sound we say so and move on — a page of flagged rows would mean nothing.
| Term | What the quote says | What it leaves open | Ask for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incoterm | FOB port of loading | Freight, insurance and destination charges are yours and appear nowhere on this document. On a full container they are rarely trivial. | A CIF price to your port |
| Payment | 30% / 70% before shipment | The balance falls due before you or your agent has seen the goods. There is no inspection step anywhere in the sequence. | Balance against a bill of lading copy |
| Lead time | 35 days | Whether the clock starts at deposit or at confirmed artwork is not stated. Public holidays in the origin country may fall inside the window. | The start event, in writing |
| Packing | Export carton | No carton dimensions and no gross weight, so nobody can check whether the quantity fills the container you are paying to move. | A packing list |
| Warranty | Quality guaranteed | No period, no remedy and no process. A phrase like this is not a warranty and will not survive a claim. | Period, remedy and who pays freight |
| Unit price | Stated per piece | Within the range we see for this material and quantity on these terms. Nothing to ask for here. | — |
Illustrative rows. A real analysis quotes the exact wording from your quotation and the exact line it appears on.
The eight terms
Every quotation is read against the same list.
- Unit price and currency
- Against the range we see for the material, the quantity and the terms quoted. A price well under the range is a question, not a bargain.
- Minimum order quantity
- Whether the MOQ is per product, per colour or per variant — three very different numbers that are often written the same way.
- Incoterm
- Where the supplier's responsibility ends and yours begins, and which of the costs between those two points are missing from the document.
- Payment schedule
- What is due when, and whether any part of it falls after an event you can actually verify.
- Lead time
- The number, the start event, and whether the window crosses a period when the factory will be closed.
- Packing and carton data
- Dimensions, gross weight and units per carton — the figures that decide whether the order fills the container.
- Warranty and remedy
- The period, what is actually promised, and who pays to move goods if something is wrong.
- HS code and duty
- Whether the code stated matches the goods described, and what duty that implies at your port. The final classification is your broker's call, not ours.
Freight and duty figures in a report are indicative ranges for planning. Get a written rate from your forwarder before you compare suppliers on total cost, and confirm classification with your customs broker.
Send two to five quotations and the specification.
We restate them on one basis, list what each leaves open, and give you the questions to send back. What we cannot compare, we say we cannot compare.