On this page
- What a quote has to make clear
- The quote, line by line
- The seven lines that are usually missing
- A manufacturing quote is not a landed-cost estimate
- What to send so a quote can be accurate
- Reading the phrases that move a quote
- Why a quote is a range until the fabric is fixed
- How to ask for a revised quote without restarting
- Asking several suppliers at once
- FAQ
- The quote comparison scorecard
Two quotes arrive for the same style. One is a single line: a unit price, a minimum, and a lead time. The other runs to a page: a unit price broken into fabric, trims, make, finishing, packing and freight, with the assumptions stated underneath. The single-line quote looks cleaner and, on the number alone, slightly cheaper.
Six months later the difference is visible. The single-line quote has been revised twice — once when the fabric was confirmed, once when the packing specification changed — and the final cost sits above both original numbers. The itemised quote was slightly higher at the start and did not move, because everything that could have moved it was already written down.
The difference is completeness, not honesty. A quote is not a price. It is a set of assumptions with a number attached, and the assumptions are what you are actually buying.
This article takes a quote apart line by line, names the seven lines that are usually missing, and explains why a factory quote is not the same document as a landed-cost estimate.
What a quote has to make clear
Two directions have to be complete for a quote to mean anything: what you send, and what comes back.
| The two directions | What has to be there |
|---|---|
| You → factory | Style and construction, quantities per size and colour, fabric, trims, labelling, packing, delivery term and destination, target dates |
| Factory → you | Unit price and what it covers, the basis it is quoted on, the minimum and what it applies to, the lead-time start point, exclusions, and validity |
The tests are simple. Can you tell what the number includes? Can you tell what would change it? If either answer is no, the quote is not yet comparable to another.
The quote, line by line
Below is the structure a comparable quote has. It is a specimen, not a price list — no figures are shown, because the numbers are the least transferable part of the document and the structure is the part that matters.
| # | Line | What it must state | The error it prevents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Product | Style reference, description, and the version of the tech pack or specification priced | A quote for a different version of the same style, compared as though it were the same |
| 02 | Quantity | Total, per size, and per colour | A price built on the cheapest quantity split |
| 03 | Unit price | The figure, the currency, and what it includes — fabric, trims, make, finishing, packing | Two quotes compared across currencies, or across different inclusions |
| 04 | Minimum | The figure, and whether it applies per style, per colour or per construction | A minimum read as per style when it is per colour |
| 05 | Fabric assumption | Which fabric is priced, and whether it is confirmed or assumed | A price at a generic cloth, read as a price at yours |
| 06 | Packing | The packing specification priced — polybag, carton, marks | A delivered cost that moves at shipping for a reason nobody wrote down |
| 07 | Incoterm and named place | The term, the edition, and the named place — not just "FOB" | Responsibility transferring at a point neither side has named |
| 08 | Payment | Deposit and balance, the trigger for each, and the method | A cash-flow assumption discovered after the order is placed |
| 09 | Lead time | The duration and its start point | A duration that looks better because its clock starts earlier |
| 10 | Validity | How long the price holds, and what it assumes about fabric price and exchange rates | A price treated as fixed after the inputs moved |
| 11 | Exclusions | Freight, duty, testing, inspection, tooling, and anything else not included | Exclusions mistaken for costs that appear later |
Reading those eleven lines in order is the whole exercise. The rest of this article annotates the ones that are most often written vaguely enough to cause a dispute.
The seven lines that are usually missing
Each of these is a line that a quote can omit while still looking complete. Each one moves money or responsibility.
1. Currency
A unit price without a currency is not a price. This sounds obvious and it is skipped constantly, because both parties assume the local convention.
It matters more than it looks, because currency connects to two other lines. If fabric is bought in one currency and the garment sold in another, the quote carries an exchange-rate assumption — and whether that is fixed or passed through is a commercial term, not a formality. If the terms are FOB in one currency and the freight quoted in another, the delivered comparison involves two conversions and a date for each.
Write the currency on the price line, and state what happens if the rate moves before the balance is paid.
2. Payment terms
"Payment terms" is not one term. It is at least four, and each changes the commercial exposure by a different amount:
| Component | What it decides |
|---|---|
| Deposit | The percentage paid at order, and what triggers it — order confirmation, fabric booking, or production start |
| Balance | The percentage paid at the end, and what triggers it — inspection pass, shipping documents, or arrival |
| Method | How the money moves. A bank transfer, a letter of credit and a documentary collection allocate risk differently between buyer and seller |
| Currency of payment | Which is not always the currency of the quote if the rate is fixed at a stated date |
The line to look for is the trigger, not just the split. A 30/70 split with the balance due on "delivery" and one due on "shipping documents" are different commitments by a margin of weeks, and they carry different risk if the goods are delayed in transit.
3. Incoterm, edition and named place
"FOB" is not a complete term. An Incoterm has three parts: the rule, the edition, and the named place. FOB Shenzhen, Incoterms 2020 is a term. FOB on its own is a shorthand that leaves the transfer point unstated.
The reason this matters is that the Incoterm decides where cost and risk move from seller to buyer, and those two can move at different points. Two consequences are worth knowing even if you never read the rules:
- Terms differ in how much of the journey the seller arranges. Ex-works leaves almost everything with the buyer; a delivered term puts almost everything with the seller. Freight, insurance, export documentation and import clearance fall in different places depending on which rule is named.
- The named place is part of the price. A quote that names a different port, city or terminal from the one you assumed is not the same quote, even at the same unit price.
If your quote says only "FOB", the question to ask is one sentence: which place, and which edition? Everything downstream — freight, insurance, duty, and the point at which goods are your risk — depends on the answer.
4. Development, sample and setup charges
These are not part of the unit price and they are not optional. They are development costs, and they usually sit either in the exclusions line or in a separate document:
| Charge | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Sample fee | Material and labour for sample rounds; often partly credited against bulk |
| Pattern fee | Drafting or adapting the block, and grading the range |
| Embroidery or embellishment programming | Digitising a layout so a machine can run it |
| Print setup | Screens or engravings for a printed design, which are per colourway and per repeat |
| Tooling or moulds | Where a component, a hardware item or an accessory requires a made-to-order tool |
Two things to establish about each: is it one-off or per order, and is it credited against bulk. A setup charge that is credited on order is a deposit against commitment; one that is not is a genuine development cost, and it changes the economics of a small first run considerably. Print screens and embroidery programmes are the ones most often forgotten, because they are invisible in a garment and arrive as a line at the end of a development cycle.
5. Testing and compliance
Where a market requires testing, the cost of that testing has to be assigned. Garment testing is usually charged per test, per component, or per style-and-colour combination, and it happens on a schedule that sits between production and shipping.
The line to look for is not the fee — it is whether it is included, excluded, or excluded-but-arranged. A quote that excludes testing and does not say who commissions it leaves a task unowned at the point in the calendar where there is least slack. If you are selling into a market that requires specific testing, that requirement belongs in the brief, not only in the quote.
6. Inspection
Inspection splits the same way. Factory quality control is part of production and is normally inside the price. A third-party inspection is normally a separate cost, usually carried by the buyer, and it needs to be planned into the calendar rather than added at the end.
The line to look for: does the quote state who inspects, at which stages, and against which standard? A quote that is silent on inspection has not excluded it so much as not decided it. Inline versus final inspection sets out what each stage can and cannot do, which is the basis for deciding where your own inspection money goes.
7. Quote date and revision number
A quote with no date and no revision number is difficult to refer to and easy to misread. Two documents with the same unit price and different dates may be priced on different fabric costs, and there is no way to tell which is current.
The practical format is short: the date issued, a revision number, and the change that produced this revision. When a quote is revised, the previous revision should be superseded explicitly rather than left in circulation. This is what makes a later conversation about "the agreed price" a matter of record rather than recall.
A manufacturing quote is not a landed-cost estimate
The most expensive misunderstanding in sourcing is treating the factory quote as the cost of the goods in your warehouse.
A factory quote prices the garment, on stated terms, at a named place. A landed-cost estimate prices the garment plus everything it takes to get it into your warehouse — and most of that is not the factory's to quote.
| Layer | Whose document it lives in | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Unit price × quantity | The factory quote | The starting point |
| Packing specification | Either | Sometimes inside the unit price, sometimes added. Carton size affects freight volume, so this line moves two costs |
| Inland transport to the named place | Either — depends on the Incoterm | Decided by the rule and the named place |
| Export documentation and customs formalities | Either — depends on the Incoterm | Changes hands with the term |
| International freight | Freight forwarder | Quoted per shipment, per mode, and varies with volume and season |
| Insurance | Forwarder or broker | Depends on the term and on what you choose to cover |
| Import duty and tariffs | Customs broker | Depends on the product's classification and the applicable rules of origin; preferential arrangements can change it materially |
| Customs brokerage and clearance | Broker | A service fee, not a tax |
| Destination inland delivery | Carrier or broker | Often overlooked; it is a real cost on a delivered comparison |
Two consequences follow, and both change how a quote should be used.
A cheaper factory quote does not necessarily mean a cheaper landed cost. Two suppliers quoting the same unit price at different Incoterms are not quoting the same delivered cost, and a supplier whose packing specification is bulkier can cost more in freight than it saves in labour.
The comparison has to be made in one currency, at one place, at one time. Duty, freight and insurance are quoted per shipment and move; the factory line does not. The practical approach is to build the landed estimate around a quotation date, and to keep it separate from the factory's document rather than blending them into one number. What affects clothing manufacturing costs covers the factory side; the layers above it belong to your forwarder and your broker.
What to send so a quote can be accurate
This is what a factory needs in order to answer properly. It is not a formality — each line changes the number, and a missing line does not remove the cost, it moves it to a later conversation.
| What to provide | Why it changes the quote |
|---|---|
| Style and construction — reference, tech pack, or a described construction | Sets the operations and the pattern work required |
| Quantity per size and per colour | Drives fabric booking, marker efficiency and the quantity the price is based on |
| Fabric — specified, or a clear brief if it is still open | Usually the largest single cost item |
| Trims and closures | Small in value, significant in handling and risk |
| Labelling and branding — woven labels, hangtags, packaging | Adds material and an assembly step |
| Packing specification — polybag, carton, carton marks | Changes labour and freight volume |
| Destination, delivery term and named place | Determines which costs sit with whom, and which market requirements apply |
| Testing and compliance requirements | Assigns a cost and a task before the calendar gets tight |
| Target dates | Decides whether the order fits a normal or an expedited schedule |
| What is still open | Turns an assumption into a question, which is cheaper |
The three lines buyers most often leave out
Quantity per colour. Total quantity tells a factory how much fabric to book; quantity per colour tells it how many dye lots and how many separate runs. The two produce very different quotes.
The delivery term and named place. This is what decides whether freight and insurance sit in the factory's document or yours, and therefore whether the two quotes you are comparing are even the same kind of number.
What is still open. A buyer with an unresolved fabric choice is in a normal position. A buyer with an unresolved fabric choice who does not say so receives a quote built on an assumption — usually the cheapest available option rather than the intended one.
Where the brief is thin, the factory's alternative to guessing is to ask, which is why a good first reply to an incomplete brief is a short list of questions rather than a number. How to request a clothing manufacturing quote covers that exchange from the buyer's side.
Reading the phrases that move a quote
| What the quote says | What it usually means | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| "Price excludes fabric" | Fabric is priced separately, or after selection | Price the fabric in the same document, or accept two documents |
| "MOQ per style" | The minimum applies to the style as a whole, across colours | Whether a per-colour minimum also applies |
| "Lead time 20 days from order" | The clock starts before sampling has finished | What the start point is, and what happens if sampling moves |
| "Subject to fabric confirmation" | The number will move; it is a range with a midpoint | What the number becomes at the intended fabric |
| "FOB" | A rule, without a place or an edition | Which port, which terminal, which edition |
| "Price valid 30 days" | Input costs assumed at the date of quoting | Whether fabric price and exchange-rate movement are passed through |
| "Sample cost deductible on order" | Development cost recovers against bulk | The exact condition for recovery |
| "Packing: standard export" | A default packing assumption | The specification, because it changes freight |
| "Duty and clearance excluded" | The quoted number is a factory cost, not a landed cost | Who quotes the layers above it, and on what basis |
The two lines to read first
The basis. If a quote does not state the quantity, the construction and the packing it is priced against, every other line is provisional — including the price.
The delivery term. It decides whether the number you are looking at is a factory cost or a partially delivered one, which is the difference between two quotes being comparable and being two different documents.
Why a quote is a range until the fabric is fixed
Fabric is usually the largest single item in a garment's cost, and it is also the item most often still open when the first quote is requested. That is why a quote written before fabric is confirmed is a range with a number in the middle rather than a commitment.
Three things follow.
The quote is a placeholder until the fabric is named. Expect it to move, and ask what it moves to under the intended fabric rather than accepting the midpoint.
Quantity per colour drives the fabric booking. A colour count that changes after quoting changes the fabric purchase, the number of lots and often the minimum.
Construction and finishing decisions move the labour lines. Interlining, lining, closures and press method are all labour and material, and each of them has an answer cheaper than the intended one. A quote built without those answers is built on the cheapest version of the garment — which is why the difference between two quotes is often a construction difference rather than a rate difference.
The practical consequence is not that quotes are unreliable. It is that a quote becomes firm at the point the specification becomes firm — and the buyer controls most of that date.
How to ask for a revised quote without restarting
Quotes move, and asking for a revision is normal. What makes a revision cheap is keeping the basis stable and naming what changed. The useful form is three lines:
- What changed — one item, named. "Fabric confirmed as the referenced swatch." "Colour count reduced from four to three."
- What did not change — quantity, construction, packing and delivery terms, restated so both sides know the rest of the basis is untouched.
- What you want back — the revised unit price on the same basis, plus a note of anything else that moves, and a revision number.
That structure isolates the variable, prevents the rest of the basis from being reinterpreted, and makes the new number comparable to the old one. A revision request that changes three things at once produces a quote nobody can compare to the previous one — including the buyer. And where a revised quote comes back with a movement the change cannot explain, that is itself information: it usually means something else in the basis was still open, and it is worth asking which line moved rather than accepting or disputing the total.
Asking several suppliers at once
Sending the same brief to several suppliers is normal, and it only works if the brief is identical in every direction. The failure mode is subtle: each supplier receives a slightly different version — one gets the packing specification, one gets a target date another does not — and the quotes return on different bases, which is exactly the comparison the exercise was meant to enable.
Three habits keep a multi-supplier round comparable:
Freeze the brief before sending it. One document, sent to everyone, unchanged. If a question reveals something missing, update the brief and resend it to all suppliers rather than answering one privately.
Answer questions in writing, to all. A clarification given to a single supplier is both an advantage the others do not have and a difference in basis.
Ask for the basis in the same terms. State the quantity, construction, packing, delivery term and named place you want priced, so the returned quotes can be read line for line against each other.
FAQ
What should a clothing manufacturing quote include? At minimum: product and specification version, quantities per size and colour, the unit price with its currency and inclusions, the minimum and what it applies to, the fabric assumption, the packing specification, the Incoterm with its edition and named place, payment terms with their triggers, lead time with its start point, validity, and exclusions.
Why does the price change after the first quote? Usually because something in the basis was still open — most often the fabric, the number of colours, or the packing specification. The price did not become less accurate; the basis became more specific.
Is a factory quote the same as a landed cost? No. A factory quote prices the garment on stated terms at a named place. A landed cost adds the layers above that — freight, insurance, duty, brokerage and destination delivery — most of which are quoted by forwarders and brokers rather than by the factory.
Why does the Incoterm need a named place? Because the rule alone does not say where cost and risk transfer. Two quotes naming different places are not quoting the same delivered cost, even at the same unit price, and the place is part of the term rather than a detail of it.
Is the lowest quote a red flag? Not automatically. It is a prompt to check the basis. The most common reason for a very low quote is a very light assumption — a cheaper fabric, a simpler construction, a packing specification nobody agreed, or a term that leaves more of the journey with you.
When does a quote become firm? When the specification does. In practice that means fabric, construction, quantities per colour, packing and delivery terms are confirmed and the lead-time start point is agreed. Before that, any number is provisional, whoever wrote it.
What if the brief is not complete yet? Say so. A factory can quote a range and tell you what each open item does to the price. That is more useful than a single number built on a guess — what to send an OEM clothing manufacturer sets out the inputs in the order they are needed.
The quote comparison scorecard
Two quotes can only be compared when the same lines are present in both. Before comparing numbers, check each quote against this list, and mark each row.
| # | Line | Present and specific? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Product and specification version | ☐ | Different versions are different products |
| 2 | Quantity — total, per size, per colour | ☐ | A different split is a different basis |
| 3 | Unit price with currency and inclusions | ☐ | Note which of fabric, trims, make, finishing, packing are inside |
| 4 | Minimum, and what it applies to | ☐ | Per style, per colour, or per construction |
| 5 | Fabric — confirmed or assumed | ☐ | An assumed fabric makes the number a range |
| 6 | Packing specification | ☐ | Moves labour and freight volume together |
| 7 | Incoterm, edition, named place | ☐ | Decides who carries freight, insurance and clearance |
| 8 | Payment terms and their triggers | ☐ | The trigger matters as much as the split |
| 9 | Lead time and its start point | ☐ | Compare start points before comparing durations |
| 10 | Validity and the assumptions behind it | ☐ | Fabric price and exchange-rate assumptions |
| 11 | Exclusions — named, not implied | ☐ | Freight, duty, testing, inspection, tooling |
| 12 | Date and revision number | ☐ | So "the agreed price" is a record, not a recollection |
The verdict rule is simple. If every row is present and specific for both quotes, they are comparable and the comparison is meaningful. If any row is missing from either, the honest conclusion is not "one is cheaper" — it is that you have two documents rather than two quotes, and the next step is a question rather than a negotiation.
That reading takes ten minutes and it is the difference between a price that holds and a price that is revised twice before the order ships. If you want a quote written against a stated basis rather than a headline figure, send us the brief and the quantities. If you are developing rather than producing, ODM development sets out how the development side is quoted, how a manufacturer calculates MOQ and what MOQ means in clothing manufacturing cover the quantity lines, and what actually moves a womenswear manufacturing price explains where the money goes before you ask anyone to price it.