Two factories quote the same wooden tray. One says $6.20, the other says $7.45. The instinct is to take the first one and negotiate it down to $5.90. That instinct is where a lot of money gets lost.
In most cases the two quotations are not quoting the same product. They are quoting two different sets of assumptions about species and grade, moisture content, how many times a part gets sanded, how many coats it gets, what the carton is made of, and who pays when something goes wrong. The difference isn't greed. It's specification.
This is what I look at when I open a quotation — in the order I look at it.
Where the money actually goes
Below is a realistic unit cost structure for a mid-complexity solid wood item — say a branded serving tray with laser engraving, quoted at $6.80 FOB, 200 pieces. The percentages vary by product, but the shape of the graph is remarkably consistent across the cluster.
Two things to notice. First, material is not the dominant cost in most wooden products — labour is, and labour is exactly where an optimistic quotation quietly saves money. Second, the two smallest-looking lines, decoration and hardware, are the ones most likely to be missing entirely from a cheap quote.
The eight lines, and what to look for on each
Ask: "Which species and grade is this priced on, and what moisture content?"
Ask: "What yield is this calculated at?" A factory that can answer has actually costed your product. One that can't has guessed.
Ask: "How many setups, and is anything four-axis?"
Ask: "What grit sequence and how many coats is this priced on?"
Ask: "Is the setup fee included, and at what minimum quantity?"
Ask: "Does any component have a minimum above my order quantity?"
Ask: "Is the printed packaging minimum the same as my order quantity, and has the carton been transit-tested?"
Ask: "How long is this valid, and what happens if the exchange rate moves?"
Ten things a wooden product quotation must state in writing
- Species — commercial and botanical name — plus grade
- Moisture content at time of machining, and how it's verified
- Thickness and all fit-critical dimensions with tolerances
- Board construction: solid, finger-jointed, or engineered
- Grit sequence and number of finishing coats
- Coating product code, colour reference and gloss level
- Decoration method, area and whether setup is included
- Packaging specification, including carton grade and test method
- Tooling cost, and whether it's refundable at volume
- Defect allowance, payment terms, Incoterm, and validity date
A quotation that states all ten is worth more than a lower quotation that states three, even when the lower one looks better on the day.
Specification is only half of it. Even a complete quotation produces a bad outcome if the approved sample drifts from production — that failure mode is covered separately in why your wooden sample doesn't match production. For what it costs when compliance is missed entirely, see the failure case library.
Why the cheapest quote usually isn't
There are three reasons a quotation comes in low: the factory is genuinely more efficient, the factory has left something out, or the factory is planning to recover the margin later.
The second and third are far more common than the first. And here's the mechanism that makes them expensive: your negotiating position collapses the moment production starts. Before tooling, you have twenty suppliers who want your order. After tooling, you have one. Every unspecified item — the extra sanding pass, the better carton, the stainless screw — becomes a change order priced by a supplier who knows you have no alternative and a ship date to protect.
I've watched a $5.90 quotation land at $7.80 by container two, while the $7.45 quotation stayed at $7.45 for three years. Nobody was cheating. One quote was complete and the other was optimistic.
- "What exactly is included, line by line?" — forces the blanks into the open.
- "What is not included that I will need to pay for later?" — the most useful question in sourcing, and almost never asked.
- "How long is this price valid, and what moves it?" — tells you whether it's a real number or a placeholder.
The quality of the answers tells you more about the supplier than the price does.
Where a drawing saves more than a negotiation
Negotiation gets you 3–5% if you're good. A drawing that removes one setup, improves nesting yield from 60% to 72%, and specifies a grit sequence that turns out to be one pass fewer than the factory assumed — that gets you 15–25%, permanently, on every reorder.
It also has a side effect worth mentioning: a complete drawing makes quotations comparable. Once every factory is quoting the same specification, the price difference between them finally means something.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about reading and comparing Chinese wooden product quotations.
Why do two Chinese factories quote different prices for the same product?
Usually because they are not quoting the same product. The difference sits in unstated assumptions: species and grade, moisture content, yield, machine setups, number of sanding passes, coating system, hardware specification and packaging. A complete quotation states all of them; an optimistic one leaves blanks and recovers the margin later through change orders.
What is yield in wooden product manufacturing?
Yield is the proportion of purchased lumber that ends up in finished parts — commonly 55–75% for solid wood, depending on part size, grain direction requirements and defect layout. It is almost never shown on a quotation, but it drives the material line, and it is the single biggest lever a design change can pull. Asking a factory what yield it calculated at is a fast way to tell who has actually costed your product.
What should a wooden product quotation include?
Ten things: species (commercial and botanical name) and grade; moisture content at machining; thickness and fit-critical dimensions with tolerances; board construction (solid, finger-jointed or engineered); grit sequence and number of coats; coating product code, colour reference and gloss level; decoration method and whether setup is included; packaging specification including carton grade and test method; tooling cost and whether it is refundable at volume; and defect allowance, payment terms, Incoterm and validity date.
What is a typical MOQ for custom wooden products?
For custom solid wood items in this cluster, 200 pieces is the working minimum. Below that, setup costs dominate the unit price, and printed packaging often carries its own minimum regardless of your order quantity. Individual components such as magnets can also carry supplier minimums above your order size — always ask.
Why is the cheapest quote often not the cheapest?
Because your negotiating position collapses once tooling starts. Before tooling you have twenty suppliers competing for the order; after tooling you have one. Every unspecified item — an extra sanding pass, a better carton, a stainless screw instead of zinc-plated — becomes a change order priced by a supplier who knows you have a ship date to protect. A quote at $5.90 that lands at $7.80 by the second container is a common outcome.
How much does tooling cost for wooden products?
It varies widely with complexity: jigs and fixtures for a simple part are modest, while multi-cavity moulds or complex form tools are not. The three questions that matter are whether the tooling cost is quoted separately, whether it is refundable above a volume threshold, and who owns it. Always ask all three.
What payment terms are standard with Chinese factories?
30/70 — 30% deposit, 70% before shipment — is standard for a first order, with more favourable terms possible once the relationship is established. Also confirm the Incoterm (FOB is usual), the currency, and the validity period: lumber prices and exchange rates both move, and a quotation with no validity date can be reopened.
Send me two quotations and I'll tell you which one is real
I'll read them line by line and show you what each factory has and hasn't priced — usually in under a day. First review is free.