A useful quotation starts with a clear brief. Prepare these details to make product selection and pricing more precise.
Planning illustration only; not a construction drawing or supporting evidence.
01
Identify the product and intended use
Include product references or visual examples and explain where the surface will be installed. A countertop, floor and exterior assembly can require different specifications.
02
Provide dimensions, quantities and destination
State the requested sizes, thicknesses, finish and approximate quantity with units. Add the delivery country and port, expected timing and any sample requirements.
03
Ask for a model-specific confirmation
Confirm availability, minimum order quantity, batch management, packaging, lead time and the applicable technical documents. Request a written specification before placing an order.
A low headline price is difficult to evaluate when suppliers have priced different scopes. A useful enquiry sets out the commercial basis clearly enough that you can compare the same material, delivered quantity and responsibilities.
01
Separate a target from a requirement
Mark each line as essential, preferred or open to an alternative. A fixed application requirement deserves a direct answer; an inspiration image can remain a design direction. This prevents an attractive substitute from being mistaken for an approved equivalent.
Name the buying unit: square metres, pieces, slabs or finished parts.
State whether prices should include processing and export packing.
02
Request a quotation with visible assumptions
AI-generated design illustration; not a supplied product or completed project.
Ask the quotation to show its currency, agreed trade term and named place, price basis, validity and payment proposal. If freight is estimated separately, keep it separate in your comparison. A missing cost should become a question rather than an assumed saving.
Record samples, tooling or handling charged separately.
Compare quantities after the same rounding and spare allowance.
03
Manage the clarification round
AI-generated design illustration; not a supplied product or completed project.
Give unresolved questions an owner and a response field. Send the same revision to every shortlisted supplier and retain the earlier version. When a supplier proposes a change, assess the affected appearance, dimensions and supply scope before accepting the revised price.
Keep one row for each deviation from the requested scope.
Agree what information is still needed before a firm offer.
04
Hypothetical exercise: reconcile two offers before ranking them
AI-generated design illustration; not a supplied product or completed project.
Imagine a distributor requesting 600 m² of a tile model. Offer A lists the material and export packing with a named export port, while Offer B lists material for collection at the factory. The prices cannot yet be ranked on the same delivery basis. Start a comparison row for packaging, collection, transport to port and the exact named handover location. Ask each supplier to confirm what its proposed trade term includes, then ask your freight provider to identify the remaining services. Also check whether both quotations cover the same number of complete cartons: an area requested by the buyer and an area offered after carton rounding may differ. Keep the quoted quantity alongside the unit price instead of silently adjusting one figure. This exercise does not assign a market price or recommend a commercial term; it demonstrates how an initially cheaper offer can simply describe fewer services.
Write “confirmed”, “excluded” or “awaiting clarification” for each cost boundary.
Compare totals only after both suppliers have answered the same revision of the scope.
A PRACTICAL BUYER’S REFERENCE
A quotation comparison sheet
A quotation comparison sheet
Line item
Check in the offer
Useful clarification
Material basis
Exact model and supplied format
Is the alternative separately identified?
Price boundary
Trade term and named place
Which transport leg is excluded?
Extra operations
Cutting, edging and packing
Is each operation included or optional?
What to include in a wholesale enquiry
Questions buyers ask
Should I send only a budget per square metre?+
A target budget helps identify options, but it does not define the offered scope. Include the application and quantity unit so the response can explain which combination the budget covers.
Can I compare a slab price with a finished countertop price?+
Only after separating the material, fabrication and delivery elements. Finished parts include work and yield assumptions that are absent from a raw slab rate.
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starts with a surface.
Tell us what you are sourcing. We will help turn your requirements into a clear product enquiry.
