3Sourcing and costs
How to Compare Suppliers Without Losing Track of the Costs
A low unit price is useful only when you know what it buys. Two storage bags with the same product name may have different fabric, dimensions, zippers and packaging. Before comparing suppliers, give them the same specification and ask what their quote includes. The figures in this guide are illustrative, not supplier offers.
Make the quotes comparable
A useful enquiry states the material, open dimensions, folded size, packaging, quantity and delivery destination. Include the variant or model you want. If the quote is for a US warehouse, say which location; if it is for delivery to a customer, provide the destination needed to price that service.
Ask suppliers to identify substitutions and exclusions. A cheaper quote may use thinner material or exclude individual packaging. Neither is automatically unacceptable, but the difference should be a decision you make rather than a surprise after payment.
Save the quote, specification and date together. A price copied into a spreadsheet without its conditions is hard to use when you return to it later. Reconfirm availability and the current quote before ordering.
Give the sample a job to do
Inspect a sample against the use you plan to describe to customers. For a clothing bag, load it with the intended contents, close the zipper, carry it and check whether its dimensions work in the proposed storage space. Look at seams and folding points as well as the product's appearance.
Write down the action, what happened and whether it met your requirement. Photos and dates make a follow-up question easier to answer. If you cannot reproduce a supplier's capacity claim, ask how it was measured before repeating it in your listing.
A good sample does not guarantee that every unit in a later batch will be identical. Agree on the specification and a practical inspection process before increasing the order. A failed sample may justify changing the specification or trying a different supplier; it is useful information even when it delays the launch.
Keep the unit calculation and the batch calculation separate
Suppose the retail price is $40, the purchase cost is $8 and US shipping is $6. The remainder is $26 per unit, or $260 for ten units before any other costs. Neither figure is net profit.
Add the applicable packaging, payment fees, platform charges, advertising and expected returns. Record unknown costs as unresolved questions instead of quietly treating them as zero. Keep the payment timing beside the total: a supplier deposit and a delayed customer payout can create a cash shortage even when the unit calculation looks positive.
The cost calculator lets you change the existing inputs. Use Workspace notes for the assumptions, quote dates and extra details that explain those inputs.
Weigh a volume discount against the cash it ties up
A larger order may spread fixed work over more units and qualify for a lower price. It also commits cash before you know how quickly the stock will sell. A small batch limits that exposure, but may come with a higher unit cost and less favourable shipping.
Ask for both quantities against the same specification. Then write down how long you can afford to have the cash tied up and what sample checks remain unresolved. A discount is not a saving if it leads you to buy stock you cannot use or sell.
Finally, test one cost change at a time. In the example, increasing shipping from $6 to $9 reduces the remainder from $26 to $23. That $3 difference gives you a specific reason to investigate shipping terms. If the purchase price also changes, calculate a separate scenario so you can see what caused each difference.