Last updated: October 2026
By Jack Lv, General Manager — 925 sterling silver and GRA moissanite manufacturing in Foshan since 2011
Two quotes for the same silver ring are almost never comparable as received, because the unit price hides different inclusions: one may quote brass with silver plating, one may leave out the stone, the setting labour, the mould, the retail packing or the test reports. Convert both into a shared cost grid, force the same material and process wording, ask for the same quantity tier, and split compulsory items from optional ones. Only then does the unit price tell you anything.
Because they are priced against different assumptions: a different silver weight, a different plating thickness, a different quantity tier and a different Incoterm. Until those four are fixed to the same values, the lower number only tells you which supplier assumed less.
A quote is a commercial document, not a specification, and suppliers write them to be competitive rather than complete. The result is that two quotes for the same photograph can differ for reasons that have nothing to do with efficiency: a different base metal, a different stone grade, a different finish, a different packing standard, and different items placed inside or outside the unit price.
The lowest number is usually the one with the most left out. Mould cost, setting labour, plating, retail packing and third-party testing are the lines most often excluded, and they are exactly the lines that reappear on the final invoice or on your account as an unbudgeted cost.
The purpose of the comparison exercise is therefore not to pick a winner from two numbers. It is to turn two commercial documents into two technical documents that describe the same product.
Ask both suppliers to break the unit price into metal, labour and setting, plating, packaging and freight, against the same quantity. A supplier who cannot break the price down is telling you the price is a target rather than a calculation.
Write the same grid for both suppliers and fill it in from their own words. If a line is blank, ask. A blank is not a zero; it is an open question, and the answer changes the ranking.
| Cost line | What to establish from each supplier |
|---|---|
| Base metal | 925 silver or another alloy, stated by name, and whether the price basis is per piece or per gram |
| Stone | Stone type, grade and count per piece, and whether the stone is priced per piece, per stone or per carat |
| Setting labour | Whether setting is inside the unit price or billed as a separate line |
| Casting and filing | Whether lost-wax casting, filing and fitting are included or charged separately |
| Finishing | Which polish grade is included, and whether the plating step is inside the unit price |
| Sampling | Sample price, whether it is credited or refunded against the bulk order, and how many revisions are included |
| Tooling or mould | One-off charge, or amortised into the unit price, and what happens to it if you repeat the order |
| Packing | Base packing for bulk shipment, and the cost of any retail packing upgrade |
| Testing | Whether third-party test reports are included, and who pays for them |
| Freight and terms | Whether the quote is DDP or DDU, and which costs clear customs and final delivery |
| Payment terms | Deposit and balance split, accepted channels, and any bank charges |
| Order minimum | Minimum quantity per style, and what the supplier does below that minimum |
Write the alloy, the plating thickness in microns, the stone specification and the finish into your own document and send that, rather than comparing two suppliers' own descriptions. 925 silver means 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper; if a quote does not state the alloy, the comparison has already failed.
A unit price is meaningless until the product behind it is described in the same vocabulary by both suppliers. Words like silver, white finish and good stone are marketing labels, not specifications. Replace each of them with the wording you would accept on an invoice, and ask the supplier to confirm that wording in writing.
If one supplier cannot or will not describe the product at that level of detail, that answer is itself information. A factory that will not name the base metal on a quotation is unlikely to accept a rejection claim based on it.
| Vague wording on the quote | Wording you should require instead |
|---|---|
| Silver | 925 silver, named on the order, with the hardening alloy stated |
| Plated | The plating metal by name, the colour tone, the minimum thickness class and the underlayer |
| Moissanite, graded | Stone type, colour and clarity band, size, cut and count per piece, with per-stone certification when you need it |
| Set stones | The setting style, such as prong, bezel, channel or pavé, and whether setting is priced per stone |
| Standard packing | A defined packing list: poly bag, card, box, insert, label and any barcode or retail requirement |
| Certified | The named document, the issuing laboratory, the reference number and the models it covers |
| Quoted DDP or DDU | The named Incoterm with the point of delivery stated, so duties and last-mile delivery are not assumed |
Set the tier yourself and quote both at it. As a reference, our published ladder is the price at 10 pieces per style, 3 percent off at 50 pieces and 6 percent off at 100 pieces, so a quote given at 500 pieces cannot be compared with one given at 10.
Tiered pricing means the two suppliers may be quoting different points on their own curve. A price given at a large volume is not a price at your volume, and comparing them is a common way to be disappointed on the first purchase order.
Set the tier yourself and ask both suppliers to quote it. As a reference, our own published ladder is the price at 10 pieces per style, with 3 percent off at 50 pieces and 6 percent off at 100 pieces, and our minimum order is 10 pieces per style. When you compare suppliers, compare the tier you will actually order, and write down what the price would be one tier up and one tier down.
Also normalise the mix. A quote at a high tier for a single style is not comparable with a quote at the same tier spread across several styles, because tooling, setup and packing change with the number of styles rather than the number of pieces.
Ask which lines are mandatory for the order to ship and which are upgrades. Mould or tooling, certification testing and custom packaging are the three lines most often buried in a unit price, and the three most often quoted separately by the other supplier.
Split both quotes into items you must have and items you might add later. Compulsory items are the ones that stop the goods being saleable in your market: the base metal, the stone, the setting, the finish, the packing standard your channel requires, and any test report your buyer demands. Optional items are the ones that improve the offer rather than define it.
Once the split is done, compare the compulsory totals first and the optional extras second. This is what turns a confusing pair of quotes into a decision, because the compulsory total is the only number that has to be paid for every unit.
Sampling window, production window, the defect remedy and who pays return freight on a rejected batch. A defined sampling window of 5 to 7 days once the specification is fixed and a production window of 15 to 20 days after sample approval are the kind of commitments that make a slightly higher unit price cheaper overall.
Unit price is the easiest number to compare and one of the least useful on its own, because a range that arrives late, inconsistently or with a high defect rate costs more than the discount it appears to offer. Build a second comparison on the commercial terms that decide your total cost of ownership.
| Factor | What good looks like | Why it matters to your margin |
|---|---|---|
| Sampling speed | A defined sampling window, for example 5 to 7 days once the specification is fixed | Late samples slide your launch and your photography date |
| Bulk lead time | A stated production window, for example 15 to 20 days after sample approval | Predictable lead time is what your reorder plan is built on |
| Defect handling | A written remedy: replacement, credit or rework, with the inspection gate named | A cheap quote with no remedy becomes your returns cost |
| Inspection routine | Multiple gates rather than a single final check | Defects caught inside the factory do not become your chargebacks |
| Payment terms | Clear deposit and balance split, and channels you can actually use | Ties up working capital and adds currency risk |
| Responsiveness | Answers within a working day during business hours, and answers that address the question asked | Slow quotation on a repeat order delays your replenishment |
| Capacity | Enough monthly output and enough lines to repeat the run without moving your mould | A supplier who cannot repeat the run cannot support a growing account |
| Communication quality | Written confirmation of changes rather than verbal agreement | Verbal promises are not enforceable when a batch is disputed |
Score on five lines with fixed weights: landed cost, spec completeness, lead time, defect remedy and documentation. Give landed cost real weight, but keep enough weight on the other four lines that they can still change the ranking, because those four decide whether the landed cost is what you actually pay.
Once both quotes are on the same grid, score them rather than arguing about them. Give each factor a weight that reflects your business, rate both suppliers on the same scale, and multiply. Weights should be qualitative rather than numeric percentages, because a number that looks objective invites argument about the size of the weight instead of the quality of the supplier.
| Factor | Suggested weight | Score basis |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory cost total | High | The total of required lines at the tier you will order |
| Specification match | High | How closely the quoted product matches the specification you wrote |
| Lead time and sampling speed | Medium | Ability to hold the promised sampling and production windows |
| Quality system and defect remedy | High | Number of inspection gates and the written remedy for rejected goods |
| Payment and freight terms | Medium | Deposit split, accepted channels and whether the quoted Incoterm matches your plan |
| Communication and documentation | Medium | Written confirmation of changes and willingness to put specifications in the order |
A lighter piece, a thinner plating, a lower stone grade, a higher quantity tier, or an FOB price compared against a DDP price. Each of these lowers the number without lowering the supplier's cost, so the saving is taken out of the product rather than out of the margin.
Some price gaps are legitimate and some are just omissions. A legitimate gap comes from capacity, vertical integration or order size. An omission-based gap disappears the moment you add the missing lines back, and that is the comparison you should present to the supplier.
A useful discipline is to send both suppliers the same grid and ask them to fill in the blank lines themselves. The supplier who can complete every line without hesitation is usually the one who has quoted the product rather than the headline.
Quote the tier you will actually order, not the tier with the best headline price. As a reference point, our own ladder is the price at 10 pieces per style with 3 percent off at 50 pieces and 6 percent off at 100 pieces, and quotes are returned within 24 hours Monday to Saturday.
Two quotes become comparable when they describe the same product. Build the cost grid, force both suppliers onto the same vocabulary for metal, stone and finish, fix the quantity tier, and separate compulsory items from optional ones before you compare totals. Then compare the commercial terms that decide your total cost, not just the price per piece, and put the agreed specification into the purchase order so the comparison is still enforceable when the goods arrive.
No, because the lowest quote is usually the one with the most lines left out. Add the excluded lines back into the grid first. If the supplier is still cheapest on the compulsory total with the same specification and the same tier, then the price difference is real rather than an omission.
Ask the per-gram supplier to give a per-piece price at the tier you will order, valid for a stated period. Then compare like with like, and keep the per-gram basis as a reference for what happens if the metal market moves before your order is placed.
Quote the tier you will actually order, not the tier with the best headline price. As a reference point, our own ladder is the price at 10 pieces per style with 3 percent off at 50 pieces and 6 percent off at 100 pieces, so ask both suppliers for the same three quantities and compare the whole curve.
Treat that as a result of the comparison rather than a detail. Plating type, thickness class, stone grade and packing lists can all be written into a purchase order, and a supplier who refuses to do so is removing your ability to reject a non-conforming batch.
A working day is a reasonable benchmark for a straightforward price. Our own standard is a reply within 24 hours from Monday to Saturday in our own time zone, and a supplier who answers quickly and completely at quotation stage usually behaves the same way during production.
Send your design, size and quantity — factory quote back within 24 hours. Reference: General enquiry