Requesting a quote from a Chinese factory: the well-made RFQ

RFQ stands for Request for Quotation: the document by which a buyer asks a factory to price the production of a product according to given specifications. It is neither an order nor a purchase commitment. It is a price request, which precedes the proforma invoice, the latter setting out the terms of a firm order. Vocabulary varies from one interlocutor to another, but the purpose remains the same: to obtain a priced quote, based on explicit assumptions, and comparable.

The quality of a response reflects that of the request. A complete request receives priced responses with assumptions stated in writing. A vague request receives either a catalog price unrelated to the need, a clarification question, or silence. Sending the same incomplete request to multiple factories does not produce a comparison: it produces estimates on different bases. A factory that asks questions before pricing already sends a signal: it prefers an accurate quote to a quick answer.

The price of a manufactured product depends on a chain of choices: material, thickness, finish, packaging, customization, volume. As long as these choices are not written down, the factory must guess, and it guesses by adding a safety margin. The price becomes high without being comparable, or the response never comes. Another risk: a factory responds with the price of an already-produced catalog item, without specifying that it does not match the specifications. The gap between what was quoted and what was ordered is discovered during production, when it can no longer be corrected without cost.

Two topics must be clarified before sending. Volume first: a factory cannot price without a quantity, and volume determines the price as much as the minimum order quantity. The Incoterm next: an EXW price, ex-factory, and a FOB price, delivered on board at a Chinese port, do not mean the same thing. Asking for all prices on a single basis, and clearly stating the intended quantities, is part of the request, not of the negotiation.

An effective request fits on one page and can be answered without the factory having to guess. Each missing element is a choice the supplier will make for you. Also specify the destination country: it determines the regulatory framework, and therefore the price. Here is the minimum foundation:

On format: send the request in English if the interlocutor exports, keeping in mind that some workshops only reply in Chinese; translation and clarification back-and-forth are part of the work. Number the specifications: a numbered list can be addressed point by point in the response, making gaps visible. Then work from a single, dated reference version, and distribute the same version to everyone.

Comparison is only valid on an identical basis: same specifications, same quantities, same Incoterm, same packaging. Prepare a standard request, then send it as is, without varying it to the point where the responses no longer refer to the same thing. Platforms like Alibaba make mass sending easy, and the Canton Fair allows you to solicit factories directly. But useful comparison is done on a small number of serious files, once each supplier has been verified. Soliciting more factories multiplies the reading work, not the quality of responses.

Responses do not arrive at the same pace: a few days for a standard item already produced, longer when the factory must price a material or tooling. Follow up without delay, referencing the original request. And record each response in a simple table, one line per factory, with columns for unit price, minimum order quantity, lead time, Incoterm, and payment terms. It is this table, not the inbox, that serves as the basis for negotiation.

A response that goes through your specifications one by one and flags those it cannot meet comes from someone who has read your request. A response that sends back a standard sheet with no reference to the specification comes from a seller who quotes quickly. A price well below the others is always paid for somewhere: lower-grade material, a shorter production run than requested, hidden subcontracting, or fraud. It deserves a written question: what exactly does this price cover?

A quotation, even with figures, commits no one. The order is formalized on the proforma invoice, which must restate the product description conforming to the specification, the unit price, the minimum order quantity, any tooling, the payment terms, the Incoterm, and the production lead time. Any concession obtained during negotiation, however minor, must appear on this document: an oral agreement is worth nothing. The proforma also tells you how serious a supplier is.

Sorva is a sourcing and brokerage firm active between Europe and China. On a request for quotation, our Chinese-speaking team in Guangzhou contacts factories in Chinese and on site: it defines the specification with you, has it quoted by several factories on an identical basis, then compares the responses assumption by assumption. We follow up, clarify, discard prices that do not withstand close scrutiny, and negotiate on the quotations obtained, through to the proforma.

In most cases, you do not pay any fees: you open a file, we negotiate the goods for you, and we take a volume commission calculated on the ex-works value of the purchases made. Open a file with your product and your specification, even if unfinished: we will tell you which factories to contact and how to make their responses comparable.