Is the expensive Case Showroom quote greedier?

Answer: Rarely. The gap sits in amortisation and in what colour and packing include. Aligned block by block, margins differ four to six yuan.

Can a 300-unit order be placed?

Answer: Yes, at 8 to 12 yuan more, driven by changeover and full-bag masterbatch. Validate with 100 units, then top up at 1,000.

Buy the mould or let the Case Showroom factory amortise it?

Answer: Above 3,000 units a year, buy it and keep the title clear. Below 1,000, let the factory amortise rather than pay storage on an idle tool.

What lead time is realistic?

Answer: 65 to 75 days with a new tool, 40 to 45 for a revision. A new-tool quote under 60 days means a simple mould or a schedule nobody keeps.

Why Do Case Showroom Quotes Differ by 30 Percent?

Quick answer: Three factories quote one drawing at 118, 137 and 156 yuan inside the same Case Showroom. The spread is billing scope, not profit: mould amortisation, masterbatch, packing, mixed loading. Split the quote into six blocks before arguing price.

The Quote Is Six Blocks, Not One Number
MOQ and Mould Ownership Divide the Same Fee
Sixty-Eight Days From Tool to Loading Dock
Payment Milestones Decide Who Carries the Risk
Six Quote Traps and How to Check Them
FAQ

1. The Quote Is Six Blocks, Not One Number

Three factories quoted the same 460 by 330 by 180 mm plastic case at 118, 137 and 156 yuan in one Case Showroom. Resin differs by under four yuan. The other 34 come from mould amortisation, masterbatch and what packing includes.

Cost block	118 yuan	137 yuan	156 yuan	Check
Resin	44	46	47	Weight × pellet price
Moulding	26	28	30	Cavities × machine hour
Hardware and gasket	10	12	13	Latch and seal list
Packing	4	6	8	Carton or pallet wrap
Mould amortisation	0	8	12	Total ÷ quantity
Overhead and margin	14	17	20	Includes inspection

A zero in the mould column is not a free tool. It is billed once on the first order, or the contract leaves ownership with the supplier. The middle quote spreads 48,000 yuan over 6,000 units, 8 yuan each. The high quote spreads it over 4,000 units at 12 yuan and promises no second charge.

Using 118 as the benchmark returns a mould fee billed apart, colour billed apart, packing billed per carton, and a settlement above 137.

2. MOQ and Mould Ownership Divide the Same Fee

Minimum order quantity is changeover time divided by batch size. A 460 mm tool on a 250-tonne machine takes about four hours to swap, set up, shoot and confirm.

Case Showroom: a red case lying face up, the handle along the bottom edge, a hinge block at each end, short ribs at four corners

300 units: changeover adds about 6 yuan per case, and the tool fee sits outside the price
1,000 units: changeover drops to 1.8 yuan, and masterbatch comes in full 25 kg bags with no premium
3,000 units: changeover falls under 0.7 yuan and the batch earns a continuous machine slot

Mould ownership needs a clause: the buyer purchases the tool and keeps the right to move it; the supplier amortises per unit to a cap, then transfers it; or the buyer pays in full for staged refunds after an agreed volume.

The third is cheapest and argues most. Tie refunds to quarterly shipments, or two years pass with nothing returned.

One line is missing: who maintains the tool. A steel mould is rated near 50,000 shots, and every repair past that should be quoted, not promised as free service.

3. Sixty-Eight Days From Tool to Loading Dock

Lead time is five stages added together. This order ran 68 days, including one insert revision after trial shots.

Stage	Days	Owner	Bottleneck
Tooling and trial	22	Tool room	Insert drawing sign-off
Sample approval	8	Both sides	Colour chip in transit
Production	26	Moulding	Masterbatch arrival
Inspection and fixes	4	Quality	Inspector scheduling
Loading and papers	8	Logistics	Space reallocation

Only 15 of 22 tooling days are machining; seven wait for signatures. A day lost at the insert drawing pushes everything after it, while the launch date does not move.

The 26 production days assume one shift. Compressing means a second tool at 48,000 yuan, or a two-shift slot at 1.5 yuan per case, both agreed at order placement.

Loading is the least controllable. A 40-foot high cube takes 1,200 cases, and a missed sailing costs a week.

4. Payment Milestones Decide Who Carries the Risk

Thirty percent deposit, sixty after inspection, ten retained for 90 days is common. Below 20 percent, many schedule other work first; that is cash flow, not malice.

Case Showroom: the red case seen from above, handle on the left, two latch seats bulging from the right edge, two ribs at each corner

The inspection payment must hang on an executable event: a signed report, a confirmed packing list, loading photographs. A contract saying "before shipment" is executed as "after leaving the factory".

Retention should match the failure mode. Chipped latch teeth, hinge cracks and colour drift surface within 90 days; stretch it to a year and the supplier prices capital in at 1.2 percent.

5. Six Quote Traps and How to Check Them

Mould cost amortised into price and charged again on order one; demand total and quantity
"Standard colour included" covering only black and grey, others at 3 yuan more
Packing meaning one carton, with pallet and film at 2.5 yuan per case
Mixed loading defined as same specification, with an 8 percent fee for two models
Inspection support meaning floor space, travel and overtime billed apart
Seven-day validity without a lock clause, so a resin rise resets the quote

The best check in a Case Showroom is to have the six blocks written on paper and confirmed against the case itself; what cannot be written gets added later.

Conclusion

The spread inside a Case Showroom is one case described by different accounting. Split the quote into six blocks, price amortisation against the MOQ, write ownership down. Then the next Case Showroom quote becomes negotiable.

This article discusses only the container (case body) side of specifications and design intent, and does not cover any handling, loading or use of the contents.