Why can the same drawing carry two plastic case price levels 26 CNY apart?

Answer: Tooling and packing: 85 000 CNY over 3 000 or 10 000 units differs by 19.8 each, cartons add 3.2, processing by 2–3.

Can a 500-unit order reach volume pricing?

Answer: Rarely. Folding the tool into 500 units adds 170 each; pay it once, hold processing near 56 CNY, and negotiate the next run at 5 000.

Should tooling be paid separately or amortised?

Answer: Separately on a first order, with buyer ownership in writing; amortising looks cheaper up front and costs more below 5 000 units.

Is a 25-day lead time realistic?

Answer: For a repeat order. A first order needs 7 days of samples, 15 of tooling and 12 of production, about 34, unless the mould exists.

How much does regrind move the price?

Answer: About 1.6 CNY a case at 20% loading, with impact down 20% and flow swinging ±3 g/10min. Name the ratio in the contract.

Plastic Case Price in Procurement: Quotes, MOQ and Lead Time

Quick answer: A plastic case price is five lines: material, tooling, machine time, assembly, and packing with freight. Tooling falls fastest with volume — 85 000 CNY over 3 000 units adds 28.3 each, over 10 000 only 8.5. Fix volume and tool ownership before arguing about the unit figure.

What a Plastic Case Price Actually Covers
How Tooling Amortisation Enters the Unit Price
Part Weight and Masterbatch Set the Material Floor
MOQ, Lead Time and Payment Terms
Reading a Quotation Line by Line
FAQ

1. What a Plastic Case Price Actually Covers

For a 1.15 kg hand case on a 350 T press, the plastic case price splits like this. Homopolymer at 9 800 CNY per tonne puts material at 11.3 CNY; masterbatch at 2% and 18 CNY/kg adds 0.4; a 55 s cycle at 85 CNY per machine hour adds 1.3. Assembly of two latches, a handle and four pads costs 1.8, the carton 3.2, and sea freight 2.4 on 1 200 cases per 20GP box.

Cost item	CNY per case	Share	Sensitivity to volume
Material	11.3	42%	Low, follows resin index
Tooling amortisation	8.5–28.3	12%–38%	Highest, spread over units
Machine time	1.3	5%	Low, follows cycle
Assembly	1.8	7%	Medium, automatable
Packing and freight	6.2	23%	Medium, follows carton count

2. How Tooling Amortisation Enters the Unit Price

Tooling is quoted three ways: paid once as a separate line, folded into the unit figure, or recovered over a set volume and then dropped. The first is transparent; the second looks cheap until you change supplier without the mould. Ownership and floor space decide the rest.

Plastic case price: orange long case open flat, moulded orange tray with rows of round pockets, coiled black cable at the right end, three latches

Buyer-owned tooling in the supplier's plant is usual, provided the contract allows collection after a stop order, billed at cost, under 1 500 CNY. At 3 000 units a year an 85 000 CNY tool takes a decade to repay, so sharing a frame and cutting a core at 22 000 CNY is cheaper.

3. Part Weight and Masterbatch Set the Material Floor

Material is the only line tracking the resin index. Adding 0.5 mm of wall takes a case from 1.15 to 1.38 kg and material from 11.3 to 13.5 CNY; at 100 000 units a year that is 220 000 CNY. Dark masterbatch at 2% and white at 4% differ by 0.3–0.5 CNY.

Regrind is the third lever: a 20% blend saves about 1.6 CNY a case, but flow swings ±3 g/10min and impact drops near 20%. A low plastic case price means little if the ratio never reaches the contract.

4. MOQ, Lead Time and Payment Terms

MOQ follows cavity count and colour: 500 units on a single cavity, 300 on a two-cavity tool in a standard colour. Purging for a colour change burns 8 kg of resin, about 78 CNY, which is why small runs cost more.

Plastic case price: orange corner in close-up, one orange latch at the lid joint, ring-shaped and vertical ribs on the corner, pale background

Lead time splits into 7 days of samples, 15 of tooling and 12 of production: a first order runs 34 days, a repeat 18. Terms carry real money: 30% deposit with 70% against the bill of lading is standard for export, while 60-day terms usually hide 1.5–2% of financing.

5. Reading a Quotation Line by Line

Unit prices alone compare nothing: two quotes at 54 CNY differ by 8.5 if only one carries tooling, and 3.2 more if only one includes cartons.

Quotation line	What to confirm	Common vague wording	Risk
Unit price	Tooling, packing and tax included or not	Price on request	Later add-ons
Tooling	Amount, ownership, collection terms	Tooling free	Mould stays behind
MOQ	Minimum per colour and per size	Low MOQ	Colour surcharge
Lead time	Samples and tooling included or not	25 days delivery	Becomes 34 days
Payment	Deposit ratio and financing cost	Monthly account	Interest in price
Acceptance	Wall, weight and drop standard	As per sample	No basis to reject

Room in the plastic case price sits in tooling and packing: settling tooling against actual units saves 19.8 CNY each at 10 000 units.

Conclusion

Most of the spread comes from definitions rather than capability: how many units carry the tool, whether cartons sit inside the figure, whether terms are priced. Agree volume, tool ownership and acceptance before the unit number, and a plastic case price becomes a figure you can defend.

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.