One supplier quotes 380 CNY for a large protective case, another 460. Why?

Answer: Tooling and hardware: the 380 one prices the tool separately or uses regrind, the 460 one includes both.

Should the tooling fee be paid in full?

Answer: Not above 500 units on a first order. Pay 70 percent and deduct the balance from two shipments.

Can the MOQ for a large protective case drop to 100?

Answer: At a price: 780 CNY of tooling per unit plus a small-batch surcharge. Taking 300 in a stock colour is cheaper.

Is a 45-day lead time realistic?

Answer: Not for a new tool, where 51 days is the floor. With an existing mould and a colour change, yes.

Does the quote include packing and freight?

Answer: By default, no: packing and pallets are separate lines, freight by container type.

Is the sample fee refundable?

Answer: Creditable rather than refundable. Full credit against a first order above 300 units is normal.

Unit Cost of a Large Protective Case: Tooling and MOQ Math

Quick answer: A large protective case quote is six lines added together: resin, moulding, hardware, packing, testing, tooling. A 78,000 CNY mould over 200 units costs 390 CNY each; over 500 units, 156. When MOQ will not move, pin tooling ownership and the amortisation term in the contract.

What the quote actually contains
MOQ and who owns the tooling
Sample fees and first-article approval
Calendar days from tool start to loading
Packing, payment terms and freight markups
Six quote traps and how to defuse them
FAQ

1. What the quote actually contains

Two plants quote 386 and 452 CNY for one drawing, because on a large protective case the tool is costly and packed volume is large.

Take 1150 by 470 by 350 mm, 7 mm wall, 13.4 kg empty: 12.5 kg net resin, 13.5 kg charge with flash, 132 CNY at 9.8 CNY per kilo. A 3 m shuttle turns one unit every 25 minutes, so 72 CNY of machine time.

Cost line	Per unit	Note
Resin	176 CNY	13.5 kg charge, 8 percent scrap
Moulding time	72 CNY	25 minutes, power and gas
Hardware	30 CNY	Two latches, hinge, eye bushes
Packing	12 CNY	Foam corners, five-ply carton
Testing	6 CNY	Air-test sampling, labels
Tooling amortisation	26 CNY	78,000 CNY over 3,000 units
Overhead and margin	98 CNY	Plant, QC, capital
Total	420 CNY	Ex-works

Use the table to compare, not to haggle: have the 452 CNY supplier fill every line.

2. MOQ and who owns the tooling

A 78,000 CNY rotomould costs 390 CNY per unit at 200 pieces, 156 at 500 and 26 at 3,000. A fifteen-fold order change shifts the unit price by 360 CNY.

Large Protective Case: the latch closed, seen from above, three grip ribs and a square recess facing the lens, body running right

Order size	Tooling terms	Amortisation	Ownership
Under 200	Buyer prepays in full	390 CNY	Buyer, may remove
300 to 800	70 percent, balance deducted	156 CNY	Buyer, stored 3 years
Above 1,000	Supplier funds it	26 CNY	Supplier, buyer exclusivity

Full prepayment is where buyers lose: the tool sits in another bay, the number unlogged, and a switch two years later stalls three months. Put number, cavity count, weight and bay in the contract.

Custom colour adds a purge of four hours and 300 CNY; under 500 units, plants push a stock colour or 8 percent.

3. Sample fees and first-article approval

Sampling runs 2,000 CNY a round for two units and a colour change. A 3D-printed prototype at 1,500 CNY has 30 percent of real strength and only proves shape and hardware positions.

First-article approval takes 15 days and five numbers: outer dimensions, wall at five points, hardware brand and torque, colour, empty weight. Above 1.5 delta E is a different colour; an empty weight off by 5 percent means charge control drifted.

4. Calendar days from tool start to loading

Large Protective Case: the closed latch in near view, cover face and rim seam both in frame while the side wall fades to the right

Stage	Days	Typical stall
Design and review	7	Parting line redone
Machining	18	Steel late, hardening queue
Trial, first article	5	Shrinkage shifts holes
Tool correction	6	One change touches all
Production, 500	12	Machine booked elsewhere
Packing, loading	3	Cartons short

Fifty-one days is the clean case for a large protective case. Peak season adds 15, Lunar New Year orders plan at 70. Fix delivery in calendar days, anchored to the loading date.

Liquidated damages of 0.3 percent a day, capped at 5 percent.

5. Packing, payment terms and freight markups

Packing adds 12 CNY and a pallet 35. A large protective case occupies 0.19 cubic metres, so a 40-foot high cube holds 380 on paper and 58 in practice, putting freight above 40 CNY a unit.

Cash against 30 days costs about 2 percent, 60 days about 4: the supplier's cost of money, not a concession.

FOB and CIF differ by insurance and one ocean leg, roughly 3 percent, and a plus or minus 5 percent tolerance needs a settlement price. Small alone, together they absorb 6 percent of a large protective case budget.

6. Six quote traps and how to defuse them

Low price, high tooling fee: 380 with a 120,000 tool is worse than 420 with 78,000.
Tooling paid in full, owned by nobody provable: log number, bay, photo, right to collect.
Price quoted net of packing: itemise carton, corners and pallet.
Delivery in working days: 45 working days is 63 calendar days.
Two lists, first order and repeat: lock the repeat price or index formula.
Colour and print billed later: ask for purge and screen costs once, in writing.

Conclusion

Costing a large protective case is hard not because of machine time but because of tooling amortisation, order quantity and small print. Split the quote into six lines, pin the mould number and ownership in the contract, and fix delivery in calendar days. Then the unit cost of a large protective case becomes comparable across suppliers.

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.