What is a normal minimum order for a pistol case?

Answer: 500 pieces. A two-cavity tool pays back best at 3000, where tooling falls to 15 CNY.

Can the tooling fee be refunded?

Answer: Negotiate a volume rebate, amortised up to 30,000 pieces and returned at a trigger written into the contract.

The quote says a 3 mm wall and the sample measures 2.6 mm. Breach?

Answer: Yes. Specify a 3.2 mm wall with a 0.15 mm tolerance and name the measuring points.

Does 32 days include tooling?

Answer: Split it. First order with tooling runs 32 days, a repeat without tooling 15.

How many sampling rounds are included?

Answer: Two, first article plus one revision. Extra rounds are charged to the side that asked. ---

Pistol Case Procurement: Quotes, MOQ and Lead Time

Quick answer: A pistol case quote is four stacked conditions, not one number: how tight the RFQ is, which quantity band the order lands in, how tooling and sample fees are carried, and which definition of lead time applies. Below are the parameters to send out, tiered pricing arithmetic and a 32-day schedule.

Seven Parameters Every Pistol Case RFQ Needs
MOQ and What Cavity Count Does
Tooling and Sampling Costs
Lead Time in Four Phases
Payment Tied to Inspection
FAQ

1. Seven Parameters Every Pistol Case RFQ Needs

Two suppliers quoting one drawing can land 40 percent apart, and the gap sits in the enquiry sheet. An RFQ saying only to follow the sample gets the lowest configuration priced.

Seven parameters belong in writing: cavity dimensions, resin grade, wall and ribs, latch count, foam density, logo process, pack specification. Cavity size is given as internal clearance, since two cases with one footprint can differ by 20 mm inside.

Parameter	How to state it	What goes wrong when vague
Cavity	L × W × D, 1 mm tolerance	Outside size priced, cavity shrinks
Resin	PP or ABS grade, melt index	Regrind used, cold corners crack
Wall	3.2 mm wall, 1.8 mm ribs	0.4 mm shaved, lid dishes
Foam	45 kg/m³, cut or pluck	Pluck foam fitted, item drifts

Resin grade matters more than price: PP marks easily, while ABS cracks at corners near minus 20 °C.

2. MOQ and What Cavity Count Does

For a pistol case, the minimum order falls out of cavity count, colour change time and resin supply. A two-cavity tool needs 1500 shots for 3000 pieces, and a colour change costs 40 minutes of purging, so runs under 500 go last.

Pistol Case: black cases stacked four high on a green floor, a worker in a beige shirt crouching to align lids, conveyor behind

Bands run 500, 1000, 3000 and 5000. The 500 band is trial-priced, 18 to 25 percent above 3000, where tooling per unit drops under 1 CNY.

Quantity	Unit price	Tooling per unit
500	268 CNY	92 CNY
1000	236 CNY	46 CNY
3000	205 CNY	15 CNY
5000	192 CNY	9 CNY

3. Tooling and Sampling Costs

Pistol case tooling is quoted by cavity count and hours. A medium two-cavity body tool runs about 46,000 CNY, with cavity work near 60 percent. When a quote lists tooling as extra, the contract needs a line saying whether trial shots and revisions sit inside it.

Sampling costs 1800 to 2500 CNY per case for the first article and two revisions; whether that fee is credited must be written down. Tool ownership needs a transfer clause naming the mould base number and storage location.

4. Lead Time in Four Phases

First orders run 32 days: 15 for tooling, 5 for trial and approval, 10 for production, 2 for inspection and loading. A quote saying 30 days has folded trial and inspection into production.

Pistol Case: yellow steel frames enclosing a moulding area, a blue sign overhead, dryer hopper and barrel at right, yellow walkway between columns

Production assumes a 650-tonne machine, a 95-second cycle and 20 running hours; a rush order turns 10 days into 13, so the clause should lock the machine and set a daily penalty.

Phase	Days	Owner
Tooling	15	Supplier
Trial and approval	5	Both
Production	10	Supplier
Inspection and loading	2	Both

First-article approval takes 2 of the 5 trial days; starting before that signature causes most rework.

5. Payment Tied to Inspection

The 30/70 split, deposit plus balance before shipment, leaves nearly all risk with the buyer. A 30/40/30 structure holds better: deposit, 40 percent on passed inspection, 30 percent within 30 days of arrival.

Inspection needs a sampling plan: AQL 2.5, 500 pieces drawn as 50, critical items at zero defects for latch engagement and gasket continuity, appearance at 2.5. Rejects are handled in three tiers: rework, accept as is, or return. A contract that only says rejects come back stalls at the port over freight, the clause most often left out in pistol case procurement.

Conclusion

Buying a pistol case comes down to four variables: how precisely the enquiry is written, which quantity band the order sits in, how tooling is carried, and how payment is tied to inspection. Laid out that way, a quote becomes a table anyone can re-check. The saving comes less from squeezing unit price than from removing rework and delay, which a pistol case bought for years of service rewards.

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.