What is a normal minimum order for a PP Plastic Case?

For a single-cavity steel tool, 500 units. Below that, amortisation passes 20% of the price and an existing mould is cheaper.

Should the buyer pay for the tool?

Above 5,000 units a year with a settled design, yes: pay in full, register title, take 10% to 15% off.

How do you pin down whether the insert is included?

Do not ask "included or not". Send the insert drawing and require two prices: on a PP Plastic Case it spans 15 to 35 yuan.

Where does a 35-day lead time come from?

Tooling 18 days, trial shots 5, first lot 10, packing 2. A repeat order skips tooling: about 20 days.

How long a payment term is realistic?

Deposit 30% and settlement 60 days after acceptance is standard; above a million yuan a year, 90 days is arguable.

Why Do PP Plastic Case Quotes Differ by 62 Yuan on One Drawing?

Quick answer: The gap rarely sits in machining cost. It sits in who pays for the tool, which volume tier the quote assumes, and how much cash the terms tie up. Fill nine lines and a repeat order stops being a fresh negotiation.

Nine lines a PP Plastic Case enquiry must carry
Tool ownership: who pays, whose name, can it leave
Payment terms: thirty, sixty, ten
Six traps on the quotation itself
FAQ

1. Nine lines a PP Plastic Case enquiry must carry

One drawing, 178 yuan from one plant and 240 from another. The raw material line differs by 4 yuan; the other 58 sit in the basis, because one quote carries tool amortisation and the other prices 500 units, not 3000.

So the enquiry cannot say "we need 1000 cases". Nine lines make the replies comparable.

Cavity size and tolerance, with the plus or minus;
Wall thickness and rib layout: height, pitch, how many;
Weight per unit, easier to audit than walls;
Resin grade, homopolymer or block copolymer;
Colour and masterbatch, Delta E 2 per batch;
Insert type, EVA foam, hollow-board dividers or egg-crate;
Minimum order and annual volume, quoted together;
Lead time and split delivery, first lot and monthly call-off;
Tool ownership and trial-shot count, the line everyone skips.

Miss one line and the quotation grows an "extra to be advised" row.

PP Plastic Case in olive green open on a steel bench, black egg-crate foam in the lid, kraft envelopes in the base, warehouse shelving behind

Then check the weight yourself. On the same 590 by 390 by 220 body, 3.2 and 2.6 kilograms are different products; at 9.5 yuan a kilogram, the 0.6 kilogram gap is 5.7 yuan, about 3% of the price.

2. Tool ownership: who pays, whose name, can it leave

The tool is the only asset in the deal that carries title. An 86,000 yuan steel mould decides whether you can change supplier in three years.

Route	Who pays	Unit price covers	Main risk
Buyer in full	86,000 yuan up front	Resin, moulding, finishing	You store an idle tool
Supplier fronts it	Supplier, amortised	Stops at 30,000 units	Tool cannot travel
Shared tool	Supplier's own mould	About 12% cheaper	No structure change

Paying in full suits a frozen design above 5,000 units a year; a supplier-funded PP Plastic Case tool suits a pilot, if the stop point is written down.

One clause carries the weight: the tool belongs to the buyer, the plant only stores it, collection on 30 days' notice. Without it the rest is talk.

Collection has its own cost: a mould this size runs 1.8 to 3.5 tonnes and moves 2000 to 4000 yuan across provinces.

3. Payment terms: thirty, sixty, ten

Payment rhythm is easier to overlook than price. On the same 178 yuan, 30 and 90 days differ by 2.9 yuan at a 6% cost of capital.

Milestone	Share	Trigger	Buyer's hold
Deposit	30%	Contract signed, before tooling	Title registered
Trial shot passed	30%	First-article report approved	No payment if it fails
Goods received	30%	Sampling passed, documents complete	Tied to acceptance
Retention	10%	90 days without a claim	Released without interest

The shares are negotiable, the milestones are not. "90% on delivery" mixes delivery with acceptance. Tie the deposit to tooling, not scheduling: frame photos and a steel certificate within seven days, or the tool counts as not started. Retention is the only lever reaching past delivery: early failures on a PP Plastic Case cluster at latches and hinges, and 90 days covers three to five turnarounds.

Terms also bend the material plan: on 90-day terms resin lands late, so contract the stocking date at 15 days.

4. Six traps on the quotation itself

PP Plastic Case in pale grey standing closed against a white wall, red latches on both handle ends, two ribs across the lid

Six more hide in the sheet itself.

Unit ambiguity: "178 yuan" without per piece or per set, insert included or not.
Double tool charge: amortisation already sits in the price, then a "mould fee 8000" appears at the end.
Masterbatch excluded: custom colour starts at 25 kilograms and about 3000 yuan a run.
Trial shots: three are customary, and a quote allowing one bills 3000 to 5000 yuan per change.
Packing and freight: pallet, wrap and carton, delivered to factory or to door, 3 to 6 yuan a unit.
Escalation: "subject to market" has to become "last month's average, adjusted beyond 5%".

The first two are hard cost, the rest are soft clauses. Hard cost comes out of a breakdown; on a PP Plastic Case order the rest come out of the contract.

Conclusion

A 40% spread is tool ownership, volume tier and the cost of terms, not a cheaper machine hour. Nine lines and clear title make buying a PP Plastic Case a priced decision.

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.

Why Do PP Plastic Case Quotes Differ by 62 Yuan on One Drawing?

Table of contents

1. Nine lines a PP Plastic Case enquiry must carry

2. Tool ownership: who pays, whose name, can it leave

3. Payment terms: thirty, sixty, ten

4. Six traps on the quotation itself

Conclusion

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