Quick answer: Protective Case Sales quotes turn on 5 items: tax and freight basis, minimum order, lead time start, tooling ownership and warranty. Below 300 units, custom usually costs more than stock at a 12 percent premium.

Table of contents

  • Five Items to Check Before the Price Is Worth Discussing
  • Why Custom Costs More Below 300 Units
  • The 30-Day Lead Time Gap, Priced
  • Refurbished, Rented, Plywood: Where Each Wins
  • FAQ

1. Five Items to Check Before the Price Is Worth Discussing

Five items get checked before signature: whether the price carries tax and freight, the minimum order, the day lead time starts, whose name sits on the tooling, and what the warranty covers. In Protective Case Sales the fourth slips through most often, because 68,000 CNY of tooling registered to a supplier cannot move with you.

In Protective Case Sales a 12 percent gap is rarely resin. Tax alone separates two quotes by 11.5 points, and sea freight against road differs by 4 CNY a case, so an ex-works figure and a delivered one cannot be compared.

ItemUsual wordingThe question to askCost if missed
Price basisEx-works, no taxDelivered with tax?11.5 percent overpaid
Minimum orderFrom 300 unitsWill 100 run, at what premium?Tooling spread to 680 CNY
Lead time35 daysFrom sample approval or PO?Slips to 45 days
ToolingNot statedWho owns it, can it move?68,000 CNY to re-cut
Warranty1 yearGasket and latches in scope?Repair bill in month 13

2. Why Custom Costs More Below 300 Units

Run the tooling first on any Protective Case Sales enquiry. A 560 mm cavity needs frame and core at 68,000 CNY, which is 227 CNY a case across 300 units and 680 CNY across 100, or 1.8 times the 380 CNY body.

At that volume an agent's stock wins: 12 percent over factory price, no tooling, 5 days to the door. The risk in Protective Case Sales is not paying too much, it is buying a batch loaded with tooling cost and changing the design next year.

Protective Case Sales shipment sample, a large white case open on the floor, four side ribs, black lid foam and kraft bags inside
Protective Case Sales shipment sample, a large white case open on the floor, four side ribs, black lid foam and kraft bags inside

Between 300 and 500 units the spread sits at 136 to 227 CNY: cut the mould if the design holds 2 years, buy stock if it changes inside 12 months. Past 1000 units the spread falls to 68 CNY and colour (plus 8 percent) or custom foam (plus 35 CNY) becomes worth discussing.

3. The 30-Day Lead Time Gap, Priced

Stock arrives in 5 days, custom in 35, so 30 days separate them. In Protective Case Sales that is a stoppage question, not a calendar one: 30 days with 12 people idle at 400 CNY a day costs 144,000 CNY, far beyond the 12 percent a custom order saves.

For inventory held ahead of need the arithmetic flips. 120,000 CNY of stock at 6 percent a year costs about 600 CNY over 30 days, so paying a 12 percent premium to save 600 CNY is the wrong trade.

RoutePrice indexLead timeMinimumFits when
Factory custom10035 days300 unitsSize fixed for 2 years
Regional agent stock1125 days1 unitLine-down risk, small batch
Platform stock1183 days1 unitUrgent replacement
Refurbished457 days10 unitsIndoor, dry handling

One line decides it: does a missing case stop the line? If it does, the 12 percent is insurance on 200 cases, or 9,120 CNY. If it does not, waiting is cheaper.

4. Refurbished, Rented, Plywood: Where Each Wins

Refurbished stock in Protective Case Sales sells at 45 percent of new with 3 years left, but a gasket at 80 CNY, 2 latches at 40 and a hinge pin at 15 push the real cost near 55 percent. Buy it for indoor handling that never sees water, never for an IP65 pressure test.

Renting runs 18 CNY per case per month, so 24 months totals 432 CNY against a 380 CNY new case; past 20 months it loses. A 2-month deposit at 360 CNY applies.

Protective Case Sales sample case in white, open on a steel table, black gasket ring, four latch seats, black foam compartments behind
Protective Case Sales sample case in white, open on a steel table, black gasket ring, four latch seats, black foam compartments behind

Plywood at 60 CNY a case, used once, suits 200 kg and up where nothing returns. In Protective Case Sales that is the enquiry to hand off: 5 units carrying 300 kg belongs with a crate builder.

Conclusion

Protective Case Sales trades turn on 5 checked items, a 300 unit threshold and whether 30 days of lead time buys back a stoppage. Checked, a 12 percent premium reads as insurance and 68,000 CNY of tooling reads as an asset; unchecked, both become sunk cost.

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.

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