COMMERCIAL PREPARATION · PRICE SCOPE BOARD
China Sourcing Price Preparation Checklist
A price is only comparable when the buyer question is comparable. Before asking suppliers for a figure, make the product reference, quantity context, tooling, sample, packaging, quality, timing, handover, inclusions, exclusions, and uncertainty visible. This checklist is designed to help a buyer prepare the question behind a quotation—not to estimate a market price or guarantee an outcome.
The direct answer: prepare the price scope before you compare the price.
A headline figure may leave essential questions unanswered. The buyer can make the commercial conversation clearer by confirming what product version is being quoted, which quantity applies, whether tooling and sample work are in or out, which quality and packaging reference applies, how timing is described, and where responsibility moves in the handover path. The goal is a decision-ready comparison, not false precision.
PRODUCT
Quote one reference
Use a current product version, material, components, dimensions, finish, packaging, and known open point rather than a generic category name.
SCOPE
Name what is included
State quantity, MOQ, tooling, sample, production, packaging, quality, documentation, timing, handover, and any service or provider boundary.
COMPARE
Make uncertainty visible
Record assumptions, exclusions, product differences, unknown details, conditions, evidence gaps, and the next clarification instead of flattening differences into one number.
DECIDE
Set the next commercial question
Determine whether the next action is clarification, a revised RFQ, a sample, a supplier evidence question, a quality/packaging review, or a pause.
COPY-READY PRICE PREPARATION CHECK
Six prompts before asking for or comparing a supplier quotation.
1. What product version and quantity are being quoted?
Product/version, materials, components, finish, dimensions, packaging, quantity/MOQ context, and open point: [ ]
2. What scope is included or excluded?
Tooling, sample, production, packaging, quality, documentation, timing, handover, service/provider scope, inclusion, exclusion, and assumption: [ ]
3. What reference or evidence supports the answer?
Specification, image/drawing, sample, product evidence, quotation detail, packaging/quality reference, or clarification needed: [ ]
4. What condition could change the commercial answer?
Product revision, material/component, quantity, packaging, sample, quality, production timing, handover, external-provider, or other uncertainty: [ ]
5. What next question would make quotes comparable?
Clarification, revised request, supplier evidence, sample, quality/packaging/timing/handover point, decision owner, and pause condition: [ ]
6. Where does the commercial decision travel next?
Quotation comparison, shortlist, sample plan, change control, quality plan, lead-time record, handover plan, and next buyer action: [ ]
CONNECT PRICE SCOPE TO THE BUYER LIBRARY
A comparable price question starts with the product and ends in the operating record that follows it.
Start with the buyer brief, the specification sheet, and the inquiry template. Ask consistent supplier questions using the RFQ template and quotation comparison. Connect the chosen path to sample planning, packaging control, quality planning, timing, and handover.
This guide is educational information, not financial, legal, tax, contractual, supplier-certification, technical, product-safety, quality, shipping, customs, insurance, or commercial advice.