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Asking for Quotes vs Being Asked for Budget?

by Boris_yo
9 replies
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When looking for suppliers it's usual to ask for quotes but what if you miss that point and instead get asked for offer per unit? Same with any service like graphic design which can vary a lot because everyone can ask what he's worth and it's not your normal shopping. How do you deal with situations where you are being asked for price you want to pay or budget for project? Is it smart to reverse question's direction and ask service provider for pricing instead because of fear that you will end up paying more as a result of revealing your budget? What are advantages and disadvantages of such approach?
#asked #budget #quotes
  • Profile picture of the author rumifdx
    Originally Posted by Boris_yo View Post

    When looking for suppliers it's usual to ask for quotes but what if you miss that point and instead get asked for offer per unit? Same with any service like graphic design which can vary a lot because everyone can ask what he's worth and it's not your normal shopping. How do you deal with situations where you are being asked for price you want to pay or budget for project? Is it smart to reverse question's direction and ask service provider for pricing instead because of fear that you will end up paying more as a result of revealing your budget? What are advantages and disadvantages of such approach?
    If a supplier gets back to you by saying "How much is your budget" probably is not gonna be a good deal for you, as you more than likely are dealing with a middleman looking to rip you off.

    Get to deal with an actual manufacturer, not a reseller; a manufacturer -or even just an HONEST middleman for that matter- will try to get your business while still retaining viable margins for himself.
    By asking you to make an offer looks very suspicious, as he might just be trying to find out how much he could get you skimmed.

    My 2 cents
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    • Profile picture of the author Boris_yo
      Originally Posted by rumifdx View Post

      If a supplier gets back to you by saying "How much is your budget" probably is not gonna be a good deal for you, as you more than likely are dealing with a middleman looking to rip you off.
      Thanks for responding but it is manufacturer since he asked to send him very similar product to work with and provide customization I am looking for. My question involved also service providers and how to deal with budget related questions. According to your logic if I am asked about budget I am looking at someone who wants to rip me off? Graphic designers, photographers, digital editors etc.
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      • Profile picture of the author rumifdx
        Originally Posted by Boris_yo View Post

        Thanks for responding but it is manufacturer since he asked to send him very similar product to work with and provide customization I am looking for. My question involved also service providers and how to deal with budget related questions. According to your logic if I am asked about budget I am looking at someone who wants to rip me off? Graphic designers, photographers, digital editors etc.
        The fact that he asks you to send him a sample doesn't necessarily imply that he's indeed a manufacturer: he could well be an agent, "someone who knows someone", who simply knows where to go to get your customized product done. But I could be wrong, why not..

        Regarding service providers such as those that you mentioned, I think is a totally different thing and my logic does not apply to that: it is actually the norm to put a budget on the plate when looking for services from designers, photographers and generally all jobs requiring a specific set of skills and creative abilities.
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        • Profile picture of the author Boris_yo
          Originally Posted by rumifdx View Post

          The fact that he asks you to send him a sample doesn't necessarily imply that he's indeed a manufacturer: he could well be an agent, "someone who knows someone", who simply knows where to go to get your customized product done. But I could be wrong, why not..
          I have not yet replied to supplier because I don't want to give too high, nor too low price. I guess I need to research more quotes and get an average idea. But it is still not good gaude since suppliers get different raw material prices for different qualities and acquisition prices vary.

          Originally Posted by rumifdx View Post

          Regarding service providers such as those that you mentioned, I think is a totally different thing and my logic does not apply to that: it is actually the norm to put a budget on the plate when looking for services from designers, photographers and generally all jobs requiring a specific set of skills and creative abilities.
          Well you might be surprised but there are middlemen for this too. There's even course/s sold to teach how to profit while being middleman. I guess it matters how good one is to gain business because this will be obvious when your dealing with real company.
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          • Profile picture of the author rumifdx
            Originally Posted by Boris_yo View Post

            suppliers get different raw material prices for different qualities and acquisition prices vary.
            This further validates my point that the one you were dealing with is probably not a manufacturer: if you were the one producing xyz product using abc materials would you just wait for people telling you what they're ready to spend or would it be YOU the one giving them quotations for your product, given the fact that YOU are the one who knows your product's quality and manufacturing cost?

            Originally Posted by Boris_yo View Post

            you might be surprised but there are middlemen for this too. There's even course/s sold to teach how to profit while being middleman. I guess it matters how good one is to gain business because this will be obvious when your dealing with real company.
            You can hire professional designers at 99designs.com or similar sites; at upwork.com you can find all sort of professionals all around the world, from beginners to advanced pros and you can create a job offer with your budget and then sort out all the applicants by checking out their portfolios or discussing your needs with them.
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            • Profile picture of the author Boris_yo
              Originally Posted by rumifdx View Post

              This further validates my point that the one you were dealing with is probably not a manufacturer: if you were the one producing xyz product using abc materials would you just wait for people telling you what they're ready to spend or would it be YOU the one giving them quotations for your product, given the fact that YOU are the one who knows your product's quality and manufacturing cost?
              Almost all Chinese manufacturers are assemblers that is they order components and materials from their own suppliers. They can have in-house facilities with additional processes for their main product but fpr others they subcontract. When they mention their main products there's a reason for that. It's their specialization in main product line and supply of components and materials for their main products. Their turnaround is high as materials and components are shared between their buyers' orders which let's manufacturer plan accordingly knowing they won't be sitting with piles of unused components and materials. With custom orders or orders that require them to source new suppliers for components and materials they rarely work with creates risk that materials won't move or order will go wrong leaving them with their 30%.

              With that said my supplier has Facebook page, Skype ID and website that describes company, standards and brands they work with. It's hard to say that I am dealing with trader.
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              • Profile picture of the author rumifdx
                Originally Posted by Boris_yo View Post

                Almost all Chinese manufacturers are assemblers that is they order components and materials from their own suppliers. They can have in-house facilities with additional processes for their main product but fpr others they subcontract. When they mention their main products there's a reason for that. It's their specialization in main product line and supply of components and materials for their main products. Their turnaround is high as materials and components are shared between their buyers' orders which let's manufacturer plan accordingly knowing they won't be sitting with piles of unused components and materials. With custom orders or orders that require them to source new suppliers for components and materials they rarely work with creates risk that materials won't move or order will go wrong leaving them with their 30%.

                With that said my supplier has Facebook page, Skype ID and website that describes company, standards and brands they work with. It's hard to say that I am dealing with trader.
                You sound very secure of your arguments. Go ahead with it and make offers then

                Regards
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  • Profile picture of the author Boris_yo
    Supplier offered 4x higher MOQ than I hoped and that was for ODM. He asked what was my target price and when I asked about customizaton, suggested to make same product. I figured if MOQ was high enough to make same product then it will be only higher for customized so I told him to return sample. Just tried avoiding MOQ and price questions as is recommended in some importing courses. Lost time and a few bucks for shipping sample because of that.
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    As a writer, I sometimes ask what the potential client's budget is. My reason is that I suspect it's way too low and I don't want to waste their time or mine with emails going back and forth when a couple gets the right info and then I take it from there.
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    Cheers, Laurence.
    Writer/Editor/Proofreader.

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