Three questions first
Before you compare anything, ask these. A supplier who answers all three clearly is already in the top tier; one who answers none has told you the price is not the price.
- Does the unit price include tooling? Tooling is a one-off cost and the tool is yours. If it is buried in the unit price you cannot see it, cannot compare it, and cannot re-order at a true unit price later.
- At what quantity is this unit price valid? Unit cost falls with volume because setup is spread. A price quoted at 5,000 units is not the price at 800.
- How long is the price held? Materials and freight move. A serious quote states a validity window, commonly 30 to 60 days, and says what happens after it.
How a unit price is built
Taking a mid-complexity plush as the worked example, this is the structure behind the number. Exact figures vary by design and season; the point is the shape of it.
| Cost element | What it is | Where it gets quietly cut |
|---|---|---|
| Outer fabric | Priced per metre and by weight (gsm); printed or dyed to your Pantone. | Lower gsm, thinner pile. Looks fine in a photo, feels cheap in the hand, wears badly. |
| Filling | Polyester fibrefill, priced by weight and grade. | Less fill, lower-loft fibre. The toy arrives under-stuffed and slumps after a month. |
| Hardware | Safety eyes, noses, joints, squeakers, zips. | Non-locking glued eyes instead of rated locking eyes. This is the one that can fail a pull test and lose the shipment. |
| Embroidery & printing | Facial features, logos, care labels. | Printed where embroidery was specified; fewer stitches; lower thread count. |
| Labour | Cutting, sewing, stuffing, closing, brushing, finishing. | Line speed. More units per hour means more visible seams and more rework later. |
| Packaging | Polybag, hangtag, printed box, master carton. | Thinner cartons. Fails a drop test, arrives crushed. |
| Wastage allowance | Cutting loss, defect rate, spare components. | No allowance — which means defects ship instead of being replaced. |
| Testing & certification | Accredited lab testing for your target market (EN71, ASTM F963 / CPSIA). | Omitted entirely. The most expensive omission on this list. |
| Tooling (one-off) | Moulds, dies, embroidery digitising, printing plates. | Hidden inside the unit price, or quoted low and revised after you commit. |
| Factory margin | The factory's profit and overhead. | Squeezed to win the order, then recovered through change orders. |
Five ways a quote comes in 30% lower
- Lighter materials. Lower fabric weight and less fill are invisible in a quotation and obvious in a hand-feel comparison. This is the most common 10–15%.
- Tooling moved out of the unit price — either charged later, or amortised into a unit price that assumes you re-order three times.
- Testing excluded. Not a rounding error: accredited testing for a toy is a real line item. If it is missing, the quote is not for the same product.
- Different quantity assumption. A price built at 5,000 quoted against someone else's price built at 1,000.
- No allowance for QC, rework or defects. A quote with zero defect allowance is a quote that ships defects. Inline QC and a final inspection cost money and save a season.
None of these is necessarily dishonest — but all of them mean the two numbers are not measuring the same thing. The 30% gap usually closes to single digits once both quotes include the same scope.
Add it up the same way for both suppliers: tooling + (unit price × your real quantity) + testing + packaging + freight + duty. Then compare. The cheapest unit price is frequently not the cheapest project, and never the cheapest one that arrives sellable.
What MOQ actually is
MOQ is not an arbitrary gate. It is the point where the setup cost — cutting, colour changeover, machine setup, line time, minimum fabric dye lot — spreads thinly enough that the unit price makes sense. Setup costs roughly the same whether you make 300 or 3,000 units.
That is why the unit price jumps steeply below the MOQ: the factory is either absorbing setup or declining the run. Asking for 200 units of a design that needs a custom dye lot is not a small order, it is a different product economics. If your first run genuinely has to be small, say so at the start — we can often design to standard materials and existing colourways, which removes the dye-lot minimum entirely and costs far less than fighting the MOQ.
Signals: what a good quote looks like
- One number, no breakdown, no quantity stated.
- Tooling "included" with no figure and no statement that you own it.
- No mention of testing or your target market's standard.
- No price validity date.
- Sample free of charge on a complex custom item, with no credit terms explained.
- Pressure to confirm before you have seen a sample.
- Tooling quoted separately, and stated as yours.
- Material specifications named: fabric weight, fill grade, hardware type.
- Testing named to the standard your market requires.
- Unit price tied to a stated quantity, with a price band for other volumes.
- Validity window and sample-fee credit terms in writing.
- They ask about your target market before they quote.
How we quote
We separate tooling from unit price, name the materials by specification rather than by description, quote a price band across quantities instead of a single flattering number, and state the validity window. If your target market needs testing, it is on the quote as its own line, before you commit — not as a surprise after tooling.
We are not always the cheapest number in your inbox. We are the number that still holds after the sample, the testing and the third revision round.
Buyer FAQ
Why is one factory's quote 30% cheaper for the same toy?
Almost never because they are more efficient. In our experience the gap comes from five places: lighter materials, tooling cost moved out of the unit price, testing and certification excluded, a different quantity assumption, or no allowance for QC and rework. Ask which one it is and the gap usually closes.
What three questions should I ask about any toy quote?
Does it include tooling? At what quantity is this unit price valid? And how long is the price held? A unit price without those three answers is not comparable to anything.
Should tooling be separate from the unit price?
Yes. Tooling is a one-off cost and you own the tool. When it is buried in the unit price you cannot see what you are paying for the mould, you cannot compare suppliers, and you lose the ability to re-order later at a true unit price.
Why does the unit price jump when I order fewer than the MOQ?
Because most of the cost of a small run is setup, not material. Cutting, colour changeover, machine setup and line time cost roughly the same whether you make 300 or 3,000 units. Below the minimum the factory is either absorbing that setup or refusing the run.
Is a sample fee normal?
Yes for a custom design. A hand-made sample costs real pattern-making and labour. Normal practice is to charge it and credit it against your bulk order. A supplier who samples entirely for free on a complex custom item is usually building the cost into a unit price you have not seen yet.
Does the quote include safety testing?
Often not, and this is the most expensive omission. Accredited lab testing for your target market is a separate line. Assume it is excluded unless the quote names the standard and the lab. Testing after production instead of before is how a shipment gets held at the border.
How long is a toy quote valid?
Material and freight costs move, so a serious quote states a validity window, commonly 30 to 60 days, and notes what happens to the price after it. A quote with no expiry is not a commitment; it is an invitation to renegotiate later.