Body and material
The largest single line. 304 (18/8) stainless is the default; a heavier wall or a 316 body moves it up, and the capacity drives the coil consumed per unit.
Cost Guide
What Moves The Price, And What Only Looks Like It Does
No unit prices are published on this site, on purpose — every line below moves with quantity, finish, packing and destination, and a list price would be wrong for almost every order it was applied to. What follows is the structure a quotation is built from, so the first conversation is about the levers.
The Structure
The Eight Lines Every Quotation Is Built From
In the order they appear on a quotation, with the lever that moves each one and the usual way a buyer pulls it. The structure is the same whatever the destination; the amounts are not.
Structure and tooling
A double-wall vacuum body costs more to build than a single-wall one, and a new mould is a one-off charged separately and reused on the reorder.
Coating and plating
Powder coat, spray and metallising sit on different lines with different setup. A Pantone match, a gradient or a two-tone finish adds a maskset or a second pass.
Decoration
Silk screen is the cheapest per unit and the least flexible; laser needs no consumable but needs the machine time; embossing needs tooling. The artwork decides which of these is available.
Lid and accessories
A screw cap and a moulded carry-handle lid are not the same part. Much of the range shares one body, so the lid often moves the price more than the body does.
Packaging
A polybag and a retail colour box are different products. PDQ displays, mailer boxes and gift tubes are quoted against the dieline and the board.
Testing and documents
Food-contact and restricted-substance testing against a named standard is a per-model cost, not a per-order one; a third-party pre-shipment inspection is per order.
Freight and terms
FOB, CIF and DDP price the same goods differently, and on DDP the duty, import tax and clearance are separate lines rather than one landed figure.
The Levers
What Actually Moves, And In Which Direction
A buyer who can only change one thing should change the one with the largest effect. The fourth column is what that normally looks like in practice — not a rule, a starting point for the conversation.
| Line | Direction | Why | How buyers move it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quantity | Down | The single largest lever on a per-unit cost, and the one buyers find hardest to move — a first order is a first order. | Ordering the whole programme in one colourway rather than splitting it across three. |
| Finish | Up | Powder coat to a two-tone split, or a metallic, adds a maskset or a second pass. | Keeping to one solid colour on the body, with the brand carried by the decoration. |
| Decoration method | Up | Screen print is the cheapest per unit and the least flexible; laser needs machine time and no consumable; embossing needs tooling. | Choosing the method to the artwork rather than the artwork to the method. |
| Lid | Up | Much of the range shares one body, so the lid frequently moves the price more than the body does. | Confirming the lid before the sample, not after. |
| Packaging | Up | A polybag and a printed retail box are different products; a PDQ or a gift tube is quoted against board and dieline. | Shipping in bulk cartons for e-commerce-only programmes that need no shelf display. |
| Tooling | One-off | A new mould or maskset is charged once and reused on the reorder — it is a cost of the programme, not of the unit. | Starting from a mould that exists; we name the closest one after the brief. |
| Testing | Per model | Food-contact and substances testing is per model and per market, not per order, so it does not repeat on a reorder. | Commissioning the right set once instead of guessing twice. |
| Freight and terms | Variable | FOB, CIF and DDP price the same goods differently, and on DDP duty, import tax and clearance are separate lines rather than one landed figure. | Comparing quotations on the same Incoterm before comparing totals. |
Commonly Believed
Five Things That Are Not Quite True
Each of these comes from a real enquiry. None of them is stupid; each is a rule of thumb that stops being true in a specific place.
A larger order always costs less per unit.
It lowers the per-unit share of the fixed lines — tooling, setup, testing. Past the point where those are covered, the marginal saving is the material and the run rate, which are already quoted.
A heavier body is a better body.
It is a different body. Weight buys dent resistance and a thicker wall, and it also buys more steel per unit and a heavier carton, which is where a container hits its weight limit.
A cheaper unit price is a cheaper programme.
Only if the two quotations are for the same article, decoration, packing and Incoterm. A quotation that leaves out the retail carton is cheaper by exactly the carton.
Sampling is a cost to avoid.
A decorated sample is made by the production method, so it carries real setup. That setup is used again in the run, which is why it is a separate line rather than a hidden margin.
Freight is a fixed percentage.
It is a rate against a volume and a weight, and both move with packing. Re-quoting the carton is often the cheapest way to move a landed cost.
Like For Like
Six Questions That Make Two Quotations Comparable
Most "this supplier is cheaper" conclusions are a comparison of two different products. These six settle it before the totals are read.
- The same Incoterm. FOB against DDP is not a comparison of suppliers, it is a comparison of who pays the freight.
- The same lid. Much of the range shares a body, so the lid is where two quotations quietly diverge.
- The same decoration method, at the same size. Screen print and laser are not the same product, and neither is a logo at 40 mm or 90 mm.
- The same packing. Polybag against printed retail box is the difference in the total far more often than the unit price is.
- The same testing scope. One quotation may include the food-contact test for your market and the other may assume it.
- The same payment and validity terms. A price held for 30 days against one held for 90 is not the same offer.
Terms
Incoterms, In One Paragraph Each
- EXWEx Works. The goods are yours at our factory gate; you arrange collection, export clearance and everything after it.
- FOBFree On Board. We clear the goods for export and load them on the vessel at the named port. Freight, insurance and import are yours.
- CIFCost, Insurance and Freight. We add the sea freight and marine insurance to the destination port. Import clearance and inland delivery are still yours.
- DDPDelivered Duty Paid. We deliver to your named address with duty and import charges settled. The most inclusive term, and the one with the most variables behind the single figure — duty, tax and clearance are separate lines inside it.
Enquiry
Ask For The Structure Against Your Configuration
Send the model, quantity, decoration, packing and destination and the reply comes back as the same eight lines, filled in for your programme.