Why Two Suppliers Quote Differently for the Same Garment

Garment quotes differ because suppliers are often pricing different versions of the same brief. The price is useful only after its scope, material, quantity and commercial assumptions have been made visible. A lower figure can reflect a leaner garment, a smaller service scope or an optimistic consumption calculation. It can also reflect a genuinely efficient route. The number alone cannot tell you which.

This matters most when a tech pack is early. A drawing, measurement chart and fibre composition may be enough to start a conversation, yet still leave open the fabric construction, finish, colour standard, trim route, packing detail and delivery basis. Each supplier fills those gaps from its own experience. Three apparently firm quotes can therefore be three internally sensible calculations for three different garments.

The practical job is normalisation. Ask every supplier to price the same stated assumptions, then identify any remaining difference. That protects the supplier with the higher figure as much as the buyer considering it: an honest price should not lose to a cheaper offer that has excluded work or changed the material without saying so. How an FOB price is built provides the underlying cost structure; this guide shows where two build-ups drift apart.

Why are quotes for the same garment not comparable?

They are not comparable until they cover the same scope. The first question is whether the supplier is pricing CMT work on buyer-supplied materials, a programme with buyer-nominated fabric, or a full-package programme that includes sourcing fabric and trims. CMT can look sharply cheaper because fabric, usually the largest cost line, sits outside the figure.

The same issue applies to the work around the garment. A quote may include sampling, testing coordination, inspection, packing development and export handling. Another may assume these are arranged separately. Neither approach is inherently wrong, but the distinction must be visible before a buyer treats the totals as competing prices.

Quote basis	What is commonly included	What needs confirming
CMT	Garment make and agreed production work	Who supplies fabric, trims, packing and testing
Buyer-nominated materials	Garment work plus use of specified materials	Whether quantities, wastage and material transport are included
Full-package	Material sourcing, garment production and agreed packing	The exact material and service scope priced
Development allowance	Sample work and revisions within an agreed brief	Number of rounds and what triggers an extra charge
Quality activity	Checks or inspection support	The agreed standard, timing and responsibility

A comparison sheet should also record the currency, quoted validity, delivery basis and whether the price is per piece or a total. A total can conceal different size ratios, colour splits or packing quantities. Put the quote basis at the top of the sheet before any unit prices are ranked.

Are suppliers pricing the same delivery basis?

They may not be. An Incoterm allocates defined delivery, cost and risk responsibilities between seller and buyer, so the named term and place belong beside every price. A supplier quoting goods available at its premises is not offering the same scope as one pricing delivery to a named port or destination. ^[1]

The International Chamber of Commerce publishes Incoterms® 2020 as rules that allocate costs, risks and obligations. Use the same current rule and named place in each request for quotation. If one supplier has quoted a different basis, ask for a recosting onto the chosen basis before deciding that it is cheaper.

Do not try to repair this by subtracting a guessed freight allowance from one price. The missing detail is usually wider than freight. A supplier may have allowed a different packing method, export document set or handover point as well. The sensible comparison is a revised quotation, backed by the same delivery instruction. For the terms themselves, see Incoterms for apparel importers.

What fabric assumptions make a quote move?

Fabric assumptions often create the largest spread. A composition alone does not define a cloth. GSM, yarn count, construction, fibre quality, finish, colour process and testing expectations can all affect both the price and the garment's hand-feel, appearance and performance. A supplier can meet a loose description with a materially different fabric.

GSM is a direct cost lever because it changes the weight of fabric used in every garment. Construction can move the number just as much. A jersey at the same nominal weight may use a different yarn, stitch structure or finishing route. Fabric GSM and cotton yarn counts explain the questions that turn a broad fabric note into a usable specification.

Fabric point	How quotes can diverge	Comparison record
Weight	A lower GSM uses less material per garment	Target GSM and permitted tolerance
Construction	Knit or weave details alter cost and behaviour	Construction, yarn count and stitch or weave reference
Fibre route	Different fibre inputs can meet a broad composition	Required fibre specification and evidence needed
Finish	Brushing, peaching, coating, washing or special effects change cost	Approved finish description or reference swatch
Colour	Shade, dye route and colour approval affect material planning	Colour standard, number of shades and approval process

If the fabric has not been selected, ask every supplier to attach its priced fabric specification to the quotation. It should identify the construction, weight, composition, finish and price basis. That gives the buyer a real choice: approve one common fabric route, request alternatives, or accept that the quotes are for different product positions.

How do quantity, colour and consumption change unit cost?

They change it because material and production economics are not linear. A mill may set a minimum for a colour or construction, and a garment unit may have setup work that cannot be spread across a very small run. Minimums are set per style and confirmed at enquiry. A unit price makes sense only when it is tied to the quantity by style, colour and size that produced it.

Colourways deserve their own line. Each new shade can create a separate material booking, approval sequence and minimum exposure. A quote based on an even colour split may not survive a later decision to put most of the volume into one shade and only a small balance into several others. Ask the supplier to show the assumed split, not merely the total order quantity.

Consumption is equally important. It is the fabric used for one garment after the marker plan and an allowance for expected loss. Checks, stripes, directional prints, pile fabrics and pieces with awkward shapes can reduce marker efficiency. A supplier may have a better marker plan, yet an unusually low consumption number needs a clear basis before it becomes a buying decision.

Volume assumption	Effect on the quote	Detail to capture
Quantity per style	Spreads setup and fixed work across pieces	Exact units per style
Colourway split	Changes material bookings and dye-lot exposure	Units in each colour
Size ratio	Alters fabric use and cutting yield	Full size breakdown
Consumption	Drives the fabric cost per garment	Fabric use per garment and marker basis
Wastage	Covers expected loss in material use	Wastage shown separately from consumption

Do not accept a blended fabric cost when two suppliers have used different assumptions. Ask for the fabric price per unit of measure, consumption per garment and allowance for wastage as separate fields. This is not an invitation to disclose a supplier's entire cost structure. It is the minimum information needed to establish whether two material lines describe the same requirement.

Which trims, packing and service costs are easy to miss?

Trims and packing are easy to leave vague because each item is small. Taken together, they can move a quote enough to reverse the apparent saving. Main labels, care labels, hangtags, buttons, zips, thread, polybags, carton marks, cartons and retailer-specific presentation all need an included or excluded status. “Standard trims” is not a sufficiently precise description for a comparison.

Testing and inspection also need a stated treatment. A buyer may arrange independent testing or inspection, ask the supplier to coordinate it, or agree a combined process. The quote should say which activity is allowed for and what the result is checked against. Reading a mill test report helps distinguish a material record from a general assurance that testing will happen.

Cost area	Common comparison gap	Useful quote wording
Labels and hangtags	Final artwork or label type is not yet fixed	List each included label and its specification status
Hardware and thread	Approved make or finish has not been named	State the assumed item, finish and source route
Individual packing	Polybag, folding and sticker requirements differ	Describe the packing method per garment
Outer packing	Carton strength, ratio and marks vary	State carton assumptions and buyer-supplied artwork
Testing and inspection	Activity is assumed or omitted	Identify included activity and agreed acceptance basis
Sample revisions	Further rounds are treated inconsistently	State the priced rounds and approval point

Commercial assumptions need the same discipline. Payment timing, currency treatment, quote validity and the point at which material prices are confirmed can affect the number or its reliability. The aim is not to force identical commercial terms at the first enquiry. It is to identify where a lower price rests on a different assumption. Payment terms in textile trade gives the wider context for that conversation.

How should a buyer normalise garment quotes?

Start by issuing one comparison brief and asking each supplier to complete it. The brief should have no hidden choices: style, quantity, colour split, size ratio, material specification, trim list, packing reference, delivery basis, quality plan and commercial assumptions should all be explicit. Where a decision is genuinely open, ask for separately labelled options rather than one blended price.

Normalisation step	What to do	Decision it supports
Fix the quote basis	Identify CMT, buyer-nominated or full-package scope	Whether the totals contain the same work
Set the delivery basis	Use one Incoterm and named place	Whether logistics scope is comparable
Freeze the fabric input	Give one specification or record each alternative	Whether the garment itself is the same
State volume assumptions	Provide style, colour and size quantities	Whether unit economics use the same run
Separate consumption	Show use and wastage as distinct fields	Whether fabric cost is credible
List trims and packing	Mark each item included, excluded or provisional	Whether extras will emerge later
Record quality activity	State testing and inspection approach	Whether service scope is complete
Compare commercial assumptions	Record currency, validity and payment structure	Whether price certainty is equivalent

Once the sheet is complete, compare the price lines and the unresolved items together. A supplier may offer a lower fabric option that is appropriate for the product. Another may have priced a more demanding finish. Those are commercial choices, not errors, provided they are visible and the buyer chooses between them knowingly.

The final comparison should leave a short decision record: the chosen specification, the agreed exclusions, the quotation version and the approvals still needed before bulk. This record prevents the same assumptions being reopened when a sample, material booking or invoice exposes a gap. In contract and CMT work, the buyer's nominated materials change some fields, but the same discipline around scope, packing and delivery still applies.

Short FAQ

One quote is much lower than the others. Should we take it?

No. First confirm that scope, fabric, quantity, consumption, packing, delivery basis and commercial assumptions match. If the lower quote remains lower after that exercise, it may represent a real commercial advantage worth assessing.

Should suppliers itemise every cost in a quotation?

No. They should make the assumptions that move the price clear. A comparison needs an identified fabric route, consumption basis, trim and packing scope, delivery basis and material commercial assumptions. It does not require every internal cost line.

What is the biggest reason garment quotes differ?

Fabric and scope are commonly the largest drivers. A CMT quote beside a full-package quote, or two prices based on different fabric weights and finishes, can create a large gap before any difference in production efficiency is considered.

Can a supplier revise a quote after sampling?

Yes. A revision can be appropriate when the approved sample changes fabric, construction, trims, packing, quantity or delivery requirements. The revision should identify the changed assumption and its cost effect so the buyer can compare it with the original basis.

The number worth negotiating

The right garment quote is not the lowest first number. It is the price for the approved scope, material and delivery basis, with the assumptions written clearly enough to hold through sampling and bulk. Normalising quotes turns a three-way price argument into a product and sourcing decision.

Once the assumptions are aligned, a remaining price gap is useful information. It may point to a more efficient route, a different service level or a risk that needs further discussion. That is the number worth negotiating, because it is finally a price for the same garment.