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Padlocks and Door Locks: An RFQ That Makes Quotes Comparable

Updated

Locks are the product where two quotes for "a 50 mm brass padlock" can describe completely different things. One has a solid brass body, a hardened steel shackle and a pin-tumbler cylinder with thousands of key differs. The other has a thin brass shell over zinc, a plain steel shackle and a few dozen key combinations. Both are a 50 mm brass padlock. So this page is built as the request for quotation a wholesaler should send, line by line, with the reason for each. We found no buyer story worth telling, and the spec is the useful part, so the page is short.

For the metal duty picture, which can matter more than the price gap between suppliers, read engineering goods and hardware first.

The RFQ, Line by Line

  1. Type. Padlock, mortice lock, rim lock, cylinder, furniture lock, or keys alone. Each is a different HS line, so say which.
  2. Body material and construction. Solid brass, laminated steel, zinc alloy or iron, and whether it's solid or a shell. Ask for the body weight. Weight is the quickest check that you got what you quoted.
  3. Shackle or bolt. Material, diameter and whether it's hardened. A hardened shackle resists cutting. Ask how the hardness was checked.
  4. Mechanism. Lever, pin tumbler, disc or dimple, and the number of pins or levers.
  5. Key differs. How many different key combinations the factory makes in this model. A low number means one customer's key may open another customer's lock.
  6. Keyed alike or master-keyed, if you sell to trade users who want one key for many locks.
  7. Standard and grade. In Europe, padlocks are graded under EN 12320 from grade 1 to grade 6, by tests for strength, corrosion, durability and attack resistance (Union, EN 12320 (opens in a new tab)). Cylinders use EN 1303's eight-digit code, and the grade digits matter more than the standard's name (ASSA ABLOY (opens in a new tab)). If you want a grade on the pack, ask whose lab tested it and for the report. A supplier who quotes "EN standard" without a grade hasn't told you anything.
  8. Finish and corrosion. Plating type and a salt-spray result in hours, for outdoor locks especially.
  9. Packing and branding. Your brand on the body or key, blister or box, and inner and outer cartons.

Use our RFQ template to send the same nine lines to every maker, so the quotes compare like for like.

HS Classification and Duty

Locks sit in heading 8301: padlocks at 8301.10, furniture locks at 8301.30, other locks including door cylinders at 8301.40, parts at 8301.60 and keys sent on their own at 8301.70. Getting the subheading right matters most in the US, where the metal duty depends on the line (classifying locks). In the EU, India's GSP preference is suspended for base-metal goods from 2026 to 2028, so Indian locks pay the standard rate until the EU agreement applies. Check your exact line with your customs broker before you price, and bring the material breakdown, not just a description.

Where They're Made

Aligarh is the town to start with, and its workshops make locks, fasteners and metal craft side by side. Ask whether the bodies, levers and castings are made in-house or bought in. Buying them in is normal job work, but then the casting supplier decides the metal, so ask who it is. The town is profiled on Aligarh. If you want a sample batch weighed, cut open and checked against the RFQ before you order, SourcingSync (opens in a new tab) arranges that.

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