RFQ Template: A Request for Quotation Suppliers Can Answer Like for Like

A buyer who sells premium tees went to Tiruppur in 2026, through a friend's reference, and ordered six custom SKUs. Later the same maker offered existing stock "at nearly 25% lower pricing than what I had paid" (r/Tiruppur, 2026 (opens in a new tab)). Nobody cheated anybody. Custom work carries development, small runs and setup, and running-line stock doesn't. The buyer just never asked for both prices, so there was nothing to weigh the custom quote against.

A request for quotation (RFQ) fixes that kind of thing before it happens. Its job isn't to get a low price. It's to get prices that line up, so when four quotes come back you're comparing four answers to one question. Below is the template, ready to paste into an email, then a note on why each block is there. One caveat. An RFQ only works once you know what you want, so if you haven't written a brief yet, start with the sourcing brief builder.

The Template

Copy it, fill the brackets, delete what doesn't apply, and send the identical text to every supplier on your shortlist.

Why Each Block Is There

1. Who we are. Factories prioritise. A buyer with a clear market and a plausible repeat order gets a better answer than an anonymous email with one line in it. Keep it honest, though. Inflating your annual volume gets you a price you won't see on the reorder.

2. Product, with tolerances. "Cotton T-shirt" gets you a dozen different shirts. A spec with tolerances gets you one. The HS code matters early too, because duty depends on it and your landed cost depends on duty. The HS code finder is a starting point, though your customs broker has the final word. Name your market's tests here, not after the sample, because a factory may change its supplier of dyes or metal to meet them, and that changes the price.

3. Two quantities. Asking for two price points tells you how the price moves with volume, and it often shows where the supplier's own MOQ really sits. Ask for the packaging MOQ separately. Printed boxes and labels can carry a higher minimum than the goods, which buyers discover after the order is placed (forum signals, 2025 to 2026).

4. Packaging. Export packing is one of the charges most likely to show up late as an extra, so it belongs in the spec, not in a follow-up email.

5. Price basis, the block that makes quotes comparable. Without a named Incoterm and a named place, four quotes can mean four different things. EXW at the factory leaves you to clear the goods for export from inside the seller's country, which you usually can't do from abroad. FOB at a named port or FCA at a named place is the normal ask. Choosing FOB or FCA explains the difference for containers. Then ask for the costs itemised, because "price per unit" quietly mixes the unit cost with one-off setup.

The running-line line is the Tiruppur lesson. Many makers already produce something close to what you want, and some will happily say what it costs. Asking for it costs nothing, and it gives you the yardstick that buyer didn't have. It also tests fit. US brands have said for years that some Indian factories lose interest when a product is new, and would rather sell what they already run (r/FulfillmentByAmazon, 2020 (opens in a new tab)). That's an older signal, but the line tells you quickly whether you're asking for development or for production.

Never use directory prices as your benchmark either. Buyers say the price quoted after an enquiry is "usually significantly higher" than the listing (r/india, 2023 (opens in a new tab)), and others reply that the listings are simply old brochures nobody updated. Either way the RFQ answer is the real number.

6. Samples. Sample time, sample cost and whether it's credited against bulk vary a lot between suppliers, so put them in the same reply. A quote with a fast bulk lead time and a slow sampling cycle isn't fast.

7. Which unit. Ask it here, in writing, so the answer becomes part of the quote. Small bulk orders can move to a partner unit that never made your sample, and that's common, legal and usually fine if you know. The answer also feeds the supplier verification checklist.

8. Payment and documents. Suppliers quote against risk. A buyer who proposes staged payment tied to events often gets a different price from one who leaves terms open. Name the proof of origin your market needs, because a supplier who can't issue it removes the preferential duty you counted on (see certificate of origin).

9. Quality. Putting the inspection and the AQL in the RFQ means the supplier prices it in and can't call it a surprise later. AQL sampling explained shows how to choose a level.

"Write cannot." The last line is there for a reason. Some suppliers would rather say yes to everything than say no once. Inviting a "cannot" makes it easier to give an honest answer, and an honest gap is worth more than a confident guess.

When The Quotes Come Back

Put them side by side on the same basis before you look at the totals. Any reply that changed the Incoterm, skipped the itemisation or ignored a line goes back with one polite question, not into the comparison. Then turn each unit price into a cost at your door with the landed cost calculator, because the cheapest unit price isn't always the cheapest delivered price.

Sending It To India: Lines To Add

Three lines change an Indian quote and belong in every RFQ to India. They're explained on how to source from India, with the payment side on MOQ, pricing and payment:

• Ask whether the price assumes an export rebate. India has duty-remission schemes that can affect an exporter's quote, so you want to know if yours leans on one.
• Ask for a zero-rated export invoice. Exports carry no Indian GST, so a quote that adds GST is coming from someone who isn't the exporter.
• Ask whose IEC the shipment goes out on. A small maker may export through a merchant exporter, which is normal, but you want the exporter of record named before you pay.

If you'd like the RFQ sent, chased and normalised for you by a team in India, SourcingSync (opens in a new tab) runs that stage, and the samples after it.