Send every wholesale toy supplier the same 10-field RFQ and require written confirmation of deviations before comparing unit prices. Specify the item, quantity by model, destination, sales channel, arrival window, packaging, branding, battery or liquid configuration, market documents, and trade terms. Then compare only offers covering that same scope. A cheaper quote for different packaging, an earlier shipping milestone, or excluded freight is not an equivalent offer.
Which 10 fields should a wholesale toy RFQ include?
| 1. SKU or product link and exact configuration | Quote [supplier item reference or product URL], with [finished dimensions, materials, colors, functions, accessories, and target age grade]. Attach a marked reference image or specification revision. For custom work, include dimensioned artwork. These details fix the construction being priced; a similar-looking item is not an approved substitute. |
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| 2. Quantity by model and variant | Requested quantity: [units per model], split into [units per color or variant]. State any acceptable assortment. Confirm MOQ separately for each quoted configuration and identify any order-multiple restriction. Total inquiry volume alone does not define the production quantity for each item, color, or customized package. |
| 3. Destination and delivery point | Destination market: [country]. Delivery point: [named port, warehouse address, or fulfillment location, including postal code where relevant]. Identify any split destinations. This gives the supplier a defined endpoint for transport costing rather than an assumption about which port or warehouse the buyer means. |
| 4. Sales channel | Sales channel: [wholesale distribution, retail store, marketplace, or other specified channel]. Attach relevant retailer or fulfillment instructions, including barcode, labeling, and packing requirements. Channel instructions can change preparation work and packaging scope; naming a marketplace alone does not communicate its specific receiving requirements. |
| 5. Required arrival window | Required arrival at [named delivery point]: [date or date range]. Identify any fixed launch deadline. Request proposed sample approval, production completion, and dispatch milestones. An arrival deadline is not a factory-ready date; separating these milestones makes schedule assumptions visible before the quote is accepted. |
| 6. Unit packaging and export cartons | Unit pack: [pack type, dimensions, insert, printing, and language]. Export packing: [carton requirements or attached specification]. Request units per carton, carton dimensions, and gross and net weights. Packaging affects the quoted pack cost and shipment volume, so a plain-pack offer should not be compared directly with a printed retail-pack offer. |
| 7. Branding and customization | Branding scope: [none, or logo placement, decoration method, artwork, labels, and customized instructions]. Attach the artwork revision and specify the approval process. Ask for sample, artwork, tooling, and other one-time charges to be itemized separately from repeat-order unit costs so setup charges remain visible. |
| 8. Battery and liquid details | Battery configuration: [none, or chemistry, type, count, included or excluded, installed or separately packed, and charging accessories]. Liquid configuration: [none, or liquid identity, volume per unit, container, and included or user-added]. Request confirmation of the configuration used for component, packing, and freight pricing; do not leave these assumptions to the supplier. |
| 9. Market documents and testing scope | Target market and age grade: [details]. Requested documents, tests, labels, and retailer paperwork: [list or attached requirements]. Ask which existing reports cover the proposed construction and which additional work is separately priced. Document review, testing, and label preparation must have a defined scope rather than a general promise of certification. |
| 10. Trade terms and commercial basis | Quote in [currency] under [requested trade term, named place or port, and applicable edition]. State payment terms, quotation validity, included charges, and exclusions. Request product, customization, packaging, testing, and transport charges to be separated where applicable. A unit price is comparable only when both offers cover the same commercial scope. |
Which quotation details require written confirmation?
Require the supplier to confirm the exact specification, quantity conditions, included costs, schedule milestones, and document coverage in the quotation—not just acknowledge receipt of the RFQ.
Ask for a response against every field: confirmed as requested, alternative proposed, or excluded. Any alternative should identify the affected item and its price or schedule consequence. Keep the RFQ revision and quotation reference together so a later packaging or artwork change does not silently replace the original basis.
Confirm MOQ per item and configuration. Packaging, color assortment, and customization can change the minimum; do not assume one catalog-wide MOQ. Record any order-multiple restriction separately from the minimum quantity, and do not treat units per carton as an automatic purchasing restriction. Wholesale Toy Sourcing Checklist
For documents, compare the report’s product description and photographs with the proposed toy, then review its issue date, testing scope, age grade, and warning statements. This is a purchasing check, not a substitute for determining applicable legal requirements or conducting safety testing. Wholesale Toy Sourcing Checklist
How do you compare quotes when the included scope differs?
Compare the total quoted cost for the same specification and delivery scope; request a revised quote wherever a material difference remains.
Consider a scope comparison: your RFQ requests a printed retail box, protective insert, and transport to a named warehouse. If one offer includes all three while another covers only a plain unit pack at the factory, their unit prices do not answer the same purchasing question. Have the second supplier price the requested packaging and transport, or have both suppliers re-quote an identical narrower scope. Do not fill the gaps with guessed allowances.
Apply the same test to timing. A production-completion estimate cannot be scored as meeting a warehouse-arrival deadline. Ask for the proposed shipping plan and the arrival assumption separately, without treating either as a guaranteed outcome.
Use one comparison sheet with columns for requested scope, each supplier’s confirmed scope, deviations, and quoted charges. Keep one-time charges separate, but include them when evaluating the current order. Product reference, packaging, carton data, payment terms, validity, and production schedule all belong in the comparison—not in scattered follow-up messages. Wholesale Toy Sourcing Checklist
