Articles / RFQ / 28 Sep 2026 / 3 min read
RFQ template for China sourcing: what to send suppliers to get accurate quotes
A vague RFQ gets a vague quote — usually a price that quietly assumes the cheapest version of your product. This is the template we use when requesting quotes on behalf of buyers, with the reasoning behind every field.
Send ten suppliers the same sloppy RFQ and you will get ten quotes you cannot compare — different materials, different tolerances, different assumptions about packaging. Send ten suppliers the tight RFQ below and you get numbers that actually answer the same question. The quality of the quotes you receive is decided almost entirely by the quality of the request.
Why RFQs fail before anyone replies
Three failure patterns cover most bad quotes:
- “Please quote this product” with a photo and nothing else. The supplier quotes their stock version or a guess. Two months later the mass production does not match the sample, and both sides blame the other.
- No target quantity. Price is a function of volume. Without a quantity, the supplier either picks one for you (usually a high one, to protect their margin) or ignores you.
- Asking everything from everyone. A 40-question form sent to 20 suppliers gets fewer usable replies than a 10-field form sent to 6 shortlisted ones. Screen factories first — our factory audit checklist covers how — then send the RFQ.
The 10-field RFQ template
Copy this structure into your next RFQ email. Each field exists because its absence creates an assumption, and assumptions become disputes.
| # | Field | What to write |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Product description | What it is, what it does, target market. One paragraph — this sets the quality floor in the supplier's head. |
| 2 | Specifications | Materials (with grade), dimensions with tolerances, weight, colors (Pantone codes, not “red”), finish. A drawing or 3D file beats all of it. |
| 3 | Reference samples or photos | A competitor product photo, a golden sample, or your own prototype. “Like this, but our logo” is the single most effective sentence in any RFQ. |
| 4 | Quantity | Per-order quantity and expected annual volume. The annual number often unlocks a better unit price than the first order alone. |
| 5 | Target price | Yes, include it. Suppliers anchor on it either way; stating it filters out factories that cannot reach your market's price point and saves weeks. |
| 6 | Packaging | Retail box or plain export carton? Insert, label, barcode? Packaging routinely adds 5–15% to unit cost — quote it explicitly. |
| 7 | Compliance & testing | Required certifications for your market (CE, FCC, CPC, etc.) and whether you need test reports in your company's name. Cheap factories quietly drop this — make it a line item. |
| 8 | Incoterms & destination | FOB Ningbo? DDP Los Angeles? Without this you cannot compare quotes, because one supplier includes freight and another does not. |
| 9 | Timeline | Sample lead time, production lead time, first shipment date. Ask for all three — “we can do it” answers collapse when the three dates are written down. |
| 10 | What you will check | State that samples will be tested and production will be inspected against the approved sample. Factories quote more honestly when they know someone is checking. See our pre-shipment inspection guide for what that looks like. |
Reading the replies
The first round of quotes tells you more about the supplier than about the price:
- They answered every field — including the awkward ones — even when the answer was “we can't”. That is a factory used to working with serious buyers.
- They asked clarifying questions before quoting. Counterintuitively, this is a good sign: they intend to manufacture your product, not guess at it.
- They quoted instantly, without questions, at a price far below the others. Usually the price of a different product than yours. Ask them to confirm the specification in writing and watch what happens.
A proper reply also comes with a validity date on the price (30 days is normal — raw material moves), a sample cost and sample lead time, and payment terms. If those are missing, ask once. Suppliers that dodge twice will dodge during production too.
From quote to order
The winning quote is not the cheapest one — it is the cheapest one from a supplier who can prove the specification. Before any deposit: run our factory audit checklist on the shortlisted factory, get the specification attached to the proforma invoice word for word, and confirm what inspection will check. Before it goes out, check it against this RFQ checklist one more time.