How to read an FOB quote and an MOQ.

1. What FOB covers, and where it stops

FOB stands for Free On Board. It's one of the International Chamber of Commerce's Incoterms rules, which set out who pays for what and when the risk moves from seller to buyer. Under FOB, the seller clears the goods for export and delivers them on board the ship you or your forwarder booked, at a named port in China. From that moment the goods are at your risk, and the ocean freight, insurance, destination charges, duty and delivery to your door are your costs.

Three details decide whether a quote means what it seems to.

• The named port. "FOB Ningbo" or "FOB Shenzhen" is a complete term. "FOB China" isn't, because the price has to include getting the goods to a particular port, and your freight quote depends on which one. A quote naming an inland city, such as "FOB Yiwu", needs a follow-up too: goods from there normally leave through a seaport such as Ningbo or Shanghai.
• The point where risk passes. Once the goods are on board, loss or damage is your risk, even though you haven't seen them and may already have paid. Insurance isn't part of the price. If you want cargo cover, you or your forwarder has to arrange it.
• The way it ships. FOB is written for sea and inland waterway shipments. Sellers often use it loosely to mean "export-ready price", including for air freight, courier and small consolidated (LCL) shipments, where the seller never loads anything onto a ship. For goods handed over at a container terminal, the ICC's guidance points to FCA (Free Carrier) instead. If you aren't shipping a full container by sea, ask exactly where the seller's cost stops.

2. FOB next to EXW, CIF and DDP

To compare an EXW price with an FOB one, add the cost of getting the goods to the port and through export clearance. A forwarder can quote both. For the costs after the port, the landed-cost guide goes through freight, duty and the fees nobody quotes.

3. What the FOB number doesn't tell you

FOB describes a delivery point. It says nothing about what's being delivered or on what terms, so a price can be accurate and still not comparable with another one. It's silent on all of these.

• Specification. Material grade, thickness, size, finish and accessories. Two listings that share a photo can differ on every one of them.
• Packaging. A polybag, a plain box and a printed retail box are different costs. Ask what's included, and get the carton size, units per carton and gross weight, because a freight quote needs them.
• One-off costs. Moulds, print plates, set-up and samples are often separate lines. Ask whether any of them are refunded on a later order.
• Validity. Prices move with materials and the exchange rate. Ask how long the quote stands, and keep the date.
• Payment terms. A deposit with the balance before shipment is a common arrangement, and the price may change with the terms. The payment guide ranks the routes by how reversible they are.
• Lead time. Ask when the clock starts: at the deposit, or at sample approval.
• The unit. Piece, set, pair, carton, metre or kilogram. A "set" can contain one item or several.

4. Why the listed price is a range

A published range such as US$4.50–4.96 usually means one of three things, and only the first is a discount you can earn.

• Quantity tiers. The top number is for the smallest tier and the bottom number for the largest. So the low end of the range and the MOQ usually don't go together, even though they're printed side by side.
• Different versions. Several sizes, materials or finishes under one listing. The low number may be the smallest or lightest version, which may not be the one in the photo.
• A placeholder. Some sellers publish a rough number and quote properly only after an inquiry. Some published prices are simply out of date.

Treat an unusually low listed price as a reason to ask questions. It may be a high-tier price, a lighter specification, or a number meant to attract inquiries. A written quote for your specification, quantity and port, with a date on it, is the number to compare.

5. What an MOQ actually applies to

MOQ means minimum order quantity. The number on a listing leaves open what it's counted against.

• Per order, or per variant. "MOQ 500" may apply to the whole order, or to each colour, size or design. If it's per colour, three colours means 1,500 units.
• Stock, or production. A very low MOQ, such as 1 or 10 pieces, usually describes goods already made. A logo, a custom colour or a custom box can bring a different minimum and a different price.
• Whole cartons. Some sellers ship only full cartons, which rounds your real minimum up to a carton multiple.

Minimums have two different origins. Some come from production: a minimum material purchase, a dye lot, a mould change, a print plate. Those cost the seller real money on a short run, so a smaller run has to be paid for one way or another. Others are a commercial filter, where a seller would rather serve larger buyers, and those tend to move more easily. The seller won't always say which it is, but the answer to "what would the price be at 200?" usually gives you a good idea.

Multiply the MOQ by the price at that tier, then add the one-off fees. That's the smallest amount you can spend with this seller, before freight, and it's the figure to plan around.

6. A worked example: two listings, one order

Say you want 600 units of one item, 300 in each of two colours, with a printed logo and a retail box. These numbers are invented to show the arithmetic.

Seller B looked US$0.30 cheaper on the listing and is still cheaper per unit, by $0.35. But the order costs $1,704 more, and you'd hold 400 more units and pay to ship them. If you're confident of selling 1,000, B may suit you better. If this is a first test, A may, despite the higher unit price. Dropping to one colour changes the answer again: 600 units at B would cost 600 × $4.78 = $2,868.

Both totals stop on board, at different ports, so a freight quote for each can still move the result. The comparison has to happen at your order, not at the numbers printed on the listings.

7. The questions to send

Send the same written questions to every seller you're comparing. Specific questions tend to get better replies than "please send your best price", and the written answers give you something to put in the order.

The answer to the last question is a claim, not proof. The factory-or-trading-company guide has checks that tell you more. Whatever you agree should then go into the order itself, because a detail left in a chat is much harder to enforce.

8. Asking for a lower MOQ

"Can you lower the MOQ?" invites a no. Asking what the price would be at your quantity gives the seller something to work with. These usually help.

• Use what the seller already has. A standard colour, material or packaging avoids a separate purchase or set-up.
• Simplify the first order. Plain packaging with a sticker label, or a simpler logo method, can remove a minimum that comes from printing.
• Pay for the difference. A higher unit price or a separate set-up fee is a fair trade, and it can cost less than holding stock you can't sell.
• Join an existing run. Ask whether your quantity could go with a run of the same item. Expect a longer lead time.

Be careful with promises of large future orders. Sellers hear them all the time and they bind nobody. And if a seller agrees to a very low minimum on a custom item without changing the price, ask what changed. It may be a stock item with your logo on it, or a different maker. Check with a sample, and write "matches approved sample" into the order.