Payment, shipping and the four clauses that cause arguments.

Payment

Standard is 30% deposit with the order and 70% against the copy of the bill of lading. Nothing ships before the balance clears.

Price basis

Quotations are FOB Ningbo or Shanghai unless stated otherwise. EXW is available and slightly cheaper; DDP is available and needs the postcode and the HS code you clear under.

Prices are based on the quantity per colour, the print method, the packaging level and the delivery window stated in the quotation. Change any of the four and the price is re-quoted — this is not a negotiating tactic, it is how the setup costs divide.

Shipping

Three modes, chosen by the deadline rather than the rate:

• Express — samples and small orders, 3–7 days door to door. Priced per kilo, so it only makes sense below about 100 kg.
• Sea freight — the default. 22–28 days production plus 25–40 days transit to Europe or the US East Coast. Cheapest per unit by a wide margin.
• Air freight — for a re-order that is late, or a launch that cannot slip. Roughly 4–6× the sea rate per kilo.

We will give you the carton dimensions, the carton count, the gross weight and the CBM before the container is booked. Your forwarder can then price it without another round of questions.

MOQ and tolerance

MOQ is negotiable and we accept trial orders below a container. It is set per colour, not per order, because each colour is a separate setup. Typical stock-mould levels are 500 pcs per colour for coated steel and 1,000 pcs per colour for a custom plastic colour.

Production tolerance is ±5% on quantity for a first order and ±3% on re-orders. The invoice is settled on the actual shipped quantity, not the ordered quantity. If you need an exact count for a retail allocation, say so at the quotation stage and we will pin it.

Claims and returns

Inspect the goods within 15 days of arrival and raise any claim in writing with photographs and the carton batch number. Valid claims are settled by replacement in the next shipment or by credit note — our choice, and we will say which within two business days.

Validity

A quotation is valid for 30 days. Steel and freight have both moved enough in recent years that we no longer hold prices for a quarter. If your project is still in approval after 30 days, ask for a re-confirmation — it usually costs nothing, because the price rarely moves.

Terms above apply unless a signed contract says otherwise. Anything agreed verbally in a call should be written into the proforma invoice before the deposit is paid.