The cheapest unit price on a quote means nothing if the case pack doesn't fit your shelf, the MOQ blows your budget, or the Incoterm hides a freight surprise. This guide breaks down every line of a China-direct toy quote so you can compare offers on equal terms, not just on price.
Two quotes for the "same" doll can look identical on unit price and still land you in very different places once freight, packing and minimums are in. The buyers who win at wholesale learn to read the whole quote, not just the headline number:
This guide maps the lines every serious toy quote should contain, and, more usefully, the questions to ask before you sign.
When we quote, these are the fields we put on the table. If a supplier's quote is missing most of them, that's your first signal:
| Field | What it means | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|
| Unit price | Price per single toy, usually ex-factory | Your baseline, but never the whole story |
| MOQ (minimum order qty) | Smallest order the supplier will accept, often per SKU or per order | Sets your entry cost; ask if it's per SKU or total |
| Case pack / inner pack | Units per export carton (and per inner box if any) | Drives shelf packaging, shipping cube and split-ability |
| Master carton | Dimensions, gross weight, units per carton | You need this to price freight and plan warehouse space |
| Incoterm (EXW / FOB / CIF) | Who arranges and pays for transport at each leg | EXW = you handle everything from factory; FOB = seller delivers to port |
| Lead time | Production + readiness days after deposit | Tells you if it'll make your season or miss it |
| Documents included | Commercial invoice, CPC/EN71, batch numbers | Without these, customs and platforms block you, see our compliance checklist |
A "case pack" is how many units ship in one export carton. It sounds boring; it isn't. Work a quick example:
Say a doll ships 24 per carton. Your shelf might sell in 6-packs, but you receive (and pay freight on) full cartons. Split-friendly inner packing matters if you break cases.
A 24-unit carton at 12 kg and 60×40×40 cm. Multiply by how many cartons fit a container and you get your freight, not the unit price, driving landed cost.
Unit cost + (freight ÷ units per carton) + handling. Two quotes at the same unit price but different case packs can differ 8–15% landed. Always compute this.
On our product pages we list Case Pack and MOQ up front precisely so you can run this math before you ask for a quote, no surprises later.
New buyers rarely want a full container of one SKU. The good news: most China-direct trade allows mixed orders. How it usually works:
This is exactly the path behind our category framework: pick 2–3 SKUs in one category, mix them, test small.
MOQ is the supplier's floor; your first order should be your risk ceiling, not their minimum. Our standard for new buyers:
Send an RFQ with your channel and destination, you'll get an itemized sheet: unit price, MOQ, case pack, carton specs, Incoterm and the certificate plan, within 24–48 hours.