How to Read a Sanitary Pad Quotation Line by Line

A sanitary pad quotation looks simple — a product, a price, a minimum order — but the difference between a profitable import and an expensive lesson usually hides in the fields most buyers skim past. Two quotes showing the identical unit price can be hundreds of dollars apart per container once packaging, incoterms, validity, and inspection terms are unpacked. This guide takes a complete example quotation, decodes it line by line, flags the five traps that catch first-time buyers most often, and gives you a comparison template so every supplier is quoting the same thing.

A complete example quotation

Here is what a properly detailed quotation for a private-label pad order should look like. (The company and figures below are illustrative; industry-typical ranges are noted where they matter.)

This is a specimen layout, not a price list. The unit price is left blank on purpose: economy-to-mid pads span $0.02–0.10 per piece FOB and the position inside that range is set by length, core construction, and packaging — which is exactly why a quotation has a spec sheet attached to it. Any supplier who gives you a price before asking what you want built is quoting a different product from the one you have in mind.

Now let's decode why each line matters.

Field-by-field: what each line really tells you

Product spec: size, GSM, and absorbency

"245 mm winged pad" is a shape, not a specification. The lines that determine both cost and performance are the topsheet material, the core construction (fluff pulp and SAP ratio, whether there is an acquisition-distribution layer), and the GSM of each layer. Any quote without an attached spec sheet is quoting air — two suppliers can both say "ultra-thin day pad" and be describing products 30% apart in material cost. Our guide to GSM and absorbency ratings explains how to read these numbers; the short version is that the spec sheet, not the product name, is what you are actually buying.

Packaging configuration

Pads-per-bag and bags-per-carton drive three things: your retail price point, your freight efficiency, and your effective unit cost. Confirm whether the quoted price includes the printed inner bag or only bulk packing — a "cheaper" quote that excludes retail bags is not cheaper.

Unit price and incoterm

A price means nothing without its incoterm. FOB (named port) means the factory delivers the goods loaded at the origin port and you pay freight onward; CIF includes freight and insurance to your destination port; EXW leaves even origin trucking and export clearance to you. Always compare quotes on the same incoterm. For orientation, economy-tier pads commonly quote in the $0.02–0.10/piece FOB range depending on spec — a spread that wide is exactly why the spec sheet matters. Our wholesale price guide and the deeper dive on why pad prices vary unpack what moves a price inside that range.

MOQ

OEM/ODM private-label runs start at 400,000 pieces per SKU, because a dedicated production run and custom-printed packaging both carry setup costs. Stock own-brand sanitary pads use a separate threshold of 30,000 packs per size/SKU; Sparklecare and FlowX adult-incontinence brands use 10,000 packs per style. Different brands, surface materials, and packaging are counted separately. There is no approved mixed-load example that lets a buyer combine products to reach a lower MOQ.

Lead time

Note what starts the clock — this is the single most misread line on a quotation. Our private-label lead time is 45–60 working days counted from digital proof approval, not from the day you first inquire or begin artwork discussions. Revision rounds before approval sit outside that production window, so approve the digital proof promptly once every detail is correct.

Payment terms

Our confirmed T/T options are 30% deposit / 70% balance or 50% / 50%, with the balance paid before shipment. A letter of credit can be accepted subject to negotiation. If inspection is important to your risk control, agree its timing and document requirements in the contract before paying the deposit. Full context is in our guide to payment terms for sanitary pad imports.

Shelf life

Standard pads carry a 3-year shelf life, biodegradable lines 2 years from production date. This line matters because some markets and retail chains refuse stock with more than a fraction of shelf life elapsed — fresh production, confirmed in the quote, protects your sell-through window.

The 5 traps buyers miss most often

1. The expired quote. Price validity of 15–30 days is normal — raw material and currency markets move. The trap is negotiating for six weeks, then wiring a deposit against a price the supplier no longer honors. Reconfirm pricing in writing before paying anything.
2. The missing plate fee. Custom-printed bags need printing plates or cylinders, and that one-time tooling fee may not be in the unit price. On a small first order, an unquoted plate fee can quietly add a meaningful percentage to your real cost. Ask: "Is the printing plate fee included, and who owns the plates afterward?"
3. "Packaging included" — but which packaging? Confirm the quote covers the printed retail inner bag, not just the export carton. The inner bag is a real cost line, and it is the single most common gap between a cheap quote and an honest one.
4. No currency or exchange-rate clause. On longer lead times, some contracts include a clause allowing price adjustment if the exchange rate moves beyond a set band. That is legitimate — but you need to know it is there before you build your landed-cost model.
5. No inspection clause. If the quotation and contract are silent on pre-shipment inspection, you have no agreed mechanism to check bulk goods against your approved sample before the balance is paid. Insist on a written inspection clause: who inspects, at whose cost, and what happens if goods fail.

Your comparison spec sheet: make every supplier quote the same thing

The fastest way to make quotes comparable is to send every supplier the same request. Copy this checklist into your inquiry:

• Product: pad type, length (mm), winged/wingless, day/night
• Spec: topsheet material, core construction, GSM per layer, absorbency target
• Packaging: pads per bag, bag material and printing, bags per carton, carton dimensions
• Quantity: pieces per SKU, number of SKUs
• Incoterm: quote FOB (named port) — one incoterm for everyone
• Price validity: minimum 30 days requested
• Tooling: all one-time fees itemized separately
• Lead time: confirm the start event and whether days are working or calendar days; our private-label reference is 45–60 working days after digital proof approval
• Payment: proposed structure and balance trigger
• Inspection: pre-shipment inspection accepted (yes/no)
• Certifications: which apply to this product, with certificate numbers
• Shelf life and production-date commitment

When five suppliers answer that request, differences in their numbers finally mean something. And a supplier who refuses to fill in the spec fields has told you something too.

A worked example: when the "cheaper" quote is the expensive one

Suppose two suppliers answer your identical request:

• Supplier A quotes roughly 10% more per piece than Supplier B, printed inner bag included, plate fee waived from the second order, 30-day validity, inspection clause accepted.
• Supplier B quotes the lower unit price — but bulk packing only, printed bags "available at extra cost," a plate fee to be advised, 10-day validity, and no mention of inspection.

On the headline number, B appears cheaper. Add any excluded retail packaging and amortize the quoted tooling charge over the order quantity before comparing totals. Without those figures, neither supplier can be declared the lower-cost option. This is a comparison structure, not an actual price quotation.

The lesson is not "cheap is bad." Sometimes B genuinely is leaner. The lesson is that a quotation is only comparable after every field is filled in — and the buyer who forces that completion before choosing is the one who actually knows which quote won.

Reading between the lines

A detailed quotation is itself a quality signal. Factories that specify GSM, itemize tooling, state validity, and welcome inspection are factories with processes; one-line quotes tend to come from resellers or from suppliers hoping the details stay vague. Treat the quotation as your first factory audit — it is the cheapest one you will ever run.

Want a quotation you can read line by line, with the spec sheet attached and nothing left "to be discussed later"? Start with our wholesale program and put the product itself to the test with product samples before you compare a single number.

Sourcing for a specific market? Our country pages cover pricing, terminology, and import notes for Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, West Africa, and East Africa.