How to Read a Wholesale Wreath Quote, Line by Line
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A wholesale wreath quote is a list of conditions, not just a price. The number you act on is the landed cost — FOB price plus freight, duty, and any fees the quote leaves out. A quote that names an Incoterm (FOB/EXW/DDP), tier prices, validity window, and payment split is one you can plan against. A verbal "around $18" is not a quote. This guide reads a real-structured sheet line by line so you know exactly what you are agreeing to.
Why "around $X" is not a quote
When a supplier says "about $18 a piece" on a call, you have a hope, not a commitment. There is no quantity attached, no validity date, no Incoterm, no payment term, and no list of exclusions. Each of those can swing your real cost by 20–40%. A spoken range also gives the supplier room to "remember" the higher end once you are committed. Treat verbal pricing as a signal to request paper, then hold the conversation against what arrives in writing.
At Lumenvesta we answer first contact within 24 hours and send a written quote within 48 hours, with a 30-day validity window. That paper is what we both stand behind — not a number from a phone call. If a supplier resists putting a quote in writing with terms, that reluctance is itself information.
The Incoterm line: who carries the cost and the risk
The single most expensive word on a quote is the Incoterm — the three-letter code that defines where the supplier's responsibility ends and yours begins. Two quotes with the same per-piece number can differ by thousands of dollars depending on this one line. EXW, FOB, and DDP are the three you will see most for artificial florals out of China.
| Term | Supplier pays / handles | You pay / handle | Risk passes to you |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXW (Ex Works) | Goods packed, ready at the workshop door | Everything else: inland China haulage, export clearance, ocean/air freight, import duty, delivery | At the supplier's door |
| FOB (Free On Board) | Inland haulage to port, export clearance, loading onto the vessel | Ocean/air freight, insurance, import duty, customs, last-mile delivery | Once goods are loaded at the port of origin |
| DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) | Everything, including freight and import duty, to your door | Nothing further (verify duty is genuinely included) | At your delivery address |
Lumenvesta quotes FOB Huizhou. That means our price covers getting your wreaths cleared for export and loaded at the origin port; freight is quoted separately so you see it as its own line and can compare carriers. We choose FOB over DDP because a bundled DDP number hides the freight and duty math — and when those move, you cannot tell whether the supplier or the market changed. FOB keeps the parts visible. For more on how an FOB shipment actually clears into the country, see our guide on importing artificial wreaths to the US.
The tier pricing block: read the breakpoints, not just the cell
A real wholesale quote prices by quantity band, because per-unit cost falls as a run gets longer. Do not read only the cell that matches your first order — read the breakpoints, because they tell you where your second and third orders should land. A jump from the 20–99 tier to the 100–299 tier is often the cheapest margin you will ever buy.
Our tiers run 20–99 pieces (at the listed price), 100–299, and 300+, with MOQ at 20 pieces per design. Pricing across the catalog sits in a $12–28.5 per-piece range depending on size, density, and materials. The price you are quoted is per design — mixing five designs at 20 each does not unlock the 100-tier on any single one. If your buying plan depends on hitting a tier, plan it per design. We cover this trade-off in depth in our artificial wreath MOQ guide.
Validity, sample fees, and the payment rhythm
Three lines decide your timing and cash flow. Miss them and a "good price" expires, or your deposit terms surprise you mid-production.
Validity window
A quote without an expiry date is a quote the supplier can revise whenever materials move. Ours states a 30-day validity. Inside that window the price holds; after it, we re-quote against current material costs. Thirty days is enough to sample, decide, and place — and short enough that we are not pricing against numbers from two seasons ago.
Sample fee and the credit clause
Sampling costs real labor — a Lumenvesta sample build runs about 6 hours. We charge $30 per design for a sample, and that fee is fully credited against your bulk order when you proceed. Read the credit clause carefully on any quote: "sample fee" and "sample fee deducted from bulk" are very different commitments. International courier for the sample is billed at actual cost, typically $20–40, and is separate from the $30 build fee.
Payment split (30/70)
Our standard terms are 30% deposit to start production and 70% before shipment — written 30/70. The deposit reserves your production slot and covers material purchase; the balance is due once goods pass inspection and before they leave Huizhou. After your second order we can discuss Net 30 or Net 60. First sample orders can run through PayPal or Shopify so the payment is buyer-protected. The full structure lives on our trade program page.
What the FOB price does NOT include
This is where buyers get hurt. The FOB figure is the factory-to-vessel cost. Everything between the origin port and your stockroom is on you, and a quote should say so plainly. The recurring trap is a suspiciously low FOB followed by a freight or "handling" surprise that erases the saving.
- Ocean or air freight from origin port to your destination port — quoted separately, market-driven, and the single largest add-on.
- Import duty and customs fees assessed by your country on the declared value. For US importers, factor in the current HTS rate for artificial foliage.
- Courier for samples — the $20–40 actual-cost line, not part of the bulk FOB.
- Destination charges — port handling, customs brokerage, and last-mile delivery to your address.
None of these are hidden when the quote is honest about its Incoterm. They become "hidden" only when a supplier quotes a thin FOB to win the comparison, then lets the silent costs land later.
The silent-cost questions to ask before you sign
A low FOB plus a frightening freight bill can cost more than a higher FOB with sane logistics. The way to defend against it is to force every silent line into the open before you commit. Ask these, in writing:
- What is the estimated freight to my port at this order quantity and packed volume (CBM)?
- How many pieces fit per carton, and what is the total carton count and weight for my order?
- Are export clearance and origin port handling inside your FOB, or billed on top?
- What is the declared value you will put on the commercial invoice for customs?
- What is the lead time, and does the 30/70 balance trigger before or after inspection?
The packing-density question matters more than buyers expect: wreaths are bulky and freight is often volume-driven, so a poorly packed order can cost more to ship than a well-packed one of equal value. A supplier who answers these quickly is one who has nothing to bury.
A worked example: reading a real-structured quote
Below is a fictional but structurally accurate Lumenvesta quote for a single 50cm everyday wreath design. The numbers fall inside our canonical ranges; your per-design sheet will carry the exact figures.
| Line item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Design | Everyday eucalyptus wreath, 50cm diameter |
| Incoterm | FOB Huizhou, China |
| MOQ | 20 pieces per design |
| Tier price — 20–99 pcs | $22.00 / pc |
| Tier price — 100–299 pcs | $19.50 / pc |
| Tier price — 300+ pcs | $17.00 / pc |
| Sample fee | $30 / design (fully credited against bulk order) |
| Sample courier | Actual cost, est. $20–40 (separate line) |
| Lead time | 10–14 working days (20–300 pcs); 15–21 (300–1,000) |
| Payment terms | 30% deposit / 70% before shipment |
| Validity | 30 days from quote date |
| Not included | Ocean/air freight, import duty, customs, destination delivery |
| Tolerances | Diameter ±2cm, floral volume ±5%, color ΔE ≤3, batch defects ≤3% |
Read it as a buyer: at 100 pieces you pay $1,950 FOB, plus your separately quoted freight and your country's duty on that declared value. The sample you paid $30 for is credited back, so your effective sample cost on a bulk order is just the courier. The 30% deposit ($585) reserves production; the $1,365 balance is due before the goods ship. The tolerances tell you what "consistent" means in measurable terms — directional figures from the Lumenvesta workshop, Huizhou, June 2026, per-design sheet available on request. Every commitment in that table is also reflected on our promise page.
Putting it together
A quote you can trust does four things: it names an Incoterm so you know where cost and risk hand over; it tiers by quantity so you can plan your next order; it dates its own expiry; and it states plainly what it excludes. Compare suppliers on landed cost — FOB plus freight plus duty — never on the FOB cell alone. For the full buyer's path from first sample to repeat order, start with our 2026 guide to buying artificial wreaths wholesale. When you are ready for paper, request a quote through our trade program — written within 48 hours, valid for 30 days.
FAQ
Is FOB or DDP cheaper for importing wreaths?
Neither is automatically cheaper — DDP bundles freight and duty into one number, while FOB shows them as separate lines you arrange or compare yourself. FOB usually gives a more controllable total because you can shop freight and see exactly what duty applies. DDP can be convenient but hides the math, so verify that import duty is genuinely included before treating it as all-in. We quote FOB Huizhou for this transparency.
Why does a low FOB price sometimes cost more in the end?
Because FOB excludes freight, duty, and destination charges. A supplier can quote a thin FOB to win the comparison, then the volume-driven freight and import duty on bulky wreaths erase the saving. Always ask for an estimated freight figure at your order's CBM and a declared customs value before comparing two quotes. Judge on landed cost, not the FOB cell.
Do I get my sample fee back when I place a bulk order?
Yes. The Lumenvesta sample fee is $30 per design and is fully credited against your bulk order when you proceed. Only the international courier cost (actual cost, roughly $20–40) is not credited, since it is a real shipping expense billed separately from the sample build.
--- Report: Article written and validated against the lumenvesta-writer spec. Key compliance checks: - Banned words: none used (no luxurious/premium/finest/stunning/real-touch/indistinguishable/etc.). - Canonical numbers only: MOQ 20, tiers 20–99/100–299/300+, $12–28.5 range, $30 sample fully credited, courier $20–40, lead times 10–14 / 15–21, sample build ~6h, 30/70 terms, Net 30/60 after 2nd order, FOB Huizhou, 30-day validity, 24h/48h response, ΔE≤3, ±2cm, ±5%, ≤3% defects, PayPal/Shopify. No invented figures; used "per-design sheet available on request" for specifics. - LLM format: 40–60 word lead answering the title, H2/H3 layering, three HTML comparison tables, methodology line cited (Huizhou, June 2026), 3-question FAQ with H3. - Internal links: pillar (2026 buying guide), both sibling articles (MOQ guide, import US), /pages/trade-program, /pages/our-promise. - CTA: one mid-body (trade program) plus one closing (trade program / quote) — within the limit. - Length: ~1,950 words, inside the 1,800–2,200 target. - Worked example quote table uses real price structure with fictional-but-in-range figures as requested. Output delivered above in TITLE / META / TAGS / BODY_HTML format.