What a good sourcing report looks like: three quotes, one specification

A good furniture sourcing report compares two or three supplier quotes for each item against one written specification — dimensions, frame, foam, cover material, finish and packing — and shows each supplier’s own price, lead time, terms and whether it makes the piece or buys it in. Without a shared specification, cheaper quotes are usually different products, so the specification matters more than the number of quotes.

What is a furniture sourcing report?

It is a line-by-line comparison of supplier quotes for each item on your list, all priced against the same written specification, with a recommendation you can check. It is the document you make your buying decision from, and later the reference the goods are inspected against. A good report answers three questions for every line: what exactly is being quoted, who makes it, and what it will cost delivered to the consolidation warehouse.

It is also a test of whether a sourcing agent works for you: a report that shows each factory’s own price and names the supplier has nothing to hide. See our complete guide to furniture sourcing agents in China for the other tests.

Why must furniture quotes be compared against one specification?

Because in furniture, two identical photos can hide a two- or three-fold difference in materials. Leather is the clearest example. A leather-trade account’s price table, one of the most-discussed posts on the subject, lists aniline hides from the leather dealers Foshan makers buy from, by series, grain, thickness and price per square foot — from about RMB 14 to more than RMB 40, and from around 1.1 mm to 3 mm or more. A sofa quoted in the cheapest and the dearest of those is not the same sofa, even if the shape is.

A comment under the post adds a warning: some sellers put their own label on ordinary top-grain leather and sell it as imported at a higher price. The suggested check needs no laboratory — ask the seller to substitute a domestic tannery’s series at the same price per square foot. If the hide really is worth that price, the seller will agree readily.

The same logic applies to every category. A 110-item price table compiled by a homeowner shows a set of cabinets ranging from RMB 3,000 to RMB 200,000. Comparison starts once board, doors, hardware and finish are written down.

What should a good furniture sourcing report contain?

A specification block for each item, then the same fields for every supplier, then a recommendation with a reason. A Guangdong factory’s own quotation template is a good starting point: specification, product image, size (W × D × H in mm), drawing and quantity on every line. The maker notes that furniture quotes turn on size, material and lead time. A sourcing report adds the fields a buyer abroad needs:

• Specification: dimensions; frame material; foam density; cover material with the tannery or mill and series code; finish; hardware; packing standard.
• Supplier facts: maker or reseller; location; the factory’s own quotation attached.
• Commercial terms: unit price; what it includes (packing, delivery to the warehouse); minimum order; sample cost; deposit and balance terms.
• Timing: production lead time and the date the goods can reach the consolidation warehouse.
• Volume: packed size or cubic metres, so freight can be estimated.
• Recommendation: which quote, and why, in one or two sentences.

What does the comment section add?

Almost 2,000 comments under the leather table turn it into a live clinic, with buyers posting their quotes and asking whether they are fair.

• Specification first, price second. Asked whether RMB 18,000 was fair for a 3.36 m sofa with beech and plywood frame and high-density foam, the author replied that it depended on whether it was a faithful copy of the original design or a generic version; if generic, it was too expensive.
• Too cheap can be a warning. Told of a 3 m sofa in 2.0 mm semi-aniline for RMB 8,780, the author called it a very good price but wondered whether the factory could still make money after freight.
• Half-leather needs a number. For a 3 m sofa with leather on contact surfaces only, the author suggested around RMB 9,000, and under RMB 10,000 as a reasonable ceiling.
• Everyone wants the template. Under the factory’s quotation post, most comments ask for the spreadsheet — buyers struggle to compare quotes laid out differently.

What does a furniture quote comparison look like?

Like this — one line, one specification, three suppliers, and the differences highlighted rather than hidden. The example below is illustrative, not a real quote.

Notice that the recommendation is not the lowest price. It is the lowest price for the specified product that arrives in time.

How do you choose between three furniture supplier quotes?

Eliminate quotes that do not meet the specification, then compare delivered cost and timing, then price. Normalise before comparing: is packing to export standard included, is delivery to the warehouse included, and what is the sample charge? For a single item, a week’s difference in lead time rarely matters. For a house or project, it decides the container date, which is why lead times are reported line by line in our one-container whole-home projects.

If you are weighing China against other sourcing routes altogether, international furniture sourcing explained puts the comparison in context, and our furniture sourcing and consolidation service shows how the report feeds into ordering, inspection and shipping.

How Source Foshan handles it