“Why is your price higher than the quote I got last week?”
This is the question we hear most often, and it deserves a short answer before a long one: because the two quotes usually do not cover the same costs. One is a price per kilogram. The other is a price per kilogram plus whatever you will spend later on breakage complaints, re-shipments, and slow-moving stock. If you are comparing suppliers for a distributor programme, the useful exercise is not to line up the unit prices — it is to lay every cost item on the table and see which ones are visible on the invoice and which ones are not.
Below is how we would break it down if we were sitting on your side of the table.
Visible costs: what the quotation actually contains
Material grade and its effect on unit price
Nylon trimmer line is typically made from PA6 or a comparable polyamide, but “nylon” covers a wide range. Impact modifiers, colourants, and the grade of resin all move the raw-material cost — and they move it in both directions. A line quoted at the bottom of the range is usually a leaner formulation. The question to ask is not “which is cheaper” but “what performance level is this quote built for”, and whether that level matches the grass your market actually cuts. A residential line sold into a market of heavy summer growth is a false economy before it even ships.
Gauge range and SKU breadth
Every additional diameter — .065, .080, .095, and beyond — adds tooling time, changeover time, and inventory. A supplier offering six diameters at one price is spreading cost differently than one offering three. If your catalogue needs the full spread, expect that to be reflected; if it does not, do not pay for breadth you will not sell.
Profile complexity
Round line is the simplest to extrude. Square, twisted, multi-edge, and dual-layer profiles take more setup and slower running speeds, which is why they carry a premium. Whether that premium is worth it depends entirely on the end user: a diamond-edged profile for tough, dry weeds earns its cost back in fewer replacements; the same profile sold to a homeowner cutting soft lawn is money left on the shelf. Match the profile to the market, not to the catalogue.
Packaging and labelling
Bulk spools, blister cards, header bags, and printed labels sit at very different cost points. Private-label packaging adds design and print setup. This is a visible cost, but it is frequently underestimated at the quoting stage — get the packaging spec fixed early, because changing it after the artwork is approved is where budgets slip.
Freight and Incoterms
FOB, CIF, and DDP are not interchangeable conveniences; they shift cost and risk between you and the supplier. The heavier the shipment, the more the choice matters. Compare quotes on the same terms or you are comparing two different things.
Hidden costs: the items that never appear on a quote
Breakage and the complaint chain
A line that snaps at the eyelet under normal use does not just cost you the line. It costs a customer service ticket, a replacement, sometimes a returned pack, and — most expensively — the retailer’s willingness to reorder. The cost per metre of a line with a higher breakage rate is always higher than the invoice suggests. This is where impact-modified formulations and consistent extrusion matter, and it is the first thing worth testing rather than assuming.
Seasonality and stock-outs
Garden tools sell in a narrow window. A line that arrives two weeks late into the season is not a cheap line; it is a missed season. Lead time reliability belongs in the cost calculation, not in a separate conversation about service.
Quality variance between batches
Inconsistent diameter or formulation across shipments forces you to hold buffer stock, and buffer stock ties up cash. Ask how quality is controlled during production, not just at the end — a supplier running checks throughout the process usually produces less variance than one inspecting finished goods only. Our own production follows documented QC procedures through the run, and our lab carries out tensile and wear testing; current certification scope and latest audit date should be requested directly from any supplier you shortlist.
Custom tooling and minimum order quantities
A custom profile or a new diameter means tooling and a minimum run. That is a real, one-off cost, and it only pays back if the SKU sells through. For a first order in a new market, a stock profile with your label is often the lower-risk route; custom tooling makes sense once you have sell-through data. A supplier that offers both — and tells you honestly which one fits your volumes — is more useful than one that quotes custom tooling for a trial order.
Currency and payment terms
Terms affect working capital, and working capital has a cost. A slightly higher unit price on 60-day terms can beat a lower price on prepayment. Put the terms in the comparison or the comparison is incomplete.
How to compare two quotes properly
Build a simple sheet with four columns: visible cost per unit, expected breakage and complaint cost, inventory carrying cost (including buffer stock and slow movers), and lead-time risk. Fill it in for each supplier using their own spec and their own terms. Most of the time the numbers converge more than the headline prices suggest — and when they do not, the gap tells you exactly which assumption to challenge.
The practical rule: choose the supplier whose specification matches your market, whose quality control you can verify, and whose lead times you can plan around. Then negotiate price. Doing it in the other order is how distributors end up with a container of line that is technically cheap and commercially expensive.
If you are currently weighing two or three quotes and want a second opinion on the specification behind them, send us the details — diameters, profiles, target market, and volumes — and our team will tell you which cost items are likely to matter in your case, and where a stock profile will do the job just as well as a custom one.
Post time: Oct-22-2026