A quotation for hardware normally carries a trade term alongside the price, and the term changes what the price actually includes. Buyers new to importing often compare two quotations without noticing they are quoted on different terms, which makes the comparison meaningless.
What a trade term actually allocates
A trade term is shorthand for a division of responsibility: which party arranges and pays for each stage of carriage, at which point risk of loss or damage passes from seller to buyer, and which party is responsible for export and import formalities.
It does not address price level, product quality, payment terms or what happens if goods are defective. Those belong in the sales contract, and assuming the term covers them is a common and expensive misunderstanding.
Why two quotations may not be comparable
A price quoted where the seller’s responsibility ends at the factory and a price that includes carriage to a destination port are not the same number, even for the same parts.
Before comparing, normalise: ask each supplier what the price includes and what you would still have to arrange and pay for. This turns two incomparable figures into a decision you can actually make.
Risk transfer is separate from cost
The point where you start paying and the point where you carry the risk are not always the same, and this catches out buyers who assume that whoever books the freight also carries the risk.
Establish explicitly at what point damage in transit becomes your problem, and make sure your insurance arrangement matches that point rather than the payment arrangement.
Named places and why they matter
These terms are meaningless without a named place — a specific port, terminal or address. A term without a place is incomplete, and the ambiguity surfaces exactly when something has gone wrong.
Always record the term together with its named place in the order documents, and make sure both parties are naming the same place.
Formalities, documents and who is able to do them
Some terms put import formalities on the seller, which requires the seller to be able to act in your country. Whether that is practical depends on the parties, not only on the term chosen.
Check that whoever is allocated a responsibility can actually discharge it. A term that assigns a duty to a party unable to perform it creates a problem at the border rather than solving one.
What to settle before ordering, and where to read the rules
Settle the term and its named place, what the quoted price includes, where risk transfers, who arranges insurance, who handles export and import formalities, and which documents are required and by whom.
For the authoritative wording of the rules themselves, consult the official publication from the International Chamber of Commerce, and take advice on your own contract. This guide describes what the terms are for; it does not reproduce or interpret them, and it is not legal advice.
A trade term decides who pays, who carries risk and who handles formalities — nothing else. Record it with a named place, normalise quotations before comparing them, and read the rules in their official publication rather than in a summary.