A vague request returns vague quotes. State the right fields once and you receive offers you can set side by side and compare line by line.
| RFQ field | Write this | Why the supplier needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Product and form | Spice name, whole, crushed or ground, and the grade you mean | Different forms and grades are different products with different prices |
| Specification | Moisture ceiling, foreign matter limit, colour or active-compound value where relevant | Turns adjectives into numbers a laboratory can test |
| Quantity and pack | A range, the pack type and net weight per pack | Decides the container load and the packing cost |
| Delivery basis | FOB or CIF and the UK port you expect | Stops quotes with different cost lines being mixed together |
| Documents and certificates | Analysis report, origin papers, any certification your customer requires | Lets the supplier price the paperwork and test costs |
| Timing and validity | Loading month and the date by which you need the reply | Spice prices move, so a quote needs an end date |
The seller's view of the same document
Learn more ›Checks to run before you order
Learn more ›Build a shortlist before you send the request
Learn more ›Why a list is not a quotation
Learn more ›Turn replies into a defensible range
Learn more ›Choosing the delivery basis for your RFQ
Learn more ›A request for quotation is a small document with an outsized effect. Send a one-line email asking for a price on turmeric and you will get back a dozen answers describing a dozen different products. Send a structured request and the replies arrive in a form you can paste into a spreadsheet. The work you do before pressing send is what makes the comparison afterwards possible, and the table above holds the fields every request should carry.
Begin with the decisions only you can make. Which spice, in which form, for which end use? A grinder who wants whole cumin for milling has different needs from a food manufacturer who wants a ready-ground, sieved product, even though both say they want cumin. Settle an approximate quantity or range, the port you would like the goods to reach and the month by which you need them.
Then pick one delivery basis. FOB quotes leave you to book the sea freight, while CIF quotes include it to a UK port. Mixing them in the replies is the surest way to a confusing spreadsheet, so ask for one or the other, or ask for both clearly labelled. If you are unsure, the Incoterms explained page sets the options side by side.
It is far easier to ask for a good quote if you know what the sender is trying to build. Exporters assemble a price from the raw material, cleaning losses, packing, testing, documents, inland transport and margin, and then add or leave out freight depending on the term. Reading the seller’s quotation template shows you which lines a supplier can reasonably be asked to itemise.
You do not need a line-by-line cost breakdown from every supplier, and many will not give one. But you should expect each reply to state the basis, the unit, the currency, the validity date and the specification it is priced against. If any of those are missing, the reply is an indication, not a quotation.
Words such as premium, export quality or hand-picked mean nothing on their own, because every supplier uses them about their own goods. Replace them with parameters a laboratory can measure: a moisture ceiling, a maximum for foreign matter, the colour or active-compound value relevant to your spice, and microbiological limits where your customers require them.
State, too, how each parameter will be tested and by whom. Name the sampling method if you have one, and say whether you will accept a supplier’s own analysis report or want an independent one for larger orders. When a specification is measurable, a later disagreement becomes a question of results rather than opinion, which protects a smaller buyer more than any clause in the contract.
Ask each supplier to send, or confirm that they can send, a sample drawn from the lot you would receive rather than a showpiece pack. The sample should be labelled with a lot number and a packing date so that it can be matched to the goods later. Ask for a certificate of analysis with the sample, and for the supplier’s licences and any certifications you require.
A supplier who cannot provide any of these at the quotation stage is telling you something about how it would behave once an order is placed. Keep a retained portion of every sample you receive, sealed and dated, because it becomes your reference if the arrival differs.
Build a shortlist from a directory and from trade records rather than a blind mailing. Our buyers and suppliers directory and the shipment records in the live demo show who is actually exporting to Britain. A company that appears repeatedly in records for your spice, with consistent destinations over a long period, has demonstrated more than a polished web page ever could.
Check each candidate briefly, looking at registration, address and how long it has been active. Then send an identical request to every one so the replies answer the same question. Keep the list to a number you can realistically follow up, because responsiveness is part of what you are evaluating.
A shipment record usually shows the exporter, the product description, the destination country and an approximate date, and often a quantity. Search by product code or description rather than by company name, and note who appears most steadily. A name that shipped once long ago is a weaker lead than one that appears every few weeks.
Records will not show you the price on the order or the specification, so they cannot replace a quote. What they do is narrow a very large field to a manageable shortlist of companies with a visible habit of exporting your spice. Use import data to build the list, then let the written quotations do the rest of the work.
Register free to list your business or search the directory, or ask for a free sample report built from real shipment records.
Say which UK port you expect the goods to reach and ask which Indian port the supplier will load from. Indian spices commonly leave through Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Tuticorin or Kochi, and on the British side the usual gateways include Felixstowe, Southampton, London Gateway and Liverpool. Naming the destination stops the supplier guessing, and a guess usually arrives as a safety margin built into the number.
Ask when the supplier could load after a confirmed order, and ask what that date depends on, such as harvest arrivals, testing or container availability. Treat any transit time as an expectation rather than a promise. A reply that is open about what could delay the goods is more useful than one that promises a date with no conditions.
A quotation is the right moment to find out how the supplier expects to be paid. Common arrangements include payment tied to shipping documents through banks, or an advance with the balance on documents. Neither is automatically right. Ask your own bank what it can offer, and be wary of anyone who insists on full payment in advance before you have verified them.
Once you have a preferred supplier, run the checks in our guide to verifying a supplier before paying, and confirm that the name on the receiving bank account matches the company you verified.
Convert every quote to one currency and one delivery basis before you look at totals. If a CIF reply arrives among FOB ones, take out freight and insurance or add them to the others, using a forwarder’s figure you can name. Score each reply on how well it matches your specification, on terms, on lead time and on the clarity of the document itself.
Note the validity date and chase any reply that is missing a field instead of assuming the favourable answer. A spreadsheet with one row per supplier and one column per field makes gaps obvious. The UK spice importers page gives context for what established buyers expect in terms, and our price benchmarking approach helps you judge whether a figure is high, low or ordinary.
A typical path begins with the request and a response deadline. Replies come in, you compare them and drop the incomplete ones, and you ask the two or three strongest for samples and documents. You test the samples against your specification, negotiate terms in writing and agree a trial quantity. The supplier confirms the booking and sends draft documents, which you check against the order.
Your agent then prepares the customs declaration while the goods are at sea. On arrival the shipment clears, any border checks are completed and the container is delivered. Treat each stage as a gate. Many first-time buyers lose money by letting a sample approval slide into an order without a signed specification, or by agreeing a delivery basis only in conversation.
Set a reply date in the request and stick to it. Acknowledge each reply the same day, even if only to say you are comparing, because it keeps suppliers engaged without committing you. When you ask a supplier to improve a quote, tell them which fields you are asking about, such as terms or lead time, rather than simply asking for a lower number. Specific questions get specific answers, and they reveal how flexible the supplier really is.
The most frequent fault is leaving out the specification, which makes every price unverifiable. Another is asking for price only, so that the supplier answers a narrower question than the one you needed answered. A third is forgetting to name the delivery port, which forces a guess. A fourth is leaving the validity date open, so that a quote that looks attractive has quietly expired by the time you accept it.
Others include sending the request to far too many names and then failing to follow up, comparing quotes in different currencies, and accepting a sample that was not drawn from the real lot. Fix those and your replies improve straight away, because suppliers answer clear questions quickly and unclear ones slowly.
Related guide
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Learn more ›Ask us for a short walkthrough of named shipment records and directory profiles relevant to your bulk spice request. We are a data and directory platform, not a seller of goods.
Or start from the eximdataprovider.com homepage to browse buyer and supplier data across many markets.
Send it to a shortlist you can realistically follow up. The quality of replies matters more than the number of recipients.
It is optional. Many buyers prefer open quotes so that the market reveals its own level, then negotiate from there.
Go back to each supplier and ask for a revised quote against a fixed specification, delivery basis and currency.
Often yes with a new supplier. Agree sample terms and test results before committing to a commercial order, and keep a retained portion.
Ask for the one that matches how you will ship, or request both clearly labelled. Never compare the two without adjusting for freight and insurance.
Ask the supplier to state a validity date. Spice prices move, so a quote without an end date is hard to rely on.
Typically a specification sheet, a sample certificate of analysis, licences and any certifications you require. Check the scope and dates.
No. It is a data and directory platform that helps you find suppliers and check track records. Quotations come from the suppliers themselves.
Free to post. Your requirement goes straight to matching exporters and manufacturers on the marketplace, and they contact you on the phone number you give. Your contact details are never published or sold.
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