Why Two Quotes for the Same Lock Differ

A description is not a specification

'70 mm disc padlock, keyed alike, custom logo' is a description. It leaves at least five decisions open, and two suppliers will resolve them differently — then price what they resolved.

That is why the lower quote is not automatically the better one, and why comparison only becomes meaningful when each variable is visible.

Variable 1 — material

The base metal or stainless grade is usually the largest single difference. Two locks of the same shape in different grades will look similar in a photograph and behave differently outdoors.

The honest comparison is not 'which is cheaper' but 'which grade suits where this lock will be fitted'. Indoor and covered positions and exposed, coastal positions do not need the same answer.

Variable 2 — mechanism and internal parts

The outside of a lock is the visible half. The internal parts decide how it behaves after a season of use: how the shackle seats, how the combination mechanism turns, how the cylinder resists wear.

A price difference between two visually identical locks often lives entirely here, and it is the difference that shows up in the second year rather than on delivery.

Variable 3 — packing

Packing changes cost more than most buyers expect. The same lock can ship as a bulk carton, a plain box, a blister pack, or a printed card — and each step changes the unit price and the minimum order that makes it worthwhile.

If one quote assumes bulk and the other assumes retail packaging, the two numbers are not comparable, whatever the description says.

Variable 4 — branding and coding

A mark on the body, a mark on the key, a serial number on every unit and a unique code programmed per unit are four different scopes of work. A quote that includes only the first is not cheaper than one that includes all four; it is quoting a smaller job.

Variable 5 — where the price stops

Trade terms decide which costs are inside the quoted number. EXW stops at the factory gate; DDP includes freight, clearance and duties where available.

A DDP price and an EXW price for the same hardware are different products from a budget point of view. Comparing them directly is the single most common error in landed-cost comparison — and the one that produces the largest surprise at the port.

How to compare properly

Ask each supplier for the same breakdown, so the numbers become comparable line by line:

• Material and finish, stated explicitly
• Mechanism and keying or coding
• Packing, described rather than named
• Branding and coding scope
• Trade term, and exactly which costs it includes
• Lead time and minimum quantity for that configuration

A supplier who cannot break the price down is not necessarily hiding anything — but you cannot compare their number to anyone else's.

What we typically see

• Two quotes that differ mainly because one is SS201 and the other SS304, with neither stated on the page.
• A cheaper quote that excludes the key marking, which the buyer assumed was included.
• An EXW quote compared against a DDP quote, with the difference attributed to the product.
• A minimum quantity that rises once the configuration is finalised, because the first quote was for a plainer version.

None of these require a different supplier. They require the same specification, put to each supplier in the same words, and a breakdown that shows where the money goes.