Key takeaways
- Include tooling, setup, materials, labour, finishes, packing, and freight
- Add a quality/rework buffer appropriate to your stage
- Compare landed cost and calendar time, not unit price alone
- Treat outlier-low quotes as a prompt to check assumptions
Cost building blocks
Start with: one-time costs (tooling, programming, artwork setup), per-batch costs (setup, material lots), and per-unit costs (process time, consumables, packing).
Write them in a simple spreadsheet. Opacity is how budgets blow up.
Buffers founders forget
Sample iterations, scrap, failed first-offs, labelling reprints, and your own time coordinating changes. Early-stage products need more buffer than mature SKUs.
If your plan only works when everything goes right first time, it is not a plan — it is a hope.
Think in landed cost and time
A cheaper unit price with slower revisions can lose to a dearer local run that reaches shelf sooner. Include freight, duties (if any), and the cost of delayed revenue.
Sanity-checking quotes
Ask what is excluded. Ask what material grade is assumed. Ask what happens if you change one dimension after approval.
Gather multiple bids on Combinate against the same RFQ pack, then diligence the shortlist yourself. Combinate does not verify pricing or manufacturers.
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Disclaimer: This guide is general information for businesses. It is not legal, regulatory, or financial advice. Combinate does not verify or certify manufacturers.