MOQ, Lead Times and How to Read a Chinese Natural Stone Slab Quote

"Your price is too high" is the most common sentence a stone exporter hears - and usually the two quotes being compared are not comparing the same thing. This guide explains how our quotes are built, what the MOQ covers, what the 25-35 day lead time includes, and the fair test for comparing two offers.

1. How slab prices are built

Slabs are priced per square metre, not per piece. The same variety at 20 mm and 30 mm is a different price; polished and honed are different prices; a full 3200 x 1800 mm slab and small cut pieces are different prices.

The variety sets the base: a common beige limestone is not priced like a rare quartzite. And two suppliers quoting "the same" variety may be quoting different blocks of it - which is why the slab number matters (see the photo guide).

Every quote should state its Incoterm. FOB is the price to the ship at the Chinese port; CIF or CFR includes freight to your port. Comparing an FOB quote with a CIF quote always makes one look "cheaper" - and it is wrong.

2. What the MOQ actually means

Our minimum order is 50 m2, and we can discuss mixing varieties within one order - useful for a first order that wants to test two or three materials in a single container.

The MOQ exists because cutting, finishing, packing and booking a container slot all carry fixed costs; a 12 m2 order spreads those costs over too little stone.

3. What the 25-35 day lead time includes

Counted from order confirmation - variety, thickness, finish, sizes, quantity and deposit in place: cutting the slabs, surface finishing, cut-to-size work where ordered, packing, and loading into the booked container slot.

It does not include ocean freight or destination customs. Lead time stretches with cutting complexity: many small cut pieces take longer than a few full slabs.

4. What moves the price up or down

Expect the price to move with:

• Thickness and finish - more stone, more machine time.
• Size - larger slabs are rarer and cost more to produce and ship.
• Volume - a full container beats a partial one on cost per square metre.
• Season and exchange rate - quotes carry a validity window; ask for one in writing.

5. The fair comparison test

Before comparing two quotes, line up: same variety (verified by photo of the actual slab to be cut), same thickness, same finish, same sizes, same Incoterm, same validity. If any of those differ, the numbers are not comparable.

Then ask both suppliers for the slab number that will be cut for your order. A supplier who can name it is quoting real stone; one who cannot is quoting a catalogue.