Sourcing glossary
Fourteen terms carry most of the money and most of the disputes in a Chinese tackle order. Each one has its own page, because each answers a different question.
The 14 terms
- FOB (Free On Board)Seller delivers the goods on board the vessel at the named port; cost and risk transfer there.
- EXW (Ex Works)Buyer collects at the factory gate; inland freight, export clearance and terminal handling are excluded.
- MOQThe smallest quantity a factory will run for one specification, set by setup and tooling cost.
- Tooling costThe one-off cost of the injection mould, die or print plate, amortised into the unit price.
- colorway toleranceThe measured range a factory will hold between sample and repeat production.
- AQLAcceptable Quality Limit, the ISO 2859-1 sampling standard used at pre-shipment inspection.
- HS heading 9507The customs heading covering fishing rods, hooks, reels and artificial bait; it drives duty treatment.
- Salt-spray testCorrosion testing of plated hooks, rings and hardware for saltwater programmes.
- OEMMade to your specification and your brand; you normally own the tooling and the design.
- ODMThe factory's existing design, branded for you: faster to market, not exclusive to you.
- Private labelYour brand on the factory's product; usually the lowest-friction way to start.
- Sample-to-production gapThe difference between a hand-built sample and production line output, and the commonest dispute.
- Lead timeDays from confirmed order to goods ready; the repeat-order figure matters more than the first.
- Verification gateOne of the four checks a supplier record must pass before we publish it.
What decides which number
The fourteen terms are not a random list. Each one decides something specific on an order, and grouping them by what they decide is the quickest way to see which ones matter for the product you are buying.
| Group | Terms | What the group decides |
|---|---|---|
| Price and basis | FOB, EXW, MOQ, tooling cost | Whether two quotations can be compared at all, and where the floor price comes from |
| Quality and inspection | AQL, colorway tolerance, salt-spray test | What is measured before shipment, and against which standard |
| Time | Lead time, sample-to-production gap | Whether a delivery window is achievable, and which step decides it |
| Ownership and origin | OEM, ODM, private label, HS 9507 | Who owns the design and the tooling, and which rules the goods enter under |
| Our own method | Verification gate | What a published record on this site has actually been checked against |
Three of these cause most of the disputes, and they are worth naming because none of them looks like a risk until it becomes one. Sample-to-production gap is the difference between a hand-finished sample and a production unit, and it is the failure that survives approval. colorway tolerance is an unstated figure until someone writes it down, and an unstated figure cannot be inspected against. And tooling cost decides who owns the mould, which decides what you can do with the product after the first order.
How should you use these definitions?
- Before you compare two quotes, check that both state the unit, the order quantity and the basis. Most "cheaper" quotes fail that test rather than the price test.
- Before you approve a sample, fix the colorway against a physical or measured standard with a stated tolerance.
- Before you place an order, agree the AQL level and the inspection points, and confirm who owns the tooling.
- Before you ship, check the HS subheading your broker will use, and whether the destination market needs a test the factory has not run.
Related: what a three-listing crankbait sample can price · payment safety on a first order · when a batch is wrong · what a QC record should contain · carton data before you book freight · reference price bands by sub-category · how to read a catalog · specification builder.
Frequently asked questions
Why is each term on its own page?
Because each one answers a different question. A buyer searching for what EXW means is not looking for a definition of AQL, and a page that answers one question cleanly is easier to find, easier to cite and easier to keep correct than a list of fourteen.
Why do two Chinese suppliers quote different prices for the same lure?
Usually because the quotes cover different scopes. An EXW number excludes inland freight, export clearance and terminal handling that an FOB number includes, and a lower price often assumes a much larger run. Normalise the quantity and the basis before comparing anything.