Comparing two bronze quotations fairly

Two foundries quote the same altar set and the totals sit far apart. Most of that gap is not price. It is a different piece: one quoted hollow where the other quoted solid, one put the crate inside the line and the other left it out. Force both quotations onto the same eleven lines first; whatever difference survives that is real.

Why do two quotations for the same piece never match?

We cast by lost wax in Dong Quy village, Nam Truc, Nam Dinh. The foundry quoting against us works from its own master model, with its own wall thickness and its own idea of where the finish stops. There is no industry drawing for a Vietnamese altar set, so each foundry quotes the piece it actually makes.

A size 65 five-piece set off our floor weighs about 36 kg. If a quotation for the same set is built on something far lighter, that is thinner metal, not keener buying. Our walls are 5 mm, and 8 mm where a piece takes load: handles, feet, the lid knob. Ask both foundries for those two numbers before you read either total.

Which lines must be identical before I compare anything?

Send both foundries the same eleven lines and ask for an answer line by line. This table is the whole job; what follows is detail on the lines buyers get caught by.

Am I comparing the same metal weight and the same finish?

Hollow is not a fault. Most altar pieces above a certain size are hollow, and the wall is what matters. What goes wrong is comparing a hollow body against a solid one without knowing, because the lighter quotation then looks like the better one. Ask for a weight per piece instead of per lot: a foundry that can send a per-piece table quoted from a real model, one that cannot quoted from a guess. How wall and weight sit together on our pieces is set out in bronze weight and wall thickness spec.

Finish diverges just as quietly. A rubbed, sealed patina and a quick darkened wash photograph almost alike under a workshop lamp and behave nothing alike a year later. Ask for the finish by name, whether it is sealed, and whether the foundry keeps enough on file to repeat the tone on a reorder.

What is inside the packing line and what is extra?

Bronze travels in heavy wooden crates, and the crate is part of the job rather than a courtesy. Have both quotations itemise construction, inner protection, strapping, shipping marks, the packing list, and whether the crate's own weight sits inside the gross figure. Ask too what changes if your end has no forklift — that decision belongs before packing, not after a container reaches the door, and it is set out in can your warehouse receive a bronze crate.

Which quotation is hiding a tooling charge?

If you asked for anything other than a catalogue piece — your height, your lettering, your logo, a motif removed — one foundry may be quoting off a model it already holds while the other is building one. Both can be honest; only one is cheap on a first small order. Ask whether tooling is priced separately or carried inside the unit, and who holds the model afterwards. Folded-in tooling is fine if you will reorder and expensive on a single trial lot. Our position on samples, models and order terms is on trade terms, so you can hold the other quotation against it line for line; which changes need tooling at all is in changing a bronze model without new tooling.

One thing no quotation settles: a village foundry our size has no ISO or BSCI file, and neither does the one quoting against us. Anyone claiming one on hand-cast altar bronze deserves a second look — how to check a Vietnamese bronze foundry is real covers the checks that do work.

What do I send both foundries so the quotations come back comparable?

Send the same packet to both, on the same day:

1. The piece, named, photographed from three sides.
2. The one dimension that must hold, and where it is measured from — with the lid, without the lid, finial counted or not.
3. Metal, solid or hollow, nominal wall in mm.
4. Finish by name, plus a photo of the tone you mean.
5. Quantity per size and per finish, and whether sizes must match each other in tone.
6. Whether you need a sample before the lot runs.
7. Your delivery term and named place.
8. The format you want back: one line per spec above, with a weight per piece.

From us you get two numbers back: a complete request answered within two working days, and casting of 21–30 days from an approved sample. On dimensions we say what hand casting does — 1–3 cm of variation is normal, over 5 cm is a fault we put right at our cost, with the measuring points on specifications. If you have a buying agent in Vietnam, send them rather than a letter: we keep showrooms in Nam Dinh, Hanoi and Hai Phong.

Questions buyers ask

Does a cheaper quotation mean a lighter piece?

Often. Wall thickness is the easiest thing to shave without it showing in a photograph. Compare per-piece weights first; if those match and the totals differ, the gap is finish hours, packing or tooling.

Can I ask for a weight table for every piece?

Yes, and at quotation stage rather than at shipment. A foundry that needs weeks to produce one has not cast your piece recently.

Two foundries quote the same size at different weights — who do I believe?

Neither, until each states its nominal wall and whether the body is solid. Nominal sizes are names: our "60" incense burner stands about 57 cm under a tape, so two foundries can both be honest and ship pieces 3 cm apart.

Should I order the same sample from both?

On a line you mean to carry for years, yes. One sample each, same spec, same week, tests the quotation as well as the casting: who answers, who photographs before shipping, who holds the dimension they wrote down.

How long is a quotation good for?

Ask for the validity in writing, because metal and freight both move. A quotation with no validity date is indicative only; reconfirm before placing the order.