Requesting quotes

A manufacturing quote is only as good as the specification you send. Before contacting factories, write a component list that covers every physical thing in the box: number of cards and their size, box dimensions and style, punchboard sheet count, dice, wooden or plastic pieces, insert type, and rulebook page count and size. If you do not know a spec yet, say so and ask for the factory's standard option. Vague requests get vague quotes, and vague quotes are useless for budgeting.

Always request quotes at multiple quantities, typically 1000, 2000, 3000, and 5000 units. Board game manufacturing has heavy setup costs, so per-unit price drops steeply as quantity rises, often 25 to 40 percent between 1000 and 5000 units. Seeing the full curve tells you where the sweet spot is for your budget and realistic sales expectations.

Get at least three quotes. Prices for the identical game routinely vary 30 percent or more between reputable factories, because each factory's equipment and specialties differ. When quotes come back, normalize them before comparing: confirm each one covers the same components, the same materials (card GSM, box board thickness), the same packing, and the same trade terms. A quote that looks cheap because it uses thinner card stock or excludes shrink-wrap is not actually cheap.

Expect quoting to take one to three weeks per factory and treat it as the start of a relationship, not a transaction. How a factory handles your questions during quoting is a preview of how it will handle problems during production.