FOB Pebble Pricing from India — How Quotations Are Built
Two quotations for the same pebble can differ by a wide margin and both be honest, because they may not be quoting the same thing. This page explains what sits inside an FOB price, what changes when you move to CIF or DDP, and which specification choices genuinely move the number. We do not publish prices — quotations are built per enquiry — but the structure below is what yours will follow.
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What an FOB price includes
FOB — Free On Board — covers the material, processing, packing, inland haulage to the port, export customs clearance and loading onto the vessel at the named Indian port. It stops there. Sea freight, marine insurance, destination port charges, import duty and inland delivery at your end are yours.
FOB suits buyers with their own freight forwarder and negotiated rates, which is most established importers. It also makes supplier comparison cleanest, because freight — the most volatile element — is taken out of the comparison entirely.
When CIF or DDP makes more sense
CIF adds sea freight and insurance to your destination port. It is simpler for a first-time importer and removes the need to arrange a forwarder, but it means the freight rate is chosen by us rather than negotiated by you. DDP goes furthest — delivered, duty paid — and is the least common for stone because duty and inland haulage vary so widely by destination that the quote has to carry a buffer.
What moves the per-tonne figure
In rough order of impact: finish first (polished stone carries days of tumbling), then colour purity (hand sorting), then packing format (printed retail bags cost far more per tonne than loose loading), then size band tightness, then quantity. Destination affects the freight portion of a CIF price but not the material portion of an FOB one.
This is why a per-tonne question with no specification cannot be answered usefully. Send the specification and the number comes back within the same conversation.
Comparing quotations fairly
Put competing quotations onto the same Incoterm before comparing them, check whether packing is included or added, and confirm the tonnage each is assuming per container. A cheaper per-tonne price against a 24-tonne payload assumption can land more expensively than a higher price against 28 tonnes.
At a glance
| Incoterm | Seller covers | Buyer covers | Typically chosen by |
|---|---|---|---|
| FOB (named Indian port) | Material, packing, inland haulage, export clearance, loading | Sea freight, insurance, destination charges, duty, delivery | Importers with their own forwarder |
| CIF (your port) | Everything to FOB plus sea freight and insurance | Destination charges, duty, customs, inland delivery | First-time importers |
| DDP (your door) | Everything including duty and final delivery | Unloading at site | Buyers wanting a single landed number |
Questions buyers ask
- Why will you not quote a price per tonne without a specification?
- Because finish, colour sorting and packing can change the figure several times over. A number without a specification is a guess that gets revised later, which helps nobody.
- Is FOB or CIF better for a first container?
- CIF is simpler if you have no forwarder relationship. Once you import regularly, FOB usually costs less because you negotiate freight yourself.
- Does the FOB price change if I change destination?
- The material and packing portion does not. Freight and insurance do, which is why FOB comparisons across suppliers are cleaner than CIF ones.
- How long is a quotation valid?
- Material and packing figures hold for a defined window stated on the quotation; freight elements in a CIF quote are the part most likely to move, since sea freight rates change frequently.
Related pages
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