What’s Your Pricing Structure for 500/1,000/5,000 Units?

A buyer asking for the 500 / 1,000 / 5,000 price tiers is asking a reasonable question and usually getting one of two answers: a vague reassurance, or three numbers that turn out to describe three different products.

There is no public price list for custom wooden games, and a supplier who publishes one is either quoting a commodity or quoting a specification you have not seen. What can be explained is how the tier structure works and what moves your number.

Below: why the price falls with volume, which variables change it, what to send to get a comparable quote, and why the lowest quote is almost always a different product.

Why There Is No Public Price List

A “cornhole set” can legitimately be built at four very different price points, and all four are the same product category.

• A plywood board with sealed edges and a printed face, or a solid-wood frame with a routed top.
• Bags with synthetic pellet fill and a double-stitched seam, or bags with a single seam and bean fill.
• A three-coat finish system with sanding between coats, or a single sprayed coat.
• A printed retail carton with a rules card, or a plain carton with a sticker.

Each of those choices moves the cost, and none of them is visible in the phrase “cornhole set”. A published price list would have to pick one combination and would then be wrong for every buyer who wanted a different one.

That is the honest reason the numbers arrive as a quote rather than a table. It is also why a quote is only meaningful against a written specification.

What Actually Changes Between 500 and 5,000 Units

Four effects, and only one of them is large.

1. Setup Amortisation – the big one

Tooling, programming, a first-article check, branding plates, packaging artwork and dies. This is a fixed cost that does not change with quantity, so it divides down.

A setup cost of 3,000 RMB spread across 500 sets adds 6 RMB per unit. The same setup across 5,000 sets adds 0.6 RMB. On a product retailing at 30 to 40 euros, the first case is a rounding error and the second is invisible.

That single mechanism accounts for most of the difference between the tiers. It is why the 500-unit price looks high and the 5,000-unit price looks like a discount.

2. Material – almost flat

Timber is bought by volume already. Ordering 5,000 sets instead of 500 may move the material cost by a few percent at most, and only if the volume justifies a different purchasing arrangement. A buyer who expects the material cost to halve at 5,000 units has misunderstood where the cost sits.

3. Production efficiency – modest

Longer runs mean fewer changeovers and less downtime per unit. The effect is real but smaller than setup, typically a few percent rather than a step change.

4. Freight – separate, and not a unit price

Freight does not change the unit price on the invoice, but it changes the landed cost, and it does not scale linearly. A 500-set order may not fill a container, which means either LCL consolidation or paying for space that is not used. A 5,000-set order usually fills one, and the per-unit freight falls sharply.

That is often the largest real saving between the tiers, and it does not appear in a product quote at all.

The Five Variables That Move Your Quote

1. Species. Beech, rubberwood, oak, acacia and pine sit at different prices, and a denser species is also harder on tooling. This is usually the largest single line after packaging.
2. Dimensions and thickness. Board thickness on a cornhole set or block section on a tower. Thicker means more material and more machining time.
3. Finish system. A penetrating oil applied in two coats is cheaper than a three-coat lacquer with sanding between coats, and the difference is visible within a season.
4. Packaging. A plain carton, a printed carton, and a printed carton with an insert, a rules card and a carry handle are three different products commercially and three different costs.
5. Branding method. Laser engraving has no plate cost and scales cheaply. Screen printing needs a screen per colour. A branded carton needs a die and a print run with its own minimum.

How to Get a Quote You Can Compare

A quote is only comparable if the specification behind it is the same. Send six things:

• Format and dimensions, with units and the tolerance that matters.
• Species and grade, named rather than described.
• Finish system by product name, not by appearance.
• Branding method and artwork, or the intent if the artwork is not ready.
• Packaging type, and whether retail-ready is required.
• Quantity, target market and target retail price.

The target retail price is the item buyers leave out and the one that changes the answer most. It determines which species, which thickness and which packaging are viable. A quote produced without it is usually a quote for the wrong product.

Ask for the quote itemised – material, machining, finish, branding, packaging, and the Incoterm as separate lines. That is what makes two suppliers comparable, because most price gaps turn out to be specification gaps once the lines are visible.

Turnaround on a complete specification is 24 hours. Turnaround on a vague enquiry is a range, which is the answer the buyer was trying to avoid.

Why the Lowest Quote Is Usually a Different Product

A quote 20% below the others almost always has something removed, and the removals are predictable:

• Thinner boards or smaller block sections.
• A cheaper species, or a lower grade with more colour variation.
• One coat of finish instead of three, or no edge sealing.
• Packaging downgraded from a printed carton to a plain one.
• An Incoterm that shifts freight and duty to you without saying so.

The comparison to make is line by line against the same specification, not total against total. A supplier who drops the price significantly without a specification change has changed something you cannot see, and the difference usually appears in the second batch rather than the first.

Conclusion

The tier structure is simple once the mechanism is clear: the price falls with volume mainly because fixed setup is divided across more units, secondarily because freight per unit falls when an order fills a container. Material barely moves.

What the buyer controls is the specification, and that is where the number is actually set – species, thickness, finish, packaging and branding method. Settle those five, ask for an itemised quote against them, and the tiers become comparable rather than mysterious.

Need a quote you can actually compare?
Send format, species, finish, branding, packaging, quantity and target retail price – itemised quote within 24 hours. 500-set minimum, samples in 5–10 days, production in 30–45 days, EN71 and ASTM F963 compliance: contact us

FAQs

1. Do prices include shipping?

No. Product price and freight are separate, and the Incoterm states where the supplier’s responsibility ends. FOB, CIF and DDP produce three different totals for the same goods, so quotes have to be compared on the same term.

2. What is the minimum order?

500 sets for a variant or a new tabletop design. Below that the setup cost per unit rises to where the price stops competing with a stock item.

3. How much does the price fall at 1,000 and 5,000 units?

It depends on the ratio of setup to unit cost, which varies by product. As a rule the largest step is between 500 and 1,000, with a smaller further step at 5,000, because setup is a fixed cost that is being divided rather than a discount being applied.

4. How fast can 1,000 units ship?

Production runs 30–45 days from deposit and sample approval, for standard and custom work alike. Ocean transit is additional – roughly 30–40 days to Europe and 14–25 days to the US west coast.

5. What payment terms are normal?

A deposit against production and the balance against the bill of lading or after inspection. A demand for 100% before production is the clearest warning sign there is.