Two filament quotes can differ by 20% on paper and invert completely once landed. The cure is not a better spreadsheet — it is comparing every supplier on identical terms and then adding the same cost stack to each.
The three terms, plainly
| Term | Supplier pays | You pay |
|---|---|---|
| FOB | Goods to the port of loading, export clearance | Freight, insurance, duty, clearance, inland delivery |
| CIF | As FOB plus freight and insurance to destination port | Duty, clearance, inland delivery |
| DDP | Everything to your door, duty included | Nothing beyond the invoice — but check the routing and the inclusions |
Building the model
- Unit price × quantity — watch the unit: per kilogram or per spool. A "cheap" 1 kg spool price can be expensive per kilogram.
- Freight — quoted per container or per kilogram, and highly sensitive to how densely the goods load.
- Insurance — usually a small percentage of CIF value; skimping here is false economy.
- Duty — calculated on customs value, which may include freight and insurance depending on the Incoterm.
- Clearance and brokerage — fixed per entry; a strong argument for consolidating shipments.
- Inland and receiving — drayage, 3PL handling, pallet storage.
- Quality cost — the cost of one bad batch: failed prints, refunds, lost customers. Weight it.
Why filament landed cost behaves oddly
Filament is dense. A 40 ft HQ of 1 kg spools in 10-piece cartons hits weight limits before volume limits, so the usual "fill the container" instinct does not apply. Two levers change the outcome more than anything else:
- Spool and carton weight — cardboard spools and tighter cartons carry more net kilograms per container.
- Bulk spool sizes — moving high-volume lines to 3 kg or 5 kg spools cuts packaging weight and handling per kilogram.
Four traps
- Comparing DDP to FOB. A DDP number can hide slow routing, a different port or a re-invoice after arrival. Ask for FOB, CIF and DDP on the same order.
- Ignoring the customs value rule. Duty on the goods value alone understates the bill when freight is included in the customs value.
- Forgetting the second shipment. The first container is a sample; model the reorder cycle, not a one-off.
- Treating quality as free. A tolerance failure that stops a print farm's week costs more than the difference between two suppliers' quotes.
VOXFIL quotes FOB, CIF and DDP with the same order basket, publishes per-kilogram tiers by volume, and documents carton and pallet dimensions so your forwarder can quote accurately. See wholesale terms.
Frequently asked questions
Is DDP always the cheapest option?
Not necessarily. DDP bundles everything into one number, which is convenient but can hide slow routing or a different port. Compare DDP with FOB plus your own freight and clearance quote before concluding it is cheaper.
How is import duty calculated on filament?
Duty applies to the customs value, which is normally the price paid for the goods plus, depending on the destination, an adjustment for freight and insurance. The Incoterm affects what is included, so confirm the valuation basis with your broker.
Why is filament freight quoted per container rather than per kilogram?
Because filament containers are usually weight-limited rather than volume-limited. The freight rate applies to the container, so the net kilograms you can load determine the freight cost per kilogram.