Buying house, sourcing agent or AI: what a small brand should use.
The three ways a brand with a tech pack gets a garment price, what each one actually does, what each costs, and where an AI cost sheet fits. For most small brands the honest answer is a combination.
A brand with a tech pack and no factory has three ways to get a price: a buying house, a sourcing agent, or, since this year, an AI that costs the garment from the factory's side. They are not substitutes for each other. Each does a different part of the job, and for most small brands the honest answer is a combination.
What each one actually does
| Buying house | Sourcing agent | AI costing, factory side | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finds the factory | Yes, from its own panel | Yes, from its network | No. It prices inside a factory you or an agent already found. |
| Gets you a price | Yes, the factory price plus its margin | Yes, negotiated, plus a commission | A sourced cost sheet in hours, every line marked established, derived or assumed |
| Makes the price binding | Yes, it is the seller | No, the factory is | No. Only the factory's commitment makes a price binding. |
| Follows the order | Yes, with its own merchandisers | Often, for a fee | Yes, where the factory runs it: dates, suppliers, the ship plan |
| What it costs | Its margin, usually inside the FOB | Typically 3 to 10% of the factory price | Per RFQ, published |
| Where it is weak | You rarely see the factory's own numbers | Quality varies with the person | It cannot find a factory or shake a hand |
Quote desks that promise an estimate within 48 hours usually say, in the small print, that the estimate is not binding and the factory can still say no. That is not a flaw in the desk; it is what an estimate is.
The question a brand is really asking
Is this price real? A buying house's price is real because the buying house is on the hook for it. An agent's price is real when the factory confirms it. An AI cost sheet is real in a different way: it shows what the garment costs to make at that factory, line by line, before anyone adds a margin. Fabric at the marker's consumption, sewing at the factory's own minute rate, trims at the supplier's quote, wash at the plant's. If a quote lands far from the factory's own cost sheet, you know what the conversation is about.
When to use which
- A few thousand pieces, first production, nobody on the ground: a buying house. You pay its margin for its merchandisers, its quality control and its liability. Ask to see the factory's own cost sheet anyway; a good house will show one.
- One or two factories you already trust: an AI cost sheet on every RFQ. Send the tech pack, get the sheet in hours, and negotiate from the factory's numbers rather than from the first quote.
- A new category or a new country: an agent to find and vet, then AI costing to keep the pricing honest once a factory is chosen.
- Repeat styles with a factory that runs IndusCore AI: the factory's merchandiser answers the same day with the sheet attached, and the order is watched to the ship date. No middle layer.
What AI will not do, yet
It will not find you a factory, judge whether the owner keeps his word, or walk the floor at the final inspection. It will not make a price binding: it is a sourced second opinion, not a contract. Anyone selling an AI "quote" that skips the factory is selling an estimate; ask what each line is based on.
A sourced cost estimate for your tech pack
No. We return a sourced cost estimate within 24 hours, and a factory running IndusCore AI can return its own quote the same day. Only the factory's written commitment makes a price binding.
A buying house quotes a selling price with its margin inside. A cost sheet shows the factory-side cost line by line, each line marked established, derived or assumed, so you can see what a quote is built on.
Typically 3 to 10% of the factory price, a range drawn from US customs rulings on whether such commissions are dutiable. Terms vary; ask for them in writing.
No. Send one tech pack and the quantity you expect. The first estimate is free; after that it is $40 per RFQ.