As title suggested, Im in process to create my own product which will be manufactured in China. I have ordered prototypes with a few suppliers (prototypes not completed yet) and discussed pricing. They all gave me different unit price - same design and other order terms. My research show me: - The lowest price ones are probably the market price, while the other manufacturers overcharge me 10-20%. - I also anticipate the higher price manufacturers have higher quality, meaning they deserve to higher price, but not as high as the current quoted price. For reference, the highest quote is 50% higher than lowest one.

I want to go with higher price higher quality manufacturer, but also want their price to be lowered. My main concern is the common wisdom that you should negotiate the cost with Chinese manufacturer unless you know them well. They will agree with your proposal but will cut corners when making the productnto they can keep margin the same. In short, they produce to cost. Basically I have two choices and I like option 2 better: 1. Go with the one with good quality at acceptable price 2. Go with the one with best quality and negotiate price down

Anyone with experience can share how to approach this dilemma and whether I should negotiate with the manufacturer at all?