FOB, CIF or DDP? Why the Same Quote Can Mean a Very Different Total Cost

Same Number, Same Stone, a Very Different Invoice

You receive two quotes for the same travertine. Both show the same figure per square metre. The decision looks easy, until you notice one is FOB and the other CIF. Suddenly you are not comparing comparable numbers. Under one of them, ocean freight, insurance and everything after arrival comes out of your pocket; under the other, a large share of those costs is already baked into the price. Per container, the gap can run to thousands of euros.

That is exactly what an Incoterm defines: the point where responsibility for shipping, insurance and customs passes from seller to buyer. Move that point and total cost, risk and workload all change, even though the quoted number stays the same. With a product as heavy and bulky as natural stone, the effect is amplified: transport and handling rival the material itself as a cost line.

Four Terms, Four Different Maps of Responsibility

The Incoterms 2020 ruleset covers every scenario, but in stone trade you will meet these four most often.

EXW: the stone is yours at the quarry gate

Under Ex Works the supplier makes the goods ready at their own premises and everything else falls to the buyer: inland haulage to the port, export clearance, loading, ocean freight, insurance, import clearance and final delivery. An EXW quote is almost always the lowest number because it contains the least service. With an established logistics network it can work in your favour; without one, the cheapest quote on paper becomes the most expensive total.

FOB: the seller's job ends on board

Under Free on Board the seller is responsible until the goods are loaded onto the vessel at the named port; from that moment freight, insurance and risk transfer to the buyer. The line of responsibility is clean, which is why FOB is one of the most established terms in stone exports. Never judge a FOB quote without adding your own freight and insurance on top.

CIF: freight and insurance included

Under Cost, Insurance and Freight the seller covers freight and insurance to the destination port, while risk still passes to the buyer once the goods are on board. A CIF figure is naturally higher than a FOB figure, but two major cost lines are already inside it. Seeing different numbers for the same stone under FOB and CIF does not mean one supplier is expensive; it means they are selling different things.

DDP: delivered to your door, duties paid

Under Delivered Duty Paid the seller brings the goods to the buyer's address with import duties settled. For the buyer it is the lowest-risk scenario: one number, delivered. In exchange, the supplier prices the entire chain, so a DDP quote looks higher than the rest. Yet it is often the number closest to your true landed cost.

HS Code and Origin: Two Fields That Turn Guesswork Into Real Pricing

For a supplier to price freight and customs correctly, two pieces of information matter. The HS code places your product on the correct tariff line at customs; without it, the supplier estimates duties and shipping instead of calculating them. Origin states where the goods were produced or extracted, and it can affect both the price and the customs duty. In natural stone, origin is usually expressed with quarry information, such as Carrara, Italy.

The delivery point matters just as much. State not only the country but the city or port, because haulage to one port is priced differently from another. In MarbleMap these fields belong to the itemised demand type: the product list lets you attach export information to every line, and requests carrying an HS code and origin receive offers that are more reliable and easier to compare.

A Decision Framework: Compare Like With Like

The rule is simple: compare offers on the same delivery term. Start by weighing your own capacity: with freight contracts and a customs broker in place, FOB or even EXW can serve you well; without them, CIF or DDP is the safer direction. Then state your accepted terms up front; the accepted Incoterms field in the advanced options step of MarbleMap's demand wizard, a Pro buyer feature, locked on the free package, lets you mark them and guides suppliers without binding their offers.

When offers arrive, read the number and the delivery term together. MarbleMap shows the Incoterm alongside each offer on the comparison screen. To compare two offers on different terms, fill the missing lines with your own freight, insurance and customs estimates first. If a supplier changes the Incoterm on a rejected offer, that counts as a material change of terms and can open the door to a fresh submission.

What MarbleMap Does and Does Not Do

Honestly, MarbleMap is not a carrier, a forwarder or a customs broker. It does not move freight and it does not clear customs; shipment, insurance, clearance and invoicing sit between the buyer and the supplier, and payment does not flow through the platform. MarbleMap's job is to make sealed offers comparable on one shared EUR basis, so you know which quote includes transport and clearance before you decide. Open shipping questions can go straight to the supplier through the platform's messaging.

Start by Comparing Totals, Not Numbers

On your next stone purchase, ask not what the quote says but up to which point it carries you. If you are a buyer, open a free request on MarbleMap; registration costs nothing, there is no commission, and no obligation arises until you accept an offer. Add your delivery point; on an itemised request add HS code and origin, and on the Pro plan mark your accepted Incoterms. Compare sealed offers from verified suppliers on equal ground. If you are a supplier, answer demands from vetted buyers with sealed offers that name their delivery term clearly; the quote that states where responsibility changes hands is always the stronger one. Start at marblemap.co