The cheapest IT quote is usually describing a different product.
Not always. But often enough that learning how to read an IT quote is worth more than any negotiation tactic. A quote is the only document in the whole purchase that the supplier writes before they have your money. Everything they intend to deliver, and everything they intend to leave out, is already on the page. You just have to know where to look.
This is a guide to reading one properly. It applies to any supplier, us included.
How to read an IT quote: could a stranger deliver it?
Hand the quote to a second supplier and ask them to price exactly what it describes. If they cannot, because the description is loose enough to cover five different machines, what you are holding is a price range with a letterhead. Nobody is committed to anything.
"Core i7 laptop, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD" fails that test. An eighth-generation i7 from 2018 and a fourteenth-generation i7 both fit those words. So does a refurbished business unit and a new consumer one. The price difference between them is large, and nothing on the page tells you which one is coming.
An honest line looks like this instead:
- Manufacturer part number (the SKU or product number printed on the box and the manufacturer's spec sheet), not a marketing name.
- Condition: new, factory sealed. If it is refurbished or open-box, the quote says so.
- The configuration that matters: processor model, RAM and whether a slot is free, storage type, screen, operating system edition.
- Quantity and unit price, then the extended price.
The part number is the line that does the work. With it you can look up the exact configuration on the manufacturer's site, compare it against another supplier's quote, and check the box on delivery. Without it you are comparing adjectives.
When we quote, every hardware line carries the exact model, and the specification is confirmed in writing before the order is placed. We do it because without it nobody, including us, can check the delivery against the promise.
Warranty: how long, and who actually honours it
"1 year warranty" tells you almost nothing. Four questions turn it into something you can rely on.
Whose warranty is it? A manufacturer warranty is honoured by the manufacturer's service network. A "shop warranty" is honoured by the seller, for as long as the seller exists and agrees with your reading of it. They are different products.
Will it be honoured in Nigeria? Many manufacturers tie warranty service to the country or region the unit was sold into. A laptop built and sold for another market can arrive with cover that a service partner here will decline, or will only honour after you ship it abroad. Most major manufacturers publish a warranty lookup by serial number. Run the serial before you pay the balance, not after the first fault.
When does it start? Cover usually starts from the manufacturer's ship date or the registered purchase date. A unit that sat in a warehouse for a year can arrive with most of its warranty already gone.
What does a claim look like? On-site next-business-day service and return-to-depot are both called "warranty". The second one means a machine off a desk for weeks. The quote should name the service level, and the length.
Our own practice is plain: warranties are registered in the client's name and the documentation is handed over, not filed in our office. We do not supply grey-market stock. If a warranty cannot be honoured in Nigeria, the unit does not go on our quote. That is how our hardware supply work is set up, and it is the standard to hold any supplier to.
Landed cost versus a number that will grow
A quote can be accurate and still incomplete. The question is where the price stops.
Ex-works (or a price "ex-warehouse abroad") means the price of the goods before freight, insurance, import duty, clearing and VAT. Those lines are real and they are yours to pay. A buyer comparing an ex-works figure with a supplier who quoted delivered to site is comparing two different things.
Landed cost, delivered means the goods are in your building, cleared, with VAT shown on its own line. That is the only number you can put in a budget.
For imported IT hardware the gap between the two comes down to a few variables. The exchange rate on the day the supplier buys the dollars sets the base. Freight adds to it: air is faster and costs more per kilogram than sea. Duty and clearing depend on the product category. That is why we recommend comparing landed figures only, and asking any supplier who quotes ex-works to restate it delivered. Our longer piece on total cost of ownership in a volatile naira environment covers what happens to that number over the life of the equipment.
The validity window
Every honest naira quote for imported hardware has an expiry date, and it is usually short. Anything from a few days to two weeks is normal. The price tracks the dollar, and a supplier who promises to hold a figure for three months is either absorbing a currency risk they have not priced, or planning to revisit the price once you are committed.
Read a short validity window as information about what the price is made of. The supplier is buying dollars on your behalf. Ask what happens if the rate moves before payment. The answer should be written down.
Delivery, installation and what is excluded
Two lines often go missing from cheap quotes: delivery and installation.
Delivery means to your site, at a stated lead time. "Ex-stock" and "four to six weeks" are both legitimate answers. "Available" is not one.
Installation is where the hidden work lives. Unboxing, imaging, joining machines to your network, migrating data, removing packaging, recording serial numbers against desks. Either the quote covers that, or your own staff will do it in the weeks after delivery. Both are valid choices. Only one is visible on the page.
Then read the exclusions. A good quote has a short, specific list of what it does not cover. A quote with no exclusions has not been thought through, and the gaps will surface as variations.
What the unusually cheap quote usually hides
When one quote comes in well below the others for the same description, the difference has to come from somewhere. It is nearly always one of these:
| What it hides | How to spot it |
|---|---|
| Grey-market stock | No part number, or a part number for another region. Warranty lookup shows a foreign ship-to country. |
| Refurbished sold as new | "New" with no mention of sealed boxes. Serial lookup shows a ship date years old. |
| Regional warranty | Warranty described as "international" with no service level. Ask which service centre in Nigeria will take the claim. |
| Missing accessories | Laptops with foreign plug adapters. Servers quoted diskless, without rails or power cords. Switches without the SFP modules that carry the uplinks. |
| No installation | No labour line at all. The setup becomes your problem. |
| Ex-works price | Freight, duty, clearing and VAT absent, or "excluded" in small print. |
Some of these are honest trade-offs. A refurbished business laptop at half the price of a new one can be a sound purchase for a training room, if the quote says refurbished and the warranty is real. A cheaper product is fine. A cheaper product described as the expensive one is the problem.
How to compare two quotes line by line
Put both quotes into one table. Columns for each supplier, a row for every component. Then work down it:
- Match part numbers. Where they differ, look up both. Note the real differences in processor generation, storage and service level.
- Normalise the price to landed, delivered, VAT shown. Add the missing lines to the cheaper quote at a realistic cost.
- Compare warranty as a service level, with who honours it.
- Add the labour the cheaper quote leaves to you.
- Check validity dates. A cheaper quote that expired last week is not a price.
Often the gap closes, or reverses. Sometimes it does not, and the cheaper supplier is just cheaper. Then buy from them. That is the honest outcome of the exercise, and it happens.
If you want to see the full evaluation beyond the quote itself, our guide to evaluating IT vendors in Nigeria covers what to check about the supplier itself. And for the way a quote fits into a documented purchase from requisition to delivery, see our IT procurement service.
Frequently asked questions
What should every IT quote include?
Exact manufacturer part numbers, the condition of the goods, quantities and unit prices, a landed and delivered total with VAT shown separately, the warranty length and service level and who honours it, a delivery lead time, whether installation is included, a list of exclusions, and a validity date.
Why do IT quotes in Nigeria expire so quickly?
Because most enterprise hardware is imported and priced in US dollars, so the naira price moves with the exchange rate. A validity window of a few days to two weeks is normal. A long validity period on imported hardware means someone is carrying a currency risk, and you should ask who.
Is a refurbished laptop on a quote a red flag?
No. It is a red flag only when it is not labelled. Refurbished business hardware with a real warranty is a reasonable choice for some roles. Ask for the grade, the warranty terms and who services it.
How do I check whether a warranty will be honoured in Nigeria?
Run the serial number through the manufacturer's warranty lookup and check the start date and region. Then ask the supplier which service centre will accept a claim and whether the service is on-site or return-to-depot. Get the answer in writing before you pay the balance.
If you have two quotes on your desk now and they do not line up, send them to us. We will put them side by side, line by line, and tell you which differences are real. If the cheaper one is sound, we will say so.
