Two quotes for the same product. One is 8% cheaper. You pick that one. And end up paying more.
Unit price is the cost line negotiated hardest, but often the one that matters least. What decides is everything that comes after.
Customs value isn’t the invoice
Customs value isn’t always just the invoice price. It also includes transport, insurance and other costs up to entry into the EU when these are not already included.
The Incoterm changes what sits inside the price and what you have to add yourself. That is why two quotes can look comparable when they are not.
Terminal charges
They vary by port and by carrier. The same container doesn’t cost the same in one place as in another.
What appears when something is delayed
Demurrage and detention aren’t the same thing, though most people mix them up.
Demurrage is the container still inside the terminal past free time. Detention is it being outside and not returned. You can end up paying both on the same shipment.
One point that changes the numbers
With a full right of deduction, import VAT isn’t a cost. But it is cash tied up until you recover it, unless you use postponed accounting.
And the one nobody invoices
If you’ve already paid for the goods, thirty extra days in transit are thirty extra days of money standing still.
Comparing quotes on unit price is comparing the first line of a long list.