What you actually pay
Every Vectra quote is a single delivered price that includes:
- Cost of goods from the supplier in our network
- Freight to your ship-to address (parcel, LTL, or full truckload depending on volume)
- Our margin for the matching, vetting, and coordination work
- Standard documentation — commercial invoice, packing slip, tracking, serial numbers where applicable, warranty paperwork passing through
The all-in number is what you pay. There's no separate broker fee invoiced afterward, no monthly subscription, no per-request charge, no commission added at checkout. If we don't find supply that matches the request, you owe nothing.
What our margin looks like
Our margin typically runs 5-15% of delivered cost, varying by category, order size, and the depth of work involved in matching the request. As rough rules of thumb:
- Larger orders (full pallet quantities and above) trend toward the lower end. Volume dilutes the per-unit cost of the matching work.
- Smaller orders and one-off requests trend higher. The minimum effort to vet a supplier, confirm pricing, and coordinate freight doesn't scale down to two units the way it scales up to two pallets.
- Closeouts and hard-to-find SKUs trend higher still. The matching work is genuinely more — multiple supplier passes, condition verification, sometimes negotiation with deeper-channel suppliers buyers wouldn't reach on their own.
- Ongoing replenishment usually settles at the low end of the range once the supplier relationship matures and the per-cycle effort drops.
If you want the margin broken out separately in a quote — supplier cost, freight, margin, all three numbers — ask and we'll provide it. Most buyers focus on the delivered number because that's what shows up on the P&L, but the transparency is available if it matters to you.
What affects pricing on any given quote
The variables that move pricing for a specific request:
- Volume. Higher quantity per SKU gets better supplier pricing. Tiered pricing kicks in around full-pallet quantities for most categories.
- Condition. Closeouts, liquidation, and overstock all price differently than new wholesale. Refurbished and open-box come in below new. Customer-returns inventory is the cheapest tier and the riskiest.
- Timeline. Urgent ship windows can compress supplier options to the ones with inventory immediately ready, which usually isn't the lowest-cost option. Longer lead times open the door to suppliers running custom production or end-of-cycle clearance.
- Freight cost. Heavy or bulky items have meaningful freight per unit. Truckload shipments are dramatically cheaper per unit than LTL once volume justifies it.
- Destination. Coastal ports and major metros tend to have the most supplier proximity. Remote destinations add freight cost.
How we make money
Worth saying directly. We're a broker — the broker exists somewhere in the price. Pretending otherwise would be insulting and would set up trust problems later.
The broker model exists because matching buyers to vetted supply is real work, and most operators don't want to do that work themselves. When you use a sourcing broker, you're paying a margin in exchange for outsourcing the supplier search, the vetting, the freight coordination, the documentation, and the accountability if something arrives off-spec. For buyers whose time has higher leverage elsewhere, the math is straightforward. For buyers building deep relationships in a single category, the math may favor going direct — that's a real trade-off and we'll say so if it's the right call for your situation.
Payment terms
Standard structure:
- New customers: payment in advance or upon shipment. Wire transfer or ACH preferred; credit card with a small processing fee.
- Established customers: net-30 terms available after a credit review, typically after 2-3 successful orders.
- Large orders or international: letters of credit or escrow available on request, especially for first transactions over $50K.
Full payment terms are in the Terms and Conditions. If your business has specific payment requirements (purchase orders against an existing PO system, NET-60 standard at your AR, etc.), share the requirement upfront — we'd rather know before quoting than reset terms after.
What "no hidden markups" actually means
That phrase gets used loosely across B2B sourcing. Here's what it means specifically at Vectra:
- The delivered price quoted is the only price. No itemized "service fee" or "broker fee" appended later.
- Freight is included in the quote and committed at the quoted amount. If freight cost changes between quote and ship — rare but it happens with truckload schedules — we eat the difference unless the change is buyer-initiated (e.g., destination changes after approval).
- If a supplier price moves between quote and confirmation, we honor the original quote within the quote-validity window (typically seven business days).
- Currency, duty, and customs are quoted in advance for the rare international shipment. No surprise import fees on delivery.
The shortest version: the number you see in the quote is what you pay. If anything would change that number after approval, it would be something you initiated — and we'd quote the change before acting on it.
Common pricing questions
Does Vectra Sourcing charge a fee? No separate fee. Our margin is embedded in the delivered price. There are no setup fees, subscription costs, or per-request charges. If you don't approve the quote, you don't pay anything.
What's the typical broker margin? Typically 5-15% of delivered cost, varying by category, volume, and supplier relationship. Higher-volume orders trend toward the lower end; smaller orders and specialty closeouts trend higher because the matching work takes longer.
Can I see the supplier's wholesale price? Not as a breakdown by default. We quote a single delivered price that reflects supplier cost plus our margin plus freight. If you want a transparent breakdown, ask — we'll provide it.
Do you negotiate pricing? Once a quote is out, the supplier's pricing is what it is — we don't add inflation we can negotiate away. On volume commitments, ongoing replenishment, or competitive comparisons against another quote, send us the context and we'll do another pass with the supplier.
What's included in the delivered price? Cost of goods, freight to your dock, our margin, and documentation. Duties and customs aren't included on the rare international shipment. Returns and damage claims are handled within our terms.