Arcade Machine Landed Cost: Compare the Complete Purchase Scope

01Compare the same delivered scope

Compare arcade machine landed cost only after aligning the quoted build and delivery scope. Add necessary options and opening supplies, packing, transport and destination work to each offer using current sources. An unpriced required item stays unresolved; it should not become zero in the total.

Incoterms allocate delivery tasks, costs and risk between the contracting parties. ICC’s guidance also explains why the sales contract remains necessary. Record the chosen rule and named place beside the quotation so the logistics and commercial reviewers can compare the same delivery scope.

02Separate equipment and destination cost rows

Start with the machine configuration and quantities. Add priced options, opening consumables, spare parts, packing and any supplier-side services. Then collect current destination estimates for transport, import-related costs, local delivery and commissioning where applicable. Keep their quote sources and validity dates.

Use a row for unpriced but necessary work instead of assigning zero. If one offer includes software and another excludes it, make the difference visible. Costs that depend on operator choices should have a stated assumption and a range supplied by the appropriate party.

• Supplier rows: base equipment; ordered options; branding; initial stock; spare parts; packing; inspection or handover services.
• Destination rows: agreed freight scope; insurance scope; broker and import costs; local delivery; unloading; installation; site work.
• Comparison fields: amount; currency; quote date; included/excluded; cost owner; assumption; evidence; unresolved question.

03Work a transparent comparison example

Assume offer A is 10,000 currency units with 2,000 of necessary options excluded. Offer B is 11,500 with those options included. Before other costs, A is 12,000 on the aligned scope and B is 11,500. This is illustrative arithmetic, not an equipment price or a recommendation.

Add destination estimates on the same basis before choosing. Exchange rates, quote expiry and import-related costs can change the result. Keep the responsible logistics or destination source beside each of these rows so an updated figure can be traced.

04Distinguish purchase cost from operating viability

Keep purchase and operating costs in two views. The landed sheet compares the equipment delivered on a named scope; the operating budget adds software, labour, consumables, service and site costs. A lower purchase price may bring a more expensive replenishment route, so both views matter.

Consider the cost of delays and unready site work without converting them into invented penalties. Record the business exposure and ask the parties to define contractual obligations. A delivery term alone does not settle all consequences of late or nonconforming equipment.

05Cost comparison row

Use columns for cost item, configuration or quantity, included/excluded status, amount and currency, source quote and validity, delivery scope, owner and unresolved condition. Keep required but unpriced work visible. A planning range needs a supplied source or explicit buyer assumption; this sheet does not set tariffs or tax treatment.

06Use the sheet to request comparable proposals

Send the same configuration list, destination and intended delivery scope to each quoting party. Ask them to mark every row included, excluded, optional or requiring confirmation. Retain the responses with their date and revision.

A completed cost matrix explains the price difference and shows the row still awaiting a quote. It lets the buyer compare the same configuration, supplies and delivery scope before selecting the proposal.