Comparing textile prices looks like the easiest thing in the world: two towels, two figures, the lower one wins. And that is exactly how the towels that have to be replaced the following year get bought. The price of a towel on a website is not what the towel costs: it is one of six or seven figures which, added together, tell you what it will cost you to have it in the bathroom over its working life. This guide is the method for adding them up, with a table you can copy and fill in with your own quotes.
First, compare like with like
Before looking at a single price, line up the technical sheets. Two “bath” towels can be a 70 × 140 at 450 g/m² and a 100 × 150 at 600 g/m²: the second weighs twice as much and costs twice as much to wash, and comparing them on price is comparing oranges with watermelons. For each reference, demand and note down:
- Exact size in centimetres.
- Weight in g/m² for towels and bedspreads; thread count and yarn count for sheets (144 threads in 30/1 is not the same as 144 in 40/1).
- Composition and fabric type: conventional or American terry, plain weave or poplin, blend or cotton.
- Finishes: anti-pilling, sanforised.
- Care sheet: maximum temperature, bleach, tumble dryer. A towel that cannot go in the tumble dryer costs more to wash even if it costs less to buy.
If a supplier does not give one of these figures, that cell reads “unknown”, and unknown is not free: it is risk.
Second, the real unit price
Three common traps in the figure that appears on screen:
- With or without VAT. Shops aimed at businesses show prices excluding VAT; shops for private customers include it. Bring everything to one basis, usually excluding VAT if you are a business and recover it.
- Per unit or per pack. Many references are sold in packs of 2, 6, 10 or 12. Divide the pack price by its units, and note the pack size: it forces you to buy in multiples.
- List price or volume-discounted price. Ask for the quantity-discount table. 10% off from 100 units changes the ranking of suppliers as soon as you equip more than two rooms.
Third, shipping, which is where the difference hides
Shipping is the figure that varies most between suppliers and the one most often forgotten. Find out for each one:
- Shipping cost per order and from what amount it is free. A free-shipping threshold at €100 and another at €300 mean very different things for an apartment replacing €80 worth of pillowcases.
- Surcharges for the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, and for delivery to an upper floor or by appointment.
- Minimum order value. Some suppliers set a minimum of €150, €300 or €500; others set no minimum order value and supply in full packs. The minimum is not a direct cost, but it forces you to buy today what you will not need until spring, and that tied-up money does cost.
- Lead time. Three to five days versus three weeks. The cost of a long lead time is the safety stock you have to hold so as not to run out of towels, or the room you do not sell.
Spread the shipping over the units of the order you will actually place, not over a theoretical one. €9 shipping on an order of 12 pillowcases is €0.75 per pillowcase; on an order of 120, seven cents.
Fourth, what happens after delivery
- Sample. If the supplier sends samples, ask for one. Feeling the terry and weighing the towel on a kitchen scale is the only real check on its weight.
- Returns and guarantee. What happens if a wrong size or a faulty batch arrives, who pays for the collection and within how many days.
- Payment terms. Payment in advance, cash on delivery or at 30 days. For a business that is just starting, 30 days' credit is worth money.
- Continuity. Will that reference still exist next year, in the same white and the same weight? In hospitality textiles, replacement has to be identical, and a supplier who changes catalogue every season forces you to mix.
The table
One row per item, one column per supplier, and in each cell the figure from your real quote. No example figures: any number we put here would be invented and would end up quoted as if it were a market price.
| Item | What to note |
|---|---|
| Comparable reference | Size, weight or thread count, terry or fabric type, care sheet |
| Unit price excl. VAT | Pack price ÷ units in the pack |
| Pack | Units per pack and therefore the multiple you buy in |
| Volume discount | Percentage that applies to the quantity you will order |
| Minimum order value | None, or the figure that forces you to buy more than you need |
| Shipping for your order | Real cost, or free if you are above the threshold |
| Lead time | Working days to your storeroom |
| Cost per delivered unit | (Unit price × (1 − discount) × units + shipping) ÷ units |
| Sample | Available or not, and at what cost |
| Washes over its working life | According to the sheet and the sample |
An example with variables, to see how the result moves: if supplier A charges a unit price PA, with no discount and free shipping above its threshold, and supplier B charges a lower unit price PB but with a 5% discount only from a certain quantity, shipping S and a minimum order value M, then B's cost per delivered unit is not PB but PB × 0.95 + S ÷ units, and only if your order is above M. When you do that sum with your own figures, the gap between A and B usually halves, and B also forces you to buy M in one go and to wait longer. That is what the table is for: turning “it costs less” into “it costs less by this, in exchange for this”.
Fifth, cost per use, which is what matters
The final figure is not the purchase price but the cost per use: what it costs each time a guest uses the towel. It is calculated by dividing the cost per delivered unit plus the washing cost over its life by the number of washes it withstands. A slightly more expensive towel that lasts twice as many uses before it is retired costs less per use than a lower-priced one that is retired at half that. This guide does the full calculation with the laundry kilos included; for sheets, the logic is identical.
The three questions that sum up all of the above
- Is it the same towel? Same size, same weight, same type of terry, same care sheet.
- What does it cost delivered to my storeroom, with real shipping, pack and discount for the order I am going to place?
- What does each use cost me, counting how many washes it withstands?
Whoever answers all three before ordering buys less often, and that, more than any discount, is what brings down a property's textile costs. If you are just starting out, the wholesale buying guide explains how volume prices work and the quantities worth ordering.