Buying wholesale
How Long Is a Wholesale Quote Valid?
A wholesale quote is valid for a set window stated on the document itself — commonly a couple of weeks in general B2B food trade, sometimes shorter for seasonal goods — after which the supplier isn't bound to honour the same pricing. It isn't valid indefinitely because too much can move between the day a quote is written and the day it's accepted: currency rates, freight costs and, for imported goods, the harvest or production cycle behind the product. At Levant Direct, the exact validity window is stated plainly on each quotation rather than left to guesswork.
Why wholesale quotes carry an expiry window
Three moving parts sit behind most wholesale food pricing: foreign exchange (many products are priced in a currency other than Canadian dollars before landing here), freight rates (which shift with fuel costs and container availability), and, for agricultural goods like olive oil or spices, the harvest or production cycle that determines supply in a given season. A quote locks in a price against a snapshot of all three — the longer that snapshot sits unaccepted, the more likely one of them has moved, which is exactly why a validity window exists rather than an open-ended offer.
What happens once a quote expires
An expired quote simply stops being an active offer — nothing is charged or committed automatically, and there's no penalty for letting one lapse. If you're still interested after the window closes, the straightforward step is asking for an updated quotation covering the same list; in many cases pricing hasn't moved much and the new quote looks close to the old one, but it's confirmed fresh rather than assumed.
Can pricing be held longer for repeat orders?
Once you have an order history with a supplier, reorders tend to move faster precisely because less needs re-confirming — a short note referencing your last order is often enough to get updated pricing back quickly, even if the original quote's window has closed. That's a practical benefit of an ongoing account rather than a guaranteed price hold; current market conditions still apply to what's actually quoted back.
A standing order arrangement — see do suppliers hold stock for regular wholesale buyers? — narrows the gap further, since a supplier planning around a known, recurring quantity has less reason for pricing to swing sharply between one confirmed order and the next. It's still not the same as a formally fixed price for a set period, which is a separate kind of arrangement altogether.
How quote validity works at Levant Direct
We don't set one blanket validity period across every product — a quote covering spices or Aleppo soap states its own window because the products behind it move on different cycles. You'll see that window written on the quotation itself, typically returned within one business day of your inquiry, so there's never a need to guess how long a number stays good. If your plans change and you come back after the stated window has passed, simply ask for a refreshed quote — there's no penalty attached to letting one lapse, and the follow-up request is treated the same as your first inquiry.
Related questions
Why do seasonal-product quotes tend to expire faster?
Seasonal goods — Ramadan and Eid stock, holiday sweets — move through shorter, more concentrated supply windows, so pricing on them is more sensitive to timing than a routine, year-round pantry item.
Will I be told if pricing changes before I confirm?
Yes — if you come back after a quote's window has closed, you'll receive a refreshed quotation rather than having an old price silently honoured or silently changed.