The Short Answer

Send one message that carries six things: who you are, exactly what you want priced, the quantity or scope, where it goes or gets done, the date you need it by, and the word "quotation". A vendor who has those six can reply with a price. A vendor who has to ask three questions first usually replies in two days, or not at all, and half the "nobody sent me a quote" stories are really "nobody could". The word matters too: in consumer guidance across the UK, New Zealand and elsewhere, a quotation is a fixed price that becomes binding once you accept it, while an estimate is a best guess that can move, so "please send a quotation" and "roughly what would this cost" are two different requests. WhatsApp has no quotation feature of its own, so what comes back is a chat message or a PDF, not a structured offer. Below: seven scripts by situation, the follow-up cadence that gets silent vendors to answer, and the five mistakes that get a request ignored.

The Six Things a Quote Request Has to Carry

Vendors are not ignoring you out of rudeness. A request like "hi, how much for chairs?" cannot be priced, so it goes to the bottom of a pile of messages that can. Every script below is just these six facts in a polite order:

  1. Who you are, and why you are asking. One clause. "I run a small cafe in Indiranagar" tells a supplier more about your order size than a paragraph of pleasantries.
  2. The exact thing, specified tightly enough to price. Model number, material, dimensions, finish, service level. "Chairs" is not a spec. "Stackable metal cafe chairs, black powder coat" is.
  3. Quantity or scope. A unit price without a quantity is useless to both of you, and most vendors have break points where the price changes.
  4. Where. Delivery pin code or city for goods, site address or "remote" for services. Freight and travel are often the difference between two quotes.
  5. When you need it by. This is the single most skipped field and the one that most changes the answer, because a vendor who cannot hit your date would rather tell you now.
  6. What you want back, and by when. "A written quotation including taxes and delivery, by Friday" gives the vendor a format and a deadline. Without it you get a number in a chat bubble with no idea what it includes.

Two optional extras earn their space. Ask for the price to be inclusive or exclusive of tax, stated either way, because a quote that is silent on tax is the most common source of a later argument. And ask how long the price holds, since a quotation with no validity date is a price that can be revised on the day you accept it.

Ask for a Quotation, Not an Estimate

These two words are treated differently in consumer guidance, and using the wrong one is how people end up paying more than they were told. New Zealand's government consumer service and UK trade and dispute-resolution bodies describe the split the same way: a quote is a fixed price for a described job, and once you accept it the trader cannot raise it to cover their own rising costs, while an estimate is an informed best guess that the final bill can move away from. Sources: Consumer Protection New Zealand, MyJobQuote and the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman.

Three practical consequences for the message you are about to send:

  • Use the word you mean. If you want a number you can hold someone to, write "quotation" or "fixed quote", not "ballpark" or "idea of cost".
  • Get it in writing, in the chat. A WhatsApp message is written. Ask for the price, what it includes, what it excludes and the validity date in the message itself, even if a PDF follows, so the record is in one searchable thread.
  • If a vendor sends an estimate when you asked for a quotation, say so. Script 7 below is exactly that reply, and it is not rude to send it.

None of this is legal advice, and the detail varies by country and by whether you are buying as a consumer or a business. The point is narrower: the word you type changes what you are asking for, so type the one you want.

Seven Scripts, by Situation

Replace anything in square brackets. All seven are deliberately short, because a WhatsApp message that needs scrolling gets skim-read.

1. A trade or home service (plumber, electrician, painter, AC technician)

Hi [Name], I got your number from [source]. I need [repainting of a 2BHK, roughly 900 sq ft, walls and ceilings, one coat primer plus two coats emulsion] at [area / landmark]. Could you send me a written quotation including materials, labour and taxes, and let me know if you need to see the place first? I would like the work done in [the first week of November]. Thanks.

Naming the visit yourself is what unlocks the rest. Most trades will not commit to a fixed price sight unseen, so an invitation to inspect converts a vague chat into a scheduled quote.

2. A supplier, bulk or repeat order

Hello, this is [Name] from [Company]. We are looking to order [200 stackable metal cafe chairs, black powder coat, seat height 45 cm]. Could you share a quotation with: unit price at 200 and at 500, GST, delivery to [pin code], lead time from order confirmation, and payment terms? If you have a catalogue or spec sheet for the model, please send that too. We need delivery by [15 November].

Asking for the price at two quantities is the single highest-return line in this post. It tells you where the break point is without a negotiation, and it signals that you may order more than you said.

3. A service business (designer, developer, agency, photographer)

Hi [Name], I am [Name] and I am looking for help with [a 6-page marketing website for a dental clinic: home, about, services, 2 treatment pages, contact form, no e-commerce]. Budget range is [X to Y]. Could you send a quotation with what is included, what is not, how many revision rounds, the timeline, and your payment schedule? Happy to get on a call first if that is easier.

Saying the range is the opposite of weak. It stops you both from spending a week discovering you are 5x apart, and any good service provider will tell you honestly whether the scope fits it.

4. An event vendor (caterer, venue, decorator, photographer)

Hi [Name], I am planning [a 60-guest engagement lunch] on [Sunday 22 November] at [venue or area], from about [12pm to 4pm]. Could you send a quotation for [vegetarian buffet, 8 items plus 2 desserts, service staff included], with per-plate pricing, taxes, the minimum guarantee, and what happens if the count changes by 10 either way? Also please confirm the date is available before quoting.

"Confirm the date is available before quoting" saves the most common wasted week in event planning, and the change-of-count clause is where event quotes hurt people later.

5. Asking several vendors the same thing

Hi [Name], I am collecting quotations for [the same spec, pasted identically to each vendor]. Could you send yours by [Thursday 6pm]? To keep things comparable, please quote on exactly this spec and list anything you would change and why, separately from the price.

Paste an identical spec to every vendor or the quotes are not comparable, which defeats the exercise. Telling them you are comparing is fine and normal; pretending otherwise and then haggling with their competitor's number is what burns a supplier relationship.

6. Chasing a quotation that never arrived

Hi [Name], following up on the quotation for [200 cafe chairs] I asked about on [Monday]. Is there anything missing from my side that is holding it up? If it is not something you can take on right now, just say so and I will look elsewhere, no problem at all.

The last sentence is the part that works. Giving someone an easy, face-saving way to decline gets you an answer either way, and an answer is what you actually need in order to move.

7. When the quote is an estimate, too high, or too vague

Thanks [Name]. Two things before I decide: could you confirm this is a fixed quotation rather than an estimate, and until when the price holds? And could you split it into [materials / labour / delivery] so I can see where it sits? If the total needs to come down to [X] for this to work, tell me what you would remove rather than discounting the same scope.

That last clause is the honest way to negotiate. Asking a vendor to do identical work for less is asking them to lose money; asking what comes out at a lower price is a real conversation, and it often surfaces a cheaper material or a longer lead time you would happily accept.

What WhatsApp Itself Does and Does Not Do Here

Worth knowing before you expect a form or a button. The WhatsApp Business app gives a seller a catalogue, a browsable set of items with images, prices and descriptions inside the chat, and collections to group them; guides to it in 2026 put the catalogue ceiling at 500 items. What it does not give anyone is a quotation feature, a checkout, or an order dashboard: catalogue interest arrives as an ordinary chat message, and the pricing conversation happens in the thread like any other. See this 2026 catalogue guide and Chatarmin's setup notes, which agree on both the limits and the gaps.

So three things are on you rather than on the app:

  • The structure. Nothing prompts a vendor for tax, validity or lead time. If your message does not ask, the quote will not say.
  • The record. There is no quote history screen. The thread is the record, which is an argument for asking for the numbers in the chat body and not only in an attached PDF.
  • The follow-up. Nothing reminds you that vendor three never replied. That is the next section.

One etiquette note: send the spec as text, never a voice note. A spec read aloud cannot be copied, compared or forwarded to whoever actually sets prices.

The Follow-Up That Gets the Silent Ones to Answer

Asking four vendors is easy. Remembering on Thursday which two never came back is the part that quietly fails, and it fails in a predictable shape: the request was sent in a burst of energy, and the chase needed to happen on an ordinary Tuesday when you were busy with something else.

A cadence that is enough and not too much, for a quote you asked for on day 0:

  • Day 3. Script 6, the no-problem-if-not chase. Most quotes that are coming arrive after this.
  • Day 7. One last short line, then treat it as a no. "Still keen if you can quote by Friday, otherwise I will go with someone else and keep you in mind for next time" is honest and it does not burn anything.
  • Never a third chase. Two polite messages and silence is an answer.

This is what we built NagMeLater for, and the useful trick here is not the reminder, it is that the bot can hold the message too. You write the chase on the day you are thinking about it, tell it when to surface, and at that time it hands you a link that opens the vendor's chat with the text already in it:

Two honest limits. It does not send for you: WhatsApp gives no app permission to send from your number, so the last action is always your thumb, which is how scheduled messages work here and why we do not claim otherwise. And it cannot know whether the vendor replied, because it never reads your chats. If a quote lands on Sunday, reply cancel to the reminder and it stops.

If you would rather not schedule the text, a plain reminder does the job: remind me on Thursday at 11am to compare the three chair quotes. For a prefilled link with no account at all, the wa.me link generator is free.

Your first 7 days are free and unlimited

No app, no account. Save the number, send a message, done.

Five Things That Get a Quote Request Ignored

From the vendor's side of the thread, these are the messages that do not get answered:

  1. "Price?" One word, no spec, no quantity. It reads as a tyre-kicker and it is treated as one.
  2. A spec spread over nine messages. Each one pings the vendor and none of them can be forwarded to whoever actually sets prices. Write one message, send it once.
  3. No date. A vendor cannot tell whether you need this in a week or a quarter, and the two get different prices and different priority.
  4. A forwarded spec with someone else's name still in it. It happens more than you would think when comparing vendors, and it is the worst possible first impression.
  5. Silence after the quote arrives. If you go with someone else, say so in one line. It costs you nothing and it is the reason the same vendor will answer quickly next year.

The pattern behind all five: effort saved in writing the request is paid back with interest in the waiting.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I include when asking for a quotation on WhatsApp?

Six things: who you are, exactly what you want priced with enough specification to price it, the quantity or scope, the delivery or site location, the date you need it by, and what you want back and when (a written quotation including taxes and delivery, by a stated day). Adding whether the price should be inclusive or exclusive of tax, and how long it holds, prevents the two most common arguments later.

Is asking for a quotation on WhatsApp professional?

Yes, in most markets it is now the normal channel for small and mid-sized suppliers, contractors and trades, and many of them answer WhatsApp faster than email. What makes it read as professional is the message, not the medium: one complete written request, in business hours, with the spec typed out rather than sent as a voice note.

What is the difference between a quotation and an estimate?

A quotation is a fixed price for a described job that becomes binding once you accept it, so the trader cannot raise it later to cover their own rising costs. An estimate is an informed best guess and the final bill can differ from it. Consumer guidance in the UK and New Zealand draws the line the same way, which is why it is worth typing the word you actually mean.

Does WhatsApp have a quotation or quote feature?

No. The WhatsApp Business app has a catalogue that can hold product images, prices and descriptions, with a limit reported at 500 items in 2026 guides, but there is no quotation feature, no checkout and no order dashboard. A quotation on WhatsApp is a chat message, or a PDF attached to one, and the thread is your only record of it.

How do I follow up on a quotation without being annoying?

Once on day 3 and once on day 7, then stop. The day 3 message should ask whether anything is missing from your side and explicitly offer them an easy way to decline, which is what gets an answer either way. Two polite messages and continued silence is itself an answer, and a third chase changes nothing except how you are remembered.

Should I tell vendors I am getting other quotes?

Yes, and paste them an identical specification so the quotes are actually comparable. Vendors expect to be compared and most will quote more carefully for it. What damages a relationship is hiding the comparison and then using a competitor's number to haggle the same scope down afterwards.

Can NagMeLater send the follow-up message to a vendor for me?

It can write and hold it, then hand it to you ready to send. WhatsApp does not let any app send from your personal number, so at the time you chose the bot messages you with the text and a link that opens that vendor's chat with the message already filled in, and you press send. It never reads your chats, so it cannot tell whether a quote arrived; if one does, reply cancel to the reminder.