I asked three sales representatives about antibody procurement, and none of them provided a quotation. Is this normal?

This is not a flaw in how you are asking, but rather a result of layered sales channels. Many brand manufacturers do not handle small end-user orders directly and route them to distributors, while distributors worry that you are only collecting quotes for tendering or price comparison and negotiation, so they are not proactive. It is advisable to send a formal request for quotation through your organization's procurement platform or contracted supplier, or directly contact the regional authorized distributor listed under "Contact Us" on the brand's official website, stating that "funding is already available and an order can be placed this week." If you are only comparing prices for now, say so directly as well; experienced salespeople are actually more willing to provide a quote because they know there will be volume later. In-stock availability and lead time must be listed separately to prevent the other party from quoting only a price without locking in the goods.

A dozen or so primary antibodies is not an extremely small order, but original manufacturer sales reps usually have per-order amount or customer-tier considerations and are not inclined to handle it directly. A faster route is to go through a regional authorized distributor or a research e-commerce platform, where a single point of contact can simultaneously give you quotes for two or three brands and is also willing to help check stock availability and shelf life. When comparing prices, do not look only at unit price; ask clearly about shelf life, lot number, whether aliquoting is involved, cold-chain shipping, and damaged-goods replacement rules. When asking the distributor for a "full list" quote, specify which items are in stock and which need to be transferred in. This way, even if the original manufacturer sales rep is not enthusiastic, you can still obtain a comparable quotation sheet, and subsequent ordering and invoicing will go more smoothly.

It is recommended to organize the requirements into a table, including brand, catalog number, specifications, quantity, expected lead time, storage requirements, and whether alternative brands are acceptable. It is best to include the funding or project number, and send it from your institutional email to the official sales or authorized distributor email, with a cc to the channel manager or customer service. Many sales representatives do not provide a quote because verbal inquiries are too scattered; internal approval of a quotation requires filling in a lot of information, and when they see something unclear, they do not want to act on it. In addition, directly saying, "If you can confirm stock availability and lead time within this week, we can place an order for a few units first for urgent use," will improve the response. Do not just add WeChat and wait; keep a paper trail via email. If there is no reply after three days, call the official website's 400 number and ask to be transferred to the sales manager.