If you're buying a jaw crusher, jaw plates, or crusher spare parts—whether it's a wholesale jaw crusher order for a full container or a single replacement unit—this checklist is for you. Seven steps. I run through it every time before I contact a jaw crusher factory or supplier. This is how our team at Jaw Crusher Procurement Partners handles every major purchase decision.

Context: for nine years, I've been handling jaw crusher and spare parts orders for a crushing equipment distributor. I've personally made (and documented) 14 significant procurement mistakes, totaling roughly $23,000 in wasted budget. I now maintain our team's checklist to prevent others from repeating my errors. These seven steps came out of those mistakes.

Step 1: Lock down the actual job specs, not the brochure

Most jaw crusher procurement errors happen before the quote even arrives. You get a nice product photo, a reasonable-looking price, and you assume "similar enough" will work.

Before you call a single jaw crusher manufacturer, write out these five things:

  • Maximum feed size (mm)
  • Target output size (mm)
  • Required throughput (TPH—tons per hour, measured on your actual production target, not the peak)
  • Material type and Mohs/compressive strength
  • Voltage, frequency, and installation environment

Selecting by throughput number alone is one of the easiest mistakes to make. A "200 TPH" machine running hard granite does very different work than the same machine on limestone. Capacity numbers can mislead. Factory specs don't. Get the actual duty numbers in writing, and the supplier can't hide behind "approximately."

What most people skip

Feed opening size relative to max feed size. If your largest rock is close to the jaw opening, you'll get bridging, and the jaw plate wear pattern gets ugly fast. Ask for a feed-opening-versus-jaw-size table before you even discuss price.

Step 2: Compare jaw plates by weight and manganese content—not "price per set"

This one took me two years to figure out. When you're comparing jaw crusher spare parts manufacturers, what matters is:

  • Manganese content (Mn13, Mn18, Mn22—ask for the actual grade, not "high manganese steel")
  • Weight per jaw plate (kg)
  • Whether the set includes both fixed and movable jaws (or sells them separately)
  • Hardness rating (HB or HRC, with actual measurement data—not brochure values)

I once bought a cheap jaw plate set ($2,100) for a C106 operating on granite. It was roughly 40 lbs lighter than the OEM spec and the manufacturer was vague about the manganese grade. It failed in four months. A $2,850 Mn18 set next door ran nearly eight months.

Lesson: cost per set is a distraction. Cost per ton of throughput is the number that matters.

For reference, based on supplier quotes I have on file from Q4 2025, a 106-series jaw plate set typically runs $2,000–$3,000 depending on manganese grade and casting quality. Verify current pricing before you commit.

Step 3: Ask "what's NOT included" before you ask "how much"

I've learned to ask "what's NOT included" before "what's the price." The order matters.

Hidden add-ons I've seen:

  • Wooden pallet or packaging fees
  • Port handling charges (FOB vs. CIF—get it in writing)
  • Third-party inspection fees (some factories mark these up)
  • Test-run or trial operation fees
  • Installation guidance or field service fees
  • Spare locating pins or special tooling
"If you don't ask what's excluded, the lower-looking quote usually ends up more expensive. Not because the vendor is dishonest—because they're pricing against a different scope."

In my opinion, this is the single most common trap in cross-border equipment buying. When a quote has one landed price and zero line-item detail, don't send the deposit. Ask for a broken-down quote. The one with the higher headline number is usually the one you'll actually pay.

Step 4: Verify the factory, not just the website

It's tempting to think that because someone calls themselves a jaw crusher factory, they're a factory. Many are trading companies. That's not automatically a problem—but you need to know who you're buying from.

Verification checklist:

  • Business license and scope of operations
  • Request a video of the casting and machining workshop (not a product-shot video)
  • Ask whether castings are in-house or outsourced. Outsourcing is fine—just know who is doing the casting.
  • If it's a trading company, ask what they assemble in-house versus what they buy
  • Get at least two quotes on the same model from two different sources

I got burned on this one: placed an order with a supplier that called itself a jaw crusher factory and had a very nice site. Turned out to be a trader sourcing from three different foundries. The machine was fine, but when we had issues nobody could confirm which foundry supplied the casting—so the warranty process took three weeks longer than it should have, plus a freight bill we didn't need.

Step 5: Lock spare parts specs in writing

Spare parts problems are almost always specification problems. Before any shipment, get a written spec sheet covering:

  • Model number (C106, C120, PE-600×900, PE-750×1060, etc.)
  • Original part number or equivalent cross-reference
  • Flatness tolerance on the back of the jaw plate
  • Bolt hole spacing
  • Material grade, stated in the PO (not just an email or chat message)

"It will fit" is not a spec. I once turned $1,900 worth of jaw plates into scrap metal because the mounting bolt spacing was off by 4 mm and nobody had bothered to confirm the drawing.

Step 6: Arrange third-party inspection before shipment

Most buyers skip this, especially on smaller orders. Don't.

A decent third-party inspection (BV, SGS, TÜV, or a local inspection firm in China) runs roughly $300–$600. Sounds like real money. What does reworking a 40-foot container of spare parts cost? Easily $2,000 in logistics and rework, plus six weeks of schedule. The math is not close.

What to check:

  • Dimensions and tolerances
  • Hardness and material certificates (ask for the heat number)
  • Casting appearance—porosity, cracks, sand inclusions
  • Packaging (wooden crates vs. pallet-only, rust protection)

My biggest "contrast insight" came from a side-by-side comparison at a forwarder's office, when I put our "no time for inspection" shipment next to a competitor's inspected one. Mine had cracked jaw plate pallets the factory never flagged. Theirs had fresh out-of-mold replacements packed and documented. Because we skipped inspection, we ended up shipping back the whole batch—three months of back-and-forth.

Step 7: Build an incoming inspection checklist

What happens after the shipment arrives at your facility is where many procurement checklists just stop. But this is the last window to catch a problem.

Do this on arrival day:

  • Take an unboxing/unwrapping video with a timestamp
  • Compare actual weights against the packing list
  • Count and match every part number against the PO
  • Check for visible damage or field repairs on the castings
  • Measure mounting dimensions before installation
  • File everything: PO, inspection report, weight ticket, unboxing video

We've caught 47 potential problems using this step in the past 18 months. Most were minor—missing locating pins, mislabeled parts, weight mismatches. But we also caught one full pallet of the wrong grade specification.

Honestly, the paperwork side of this step is the most annoying. But it pays for itself the first time an issue surfaces.

Notes and common mistakes

A few final reminders, based on mistakes I see too often:

  • Don't compare jaw plates by "price per set" alone. Cost per ton of throughput is the real metric.
  • Don't accept vague material descriptions. "High manganese steel" is not a spec. Mn13, Mn18, Mn22 are.
  • Don't accept "100% original" unless the supplier provides a traceable part number or OEM authorization. Not every supplier knows what they're selling.
  • Don't mix up "order today" with "ship tomorrow." Ask for the breakdown: casting, machining, inspection, packing.
  • Don't skip inspection. Small orders feel like they don't need it. Small orders are exactly where a bad shipment hurts most—because you have no backup parts.
  • Don't cross-check landed cost without asking FOB vs. CIF. I'm not 100% sure every supplier will volunteer this—so ask directly, in writing.

That's it. The checklist isn't complicated—but running it consistently is different from talking about it. In my first year, I made every single one of these mistakes. Writing them down is the only way I can stop the next person from paying the same tuition.

Prices and specifications in this article are for general reference. Verify current quotes and technical details directly with your supplier before ordering.