Two glove quotations for "a case" can differ by forty per cent per glove and still look almost identical on the page, because the case is not a unit — boxes per case and gloves per box are. The only comparable number is cost per glove, and getting it requires three fields from the supplier: gloves per box, boxes per case, and the case price.
Clinics that buy on case price alone tend to notice the problem at the cupboard, not on the invoice: a case that looked like a bargain turns out to hold six hundred gloves rather than a thousand.
Here is the arithmetic, the fields to request, and a quotation comparison table a purchaser can fill in one sitting.
Why does cost per glove beat case price?
Because glove usage is measured in gloves, not cases. A clinic that goes through nine hundred examination gloves a week does not care that a case has a low sticker price; it cares that the case covers eleven days rather than six. Cost per glove converts every quotation onto the same axis and makes the comparison trivial.
It also exposes the difference between case count and box count. A "10-box case" of 100-count boxes holds 1,000 gloves. A 10-box case of 50-count boxes holds 500. Same shape on a quotation, half the product.
How do you calculate cost per glove?
Divide the case price by the total glove count, where total = gloves per box × boxes per case. Everything else — pack size, mil thickness, standard reference — is a specification question that sits alongside the arithmetic, not inside it.
Worked example (illustrative numbers, not a quotation): a case priced at $89.00 holding 1,000 gloves works out to $0.089 per glove. A case priced at $54.00 holding 500 gloves is $0.108 per glove. The second case has the lower sticker price and costs nineteen per cent more per glove. That is the whole exercise in one pair of figures.
What makes two similar cases cost different amounts per glove?
| Field | Why it moves cost per glove | What to ask for in writing |
|---|---|---|
| Gloves per box | 50-count and 100-count boxes look alike | Count per box, stated on the quotation |
| Boxes per case | Six, ten and twelve are all sold as "a case" | Boxes per case and total glove count |
| Mil thickness | Thicker film uses more material | Mil rating and the ASTM standard the glove is made to |
| Powder-free finish | Additional processing step | Whether the glove is powder-free and the finish type |
| Standard reference | Exam-grade film is specified, not assumed | ASTM D6319 for nitrile, D3578 for latex, D5250 for vinyl |
| Case freight | Oversized cases can add a surcharge | Whether the delivered price equals the quoted price |
The last row is the one that changes the delivered number most often. A quoted case price and a delivered case price that includes a handling charge are not the same figure, and a procurement comparison that mixes the two understates the supplier who quotes all-in.
How should a clinic compare two quotations?
Normalise, then decide. Ask both suppliers for the same four fields — price, gloves per box, boxes per case, mil thickness — then compute cost per glove and rank. If a supplier will not state the glove count plainly, that is itself a data point.
- Write the glove count on the purchase order, not just the case quantity.
- Keep one glove standard per clinical use, so the comparison is like for like.
- Recalculate cost per glove whenever the pack configuration changes, because a supplier reformatting from 10×100 to 12×100 changes the arithmetic without changing the price on the page.
- Record the delivered price and any freight on the same line as the case price.
For clinics buying at institutional volume, our INTCO nitrile gloves case, ten boxes of 100, publishes the full glove count so the arithmetic is unambiguous, and standard clinic boxes such as 4 mil blue nitrile examination gloves, 100 per box use the same per-box convention. The INTCO gloves collection lists the case configurations currently stocked.
What should be recorded on the purchase order?
Five fields: product and standard, glove count per case, mil thickness, pack configuration, and the delivered unit price with freight. A purchase order carrying those five lines can be compared against any other supplier without reopening the email thread, and it is the document that makes a quarterly price review take minutes rather than a morning.
Ordering for a clinic, lab or care home? Wholesale and multi-site ordering covers case pricing and account setup, and the B2B wholesale collection lists the lines stocked for institutional buyers.
Related reading
- INTCO gloves collection
- Nitrile glove chemical breakthrough: trichloroethylene
- Case review: a clinic rechecked its chemo gloves
- clinic consumables
Buying for a facility rather than a single practice? Request a B2B quote and we will price your volume with Canadian warehouse delivery.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate cost per glove?
Divide the case price by the total glove count, where the total is gloves per box multiplied by boxes per case. A case of ten 100-count boxes holds 1,000 gloves, so a case priced at $89.00 works out to $0.089 per glove.
Why is cost per glove better than case price?
Because cases are not a standard unit. Six, ten and twelve boxes per case are all sold as "a case", and boxes come in 50-count or 100-count. Cost per glove puts every quotation on the same axis so the comparison reflects the product rather than the packaging.
Does mil thickness affect cost per glove?
Yes. Thicker film uses more material per glove, so a 6 mil glove and a 3.5 mil glove at the same case price do not have the same cost per glove. Compare within the same thickness band, or account for the difference when use case varies.
What should I ask a glove supplier before ordering a case?
Ask for gloves per box, boxes per case, total glove count, mil thickness, the ASTM standard the glove is made to, and whether the quoted price is delivered. Those six answers are what make two quotations comparable.
CliniEco Medical is a licensed medical device establishment (MDEL #35334).
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