The 10-by-10 Cost Check
Verify a supplier quote through multiple independent comparisons
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 93%
Krept describes changing his buying behaviour after the Crepes & Cones build cost roughly three times what he believed it should have. Instead of treating the first plausible quote as sufficient, he now seeks many independent views: asking ten people himself and asking others to gather more comparisons. The mechanism is triangulation. A clear scope produces comparable estimates; a broad sample reveals the likely range; and differences can then be questioned before money is committed. Price alone is not the decision, because Krept also asks whether the same spend could produce a better result. The method turns painful experience into a repeatable procurement check rather than relying on instinct or a supplier's authority.
Origin
Krept said the costly and difficult Crepes & Cones build changed how he evaluates spending. He began checking proposed costs with many other people before deciding whether a quote offered fair value.
Core principles
- 01A quoted price is a claim, not proof of market value
- 02Independent comparisons reduce the risk of being overcharged
- 03Past losses should improve the next decision process
How to run it
- 1
Specify the purchase
Write down the required outcome and scope so that different providers are pricing the same job.
Pro tip Separate essential requirements from optional upgrades before requesting quotes.
Watch out Vague scopes can make a large quote sample falsely reassuring because the offers are not comparable.
- 2
Collect independent comparisons
Ask multiple providers or knowledgeable people what the work should cost. Use trusted contacts to gather further views rather than relying on one network.
Pro tip Seek comparisons from people who do not benefit from your choice.
- 3
Map the range
Compare the prices, included work, and expected quality. Investigate outliers instead of automatically choosing the cheapest quote.
Pro tip Record what each quote excludes as well as what it includes.
Watch out A low quote can conceal missing work or later extras.
- 4
Test value before approval
Ask whether the proposed approach is the best use of the budget and whether the same result can be achieved better for the same price. Commit only after the quote makes sense against the evidence.
In the wild
Krept said the Crepes & Cones team probably spent three times what the build should have cost after dealing with unreliable builders and middlemen. The experience led him to check later proposals with many other people and compare whether he could get better value for the same price.
→ A painful overspend became a repeatable due-diligence habit for later business decisions.
Common mistakes
Accepting the first plausible quote
A price can sound reasonable while still being far above the market. Plausibility is not an independent benchmark.
Comparing price without scope
Quotes that cover different work cannot establish a useful range. Normalize the requirements before comparing them.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for unfamiliar, high-cost work where the buyer lacks reliable pricing benchmarks.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for urgent purchases where delay costs more than any realistic saving.
From the transcript
“now I'm going to ask 10 other people and get other people to ask another 10 other people”
“Is this the best kind of thing to do? Or is there a way I can do this in a better way for the same…”
From the episode
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