What to ask a supplier before you pay for samples.

1. What a sample can and can't show

A sample answers a narrow question: whether this seller can put one unit of this quality in your hands. That's worth knowing. It's also less than it feels like when the box arrives.

• What it can show. The material, finish, weight and workmanship of that unit. Whether the listing's photos and description correspond to a real object. How the seller communicates, packs and ships, and whether they do it by the date they gave.
• It can't show who made it. A trading company can buy a sample from a factory, or from another seller, and send it on. That's ordinary, and it means the sample says little about who would make your order. The factory-or-trading-company guide has checks for that question.
• It can't show that production will match. A sample may be made by hand, made on different equipment from a production run, or picked as the best of a batch.
• It can't fix the terms. A good sample doesn't hold a price, a minimum order or a lead time.

None of this is a reason to skip the sample. It's a reason to find out, before paying, what the sample represents.

2. Which kind of sample it is

"Sample" covers at least four different things, and sellers use the names loosely. Describe the one you want instead of relying on the label.

For a standard product bought as it's listed, a stock sample may be all you need. For anything with your own colour, size, logo or packaging, expect two rounds: a stock sample to judge the seller's general quality, then a custom sample before production starts. Ask at which point the second one is made, because some sellers make it only after a deposit.

3. Questions about the sample itself

• Where it comes from. Ask whether the sample comes from the seller's own production or is bought in. The answer is a claim, like any other, but it's useful to have in writing.
• Which version it is. A listing often covers several sizes, materials or grades under one photo. Name the exact version you want, and ask the seller to confirm that the sample is that version.
• What will differ in production. Material source, colour, finish, logo method and packaging can all change between a sample and a run. A seller who lists the differences plainly is giving you something to put in the order.
• Whether it can carry your customisation. If the sample can't show your logo, colour or packaging, ask when you'll first see them, and whether photos or a video of a pre-production sample are offered before the run starts.
• Whether you can have two. Two identical units let you test one and keep the other untouched as the reference. On small items the second unit usually adds little to the courier charge.
• Whether paperwork exists for this model. If your market requires a test report or certification for the product, ask whether one exists for this exact model, and whose company name is on it. Looking at a sample doesn't answer that.

4. Questions about the cost

A sample usually costs more than the unit price on the listing, sometimes several times more, and that isn't a warning sign by itself. The listed price assumes a production run. A single unit has to be picked or made separately, packed alone and sent by express courier, and on light or bulky items the courier charge is often the larger part of the bill.

Ask for each of these as a separate line.

• The sample fee. Per unit, and for how many units.
• Set-up charges. A custom sample can need a mould, a print plate or a set-up. Ask what each costs, and who owns the mould or plate afterwards.
• The courier cost. Which courier and service, the packed size and weight, and whether you can use your own courier account or forwarder instead.
• What comes back. Sellers often offer to credit the sample fee against a first order. Ask from what order size, and whether the credit includes the courier cost. Often it doesn't.
• The total. One figure, in one currency, with the name of the account it's paid to.

A "free sample" usually means the unit is free and you pay the courier. That's a fair offer for a stock item, and it doesn't change any question on this page. A very high sample fee can be a real cost, such as a mould, or a way of filtering out buyers who aren't serious. The breakdown usually shows which.

5. Questions about the order, asked now

The easiest money to waste on sampling goes to a good sample from a seller you could never order from. Get the outline of the order in writing before you pay for the sample.

• The price at your quantity. And what the MOQ is counted against: the whole order, or each colour, size or design. The FOB and MOQ guide has the full list of questions.
• The lead time. How long production takes after you approve the sample.
• The payment terms. What the seller proposes for an order, and the company name on the account that would receive it.
• The standard. Whether the order can state that production must match the approved sample, identified by a date and a reference. The guide to writing claims into the order explains why that sentence matters.
• Inspection. Whether the seller accepts a third-party inspection before the balance is paid.

Answers that are vague before the sample don't usually get clearer after it. If they rule a seller out, you've saved the sample fee and the wait.

6. How to pay for a sample

The amount is small, so the money at risk is small. The route still deserves a minute, for two reasons. The route used for the sample tends to become the route for the order. And the sample payment is usually the first time you see the name on the seller's account.

• Through the marketplace, where the listing offers it. Some marketplaces let you place a sample order on the listing, which keeps the payment inside the platform's own process. What a sample order is covered for differs by platform and changes over time, so check the current terms.
• By card, or a payment service with purchase protection. Check what the protection covers and for how long. If the seller asks for a personal transfer with no protection in order to avoid a fee, offering to pay the fee yourself keeps the protection.
• By bank transfer. Recourse is weak. For a sample the exposure is small, but compare the beneficiary name with the company name you've been dealing with, and ask about any difference in writing.
• By anything irreversible by design. A request for cryptocurrency or gift cards is a reason to stop, at any amount.

The payment guide ranks these routes by how much you can undo.

7. Shipping, customs and timing

• Size counts as well as weight. Express couriers charge for the space a parcel takes up as well as its weight, so a light, bulky sample can cost more to ship than to buy. Ask for the packed dimensions before agreeing a courier price.
• Several sellers mean several parcels. Each seller ships separately, and each parcel carries its own courier charge. Some buyers have samples sent to a forwarder or agent in China, who combines them into one shipment. That adds a handling fee and time, and you won't see how each seller packed, so it suits a larger sample round better than a single sample.
• Some goods need special handling. Items with lithium batteries, liquids, powders, aerosols or strong magnets fall under courier restrictions. Ask how the sample will ship and whether there's a surcharge.
• A sample is still an import. Whether duty or tax is due depends on your country, the goods and the declared value. Rules for low-value parcels differ between countries, and some have changed recently, so check with the courier or your customs authority. Ask the seller to declare the goods accurately. If the value is under-declared, the consequences can fall on you as the importer.
• Dates. Ask for the dispatch date, and for the tracking number once the parcel has left. How a seller handles a promised sample date says a little about how they'll handle a production date.

8. When the sample arrives

• Record it first. Photograph the parcel, the label and the contents as you open it, and note how it was packed.
• Check it against what was written. Measure it, weigh it, and compare the material, colour and finish with the specification you sent. Look at colour in daylight.
• Test the claim that matters most. Use the product the way your customers would, and test the one property you'd be refunding people over.
• Read the markings. A brand, a model number or another company's name on the product or the box can point to who made it. The guide to finding a maker from a photo covers what markings can and can't tell you.
• Send the differences in writing. List what doesn't match, and ask which points will be corrected in production and which won't. Ask for a corrected sample if the differences matter.
• Turn the approved one into the reference. Label it with the date and a reference you both use, photograph it from every angle, and keep one unit sealed. Then name it in the order.

A good sample lets you carry on with that seller. It doesn't show that the order will match, which is what the order wording and an inspection before the balance are for.

9. Answers that deserve a follow-up

None of these settles anything alone. Each one is worth a second question before money moves.

• No sample is possible, but a deposit is requested. Some products can't be sampled cheaply, such as large machines or items that need new tooling. Ask what's offered instead: a video of a finished unit, a sample of the material, a visit, or a third-party check.
• The account name differs from the company name. There can be an ordinary explanation, such as a group company or a Hong Kong trading entity. Get it in writing before paying.
• The seller can't say what will differ in production. It may mean the seller doesn't control production, which is worth knowing either way.
• The sample arrives with another company's name on it. Many catalogue sellers are trading companies, so this isn't unusual. Ask who makes the product and whether the order would come from the same source.
• There's pressure to order before the sample arrives. A price that expires before you can see the product removes the reason for sampling. Ask for the quote's validity to cover the sample period.

10. The questions to send

Send the same written questions to every seller you're considering, before paying any of them. The replies are easier to compare, and the answers give you wording for the order.