The Second Sample Is Where a Supplier Shows Its Process

The First Sample Was a Demonstration

The sample that arrived after the fair was probably made before the fair, from a batch set aside for visitors. It may have been finished by hand. It certainly passed through more eyes than a production unit will.

That does not make it dishonest. A company showing goods at a trade fair is expected to show its best work, and every exhibitor on the floor does the same. What it means is that the first sample answers a narrow question: can this factory make the product at all. The second sample answers the question you actually need answered: can this factory make it repeatedly, on a line, at the price quoted.

Ordering the second sample is the cheapest quality control in the whole order cycle. It costs a sample fee and a courier, it takes two weeks, and it happens while there is still time to change supplier without disturbing a production schedule.

Four Samples, Four Different Questions

Buyers use the word sample for four different objects. Being precise about which one you are asking for saves a fortnight.

• Show sample. Off the shelf, made for exhibition. Proves the product exists. Says nothing about the line.
• Counter sample. Made to your specification before the order, often in the sample room. Proves the factory can follow a specification.
• Production sample. Pulled from the first hour of the actual run. Proves what the line does with your material, your tolerance and the real operator.
• Shipment sample. Drawn from finished cartons before loading, and kept by both sides. Proves what was in the box, which is the sample you need when a dispute starts nine weeks later.

Ask for the counter sample before the order and the production sample at the start of the run. The shipment sample is not optional on a first order; it is the only physical evidence that survives a sea voyage.

Writing the Request So It Can Be Answered

A request that says "please send another sample, better quality" produces either nothing or a repeat of the first sample. A request that can be executed has five parts.

• Which version. Reference the model, the specification revision and the changes from the previous sample by number: colour, thickness, logo position, packaging.
• Where it comes from. State that it must be taken from a production run, not the sample room. This single sentence changes the object you receive.
• What it must show. A short list: dimensions with tolerance, weight, finish, the carton with its printed marks, the label artwork as it will print.
• When. A date for dispatch with the tracking number, and a photograph of the packed carton before it leaves.
• What happens next. A named day for your decision, so the supplier knows the sample is on a path rather than in a drawer.

Send the same request to two suppliers. The replies, not the samples, are the first useful comparison: one will ask three clarifying questions, one will send a carton photographed against a tape measure, and one will go quiet.

Who Pays for What

Sample costs are small and the argument about them is expensive. Three separate charges exist and they are usually quoted together.

• The sample fee. Often two to five times the unit price, because it is a one-off run with setup time. Some factories refund it against the first order; ask, and get the answer in writing.
• The courier. Forty to eighty dollars for a carton to Europe or North America on an express service, more for anything bulky or with a battery. This is normally the buyer's account, and a supplier who volunteers to pay it is buying your attention.
• The tooling. Separate from both. If the sample needs a new mould, the mould has a price and an ownership question, which belongs in the purchase order and not in a chat message.

Pay the sample fee rather than asking for a free one. A buyer who pays is a buyer the factory expects to invoice, and the sample room responds to that. A free sample is a marketing cost, and marketing samples are the ones made on a Friday afternoon.

What to Check When It Lands

Open the carton before the product, and photograph everything in the order it comes apart. The packing is half of what you paid the courier to send.

Then check the item against the list you wrote, not against your impression of the first sample. Measure with a tape or a caliper rather than by eye: a two millimetre difference in a plastic part is a fit problem at assembly and invisible in a photograph. Weigh it. Put the label next to a ruler so the print size is on record.

Three specific checks are worth doing on every second sample, because they catch the failures that repeat.

Colour against a reference. Not against memory. A physical swatch, a Pantone number or the first sample under the same light. Colour drift between batches is the most common complaint in textiles, ceramics and coated metal.

The seam, joint or weld. Look at the place a factory hides. A neat face and a rough joint is a sample made for approval rather than production.

The carton. Board grade, print quality, marks, and whether the goods actually fit without pressure. A carton that has to be forced closed will arrive deformed.

Sealing the Reference

An approved sample that lives in a cupboard is a rumour with a date. A reference sample is sealed, labelled and held by both sides, with the same identification on each copy.

• Three copies. One for you, one for the factory, one for the forwarder or inspection company if a third party is involved.
• Sealed. Bagged and taped, signed across the seal by both parties, with the date. The signature is what makes it evidence rather than a keepsake.
• Labelled. Product, specification revision, order number, date, and the person who approved it.
• Photographed. Four angles plus the label, stored with the order file rather than on a phone.

The production sample and the shipment sample are compared against this sealed unit. Without it, a dispute becomes a conversation about what "the same as the sample" meant, conducted in two languages, six weeks after the fact.

When the Sample Fails

Most second samples fail on something. The question is which kind of failure it is.

A specification failure is a misunderstanding: the colour is wrong, the logo is in the wrong place, the carton is the wrong size. It is cheap to fix and it tests the supplier's sample room. One more round is reasonable.

A process failure is more serious: the same defect appears twice, or the second sample is worse than the first. That is a factory problem, not a communication problem, and the third sample will usually confirm it. Two rounds is the limit; after that the cost of continuing exceeds the cost of changing supplier.

A capability failure is the one buyers miss. The sample is acceptable and the supplier says the tolerance cannot be held in production, or the finish is only possible on a hand-made unit. That sentence is worth more than the sample, because it arrives before the deposit instead of after the container.

Record the outcome either way. A supplier who fixed three defects in nine days and documented the changes is a better long-term partner than one whose first sample happened to be perfect.

FAQ