Confirming the Sample
Product Sample & Design
When importing products in bulk from China and elsewhere in Asia it is essential to ask for product samples. Ofcourse, it’s always better to see and feel the products before production starts. Or maybe you may also want to check if the supplier is legit. As an Importer, we must let you know about Complete procedure of product samples, including costs, types and lead times.
Factory samples
A Factory sample is a ‘ready-made’ product sample that is not manufactured according to the buyer’s design or customized specifications.
Custom Made Product Samples
A Pre-Production Sample customized according to the buyer’s specifications is used for verifying the manufacturer’s capability to produce their product.
Production Samples
A production Sample (Or Batch Sample) is randomly picked from a mass-produced lot. These Samples are used for various purposes like
Laboratory testing
Functional tests
Quality control
Virtual Product Samples
Virtual product samples can be anything from a 2D rendering created in photoshop or more sophisticated 3D product models that can be performance tested in a digital environment.
3D printed samples
A great way to test the design and certain aspects of functionality. 3D printing can help you create demonstration samples in a matter of hours.
Counter Samples
A reference Sample sent to the supplier to demonstrate certain aspects of a product. It is basically your sample that you want the supplier to replicate the same for you.
Why do I need to order product samples?
When importing products in bulk from China and elsewhere in Asia it is essential to ask for product samples. Of course, it’s always better to see and feel the products before production starts. Or maybe you may also want to check if the supplier is legit.
There are three key reasons why you must buy product samples:
You must test your supplier: It could be his capability or to prove that they can deliver acceptable product samples before you could commit to placing an order.
Test Molds, or tooling: Certain products you cannot even start production as they are part of a Product or used for further manufacturing Finished products. Example Lid of Bottle.
Testing your Product Quality & Design: Design, functionality and overall quality must be ‘verified’ before you enter mass production. You need to see, feel and test your product before you go into mass production.
limitations of Product sample and prototyping
There are limitations to what manufacturers can achieve when it comes to pre-production samples. A Specific Pantone Colour requires a certain order volume, and cannot be done on a small material sample. This is also applicable to raw materials, Factories may only able to use stock material to produce your products. They cannot custom-make materials for a single product sample
For Example
- Incorrect Colours
- Incorrect Materials
- Incorrect Packing
- Handmade prototype instead of Machine production
- Other technical and economical limitations also exist when it comes to materials, components, and design.
It’s important to be aware of these limitations before you order product samples. If not, you might end up waiting forever for a level of perfection that no supplier can ever match.