How Do I Request a Sample from a China Factory?

What should I prepare before requesting a sample?

Prepare a written specification before you email anyone. The clearer the brief, the closer the first sample lands. Include dimensions with tolerances, materials and finishes, color references such as Pantone codes, any function or safety requirements for your market, your target order quantity, and a drawing or reference photo. Vague requests produce vague samples, and a sample built on the wrong assumption costs you a whole round of lead time. Packaging the brief as a short request-for-quote keeps each factory's reply structured and comparable — the field-by-field RFQ template shows what to include.

How do I ask for a sample, and what does it cost?

Send the spec to two or three shortlisted factories and ask for a sample quote alongside the unit price at your target quantity. Expect to pay a sample fee plus courier cost; factories commonly charge for samples because a one-off consumes setup time with no production run behind it. Many will credit the sample fee back against your first bulk order, so ask directly. Pay by a traceable method, and confirm who covers express shipping before the sample ships. The full sequence is laid out in the guide to the China factory sample order process.

How long does a factory sample take?

It depends on complexity. A sample from existing tooling or stock components can be ready in a few days; a fully custom item that needs new molds, formulation, or printing can take a few weeks, and chemistry-driven categories add testing time on top — a cosmetics OEM sampling cycle is a good example of the longer end. Build in one or two revision rounds, because the first sample rarely passes on every point. Treat the sample lead time as a preview of how the factory communicates and holds dates once a real order is on the line.

How should I evaluate the sample when it arrives?

Check the sample against your written spec, not against your memory of it. Measure the dimensions, verify materials and finish, confirm color under daylight, and run any function or fit test that matters for your use. Photograph it and note every deviation, however small. If it passes, seal and sign a golden sample and keep it — it becomes the contractual reference for what production must match. The same evidence-first discipline drives an on-site review, as the China factory visit checklist sets out.

How do I move from an approved sample to a production order?

Lock the approved sample into the purchase order. State in writing that mass production must match the signed golden sample, attach its photos and the spec, and reference it in your payment and inspection terms. Agree the deposit-and-balance structure, then schedule a pre-shipment inspection that compares random production units back to the golden sample. That chain — sample, then contract, then inspection against the sample — is how you close the gap a deposit alone never covers, as the breakdown of 30/70 payment terms explains.