I approved a sample from photos once, because the pictures were clean and I was in a hurry. The parcel smelled like a new raincoat, the fit was loose, and the color was a cousin of the one we had asked for. The factory already believed I had said yes. The argument after that cost more than the sample.
“Send a sample” gets you whatever is on the shelf
Those three words are how you receive a stock piece that is only related to your product. Name the kind of sample. A stock sample shows they have made something in the neighborhood. A 3D-printed piece can check shape. Neither one is the thing you are about to pay to produce.
Something they already make
- It can tell you
- They have been near this product
- It cannot tell you
- That your spec will be followed
A 3D or handmade piece
- It can tell you
- The shape
- It cannot tell you
- The real material, or the mold
A pre-production sample
- It can tell you
- The version you might order
- It cannot tell you
- How a thousand units will vary
| Kind of sample | It can tell you | It cannot tell you |
|---|---|---|
| Something they already make | They have been near this product | That your spec will be followed |
| A 3D or handmade piece | The shape | The real material, or the mold |
| A pre-production sample | The version you might order | How a thousand units will vary |
Attach the same spec you used for the quote. Ask for two or three pieces. One perfect piece can be a show sample. Two pieces show whether they can repeat it.
Photos are for rejecting. Hands are for approving.
A photo with a ruler in the frame will catch a wrong shape, a missing part, or a logo you cannot read. A short video of the product doing its job catches a hinge that sticks. I ask for both before the parcel ships, so I can say no without paying for a courier.
A longer bar means I trust that check more for this question.
Smell, flex, and the way an edge feels after a few days do not survive a camera. Do not approve a production order from a gallery. I have never regretted waiting for the parcel. I have regretted skipping it.
Judge it the day it arrives
Clear a table. Put the spec next to the sample, not your memory of the spec. Waiting a week makes you kinder than the shopper will be.
- 1Measure the sizes you listedEyes are generous. A ruler is not.
- 2Use it the awkward wayThe way a reviewer will, not the way the salesperson demonstrated.
- 3Mark pass or fail on each lineSame day. Photograph the misses.
- 4Send the miss back with the line it fails“Not quite right” gives them nothing to change.
“No problem” is not a fix. A fix names the material, the tool, or the step they will change. If the second sample repeats the same miss, stop. Paying for the sample was the cheap part.
This is the same path we run in the Amazon Selling System. You approve the product, the factory, and the launch. We do the work.