Samples for brands and online retailers
You know what you want it to look like and roughly what it should cost. Turning that into something a factory can make is the gap.
Sample development / Step 2
Sample development in China
Develop product samples in China with a clear brief, revision history and approval record. Confirm the reference, costs and checks for your first order.
Brief
Sample requirements
Versions
Revision history
Sample
Approved reference
QC
Production checks
Buyer fit
Samples for brands and online retailers
Workflow
Sample requirements
Evidence and deliverables
Sample requirements and agreed tolerances
FAQ
Sample development and approved-sample handoff request
Buyer route
Choose the buyer route before the sourcing motion.
The same sourcing service has different risk controls for ecommerce, private-label, wholesale, and procurement buyers. Choose the buyer route before supplier search, samples, QC, and shipment work are scoped.
Ecommerce sellers
Check SKU margin, MOQ, samples, packaging, and replenishment risk.
View routePrivate-label brands
Control product development, sample approval, packaging, and production brief.
View routeWholesale buyers
Plan mixed SKUs, quote comparison, consolidation, and repeat supply.
View routeProcurement teams
Review supplier evidence, risk notes, QC gates, and internal approval needs.
View routeBuyer fit
For buyers preparing samples for a first order
A sample only settles an argument if everyone agrees what it is proving. Before we ask a factory to make one, we write down what has to be right: the reference item, the changes you want, and who signs off. Without an approval owner, a sample just starts another round.
Samples with several revisions
The colour, the feel, the packaging keep changing and nobody can remember which version everyone agreed on.
Approve a reference before ordering
You are about to pay a deposit and want the approved version pinned down first, with the quote tied to it.
Missing a reference or an approver
If there is no reference, no spec range, and nobody named to approve it, sampling just burns money. We say so before starting.
Workflow
Record each version before approving the first order
Each version gets recorded against the brief, with the supplier's comment and any cost change it caused. You can see why version three costs more than version two. Samples ship by DHL, UPS, FedEx or SF — whichever is cheaper on that lane that week. You get the tracking number the day it leaves.
01
Define the sample requirements and intended use
Sample requirementsThe reference, the changes, and the limits — written so three factories would read it the same way.
02
Select suppliers able to make the sample
Supplier sampling assessmentNot every supplier will sample properly. Some quote fast and then hand it to someone else, which is where versions start drifting.
03
Record revisions and changes to cost and timing
Revision logEach version is logged against the brief with what it did to cost and lead time.
04
Confirm the approved version and production checks
Approved sample and QC requirementsOnce a version is approved we hand it forward as the standard for the first order's QC.
Evidence and deliverables
Use the approved sample for quotes and production checks
The sample file names the approved version and the tolerance it was accepted at. It also states what the sample does not prove — packaging, regulatory testing, or anything the factory produced by hand that a production run will not repeat.
Sample requirements and agreed tolerances
The reference, the changes, and the tolerance — in one place, so every supplier is answering the same question.
Revision history, cost and timing
What each revision did to cost and lead time. This is the part buyers usually find out too late.
Approved reference and inspection criteria
The approved version, the retained sample, and the defect rules QC will inspect against.
Product and sample review
Product samples, material notes and measurements on a sourcing workbench.
FAQ
Questions about sample development
Send the reference, the changes, and who signs off. We write the sampling brief, run the revisions, and record what each one changed in cost or lead time. Nothing is marked approved without a named owner.
Is Aeonix a product design agency?
No. Industrial design, structural engineering and lab testing are other people's jobs. We take what you already have and make it something a supplier can act on.
Do I still need QC after sample approval?
Yes. An approved sample is a reference, not a guarantee of every production unit. The production process may differ from sampling, so check the order against the approved version and agreed inspection criteria.
When should sample and tooling fees be confirmed?
Before sampling starts. Ask specifically whether the fee is refundable, whether it comes off the order, and whether each revision costs again. The answers vary a lot between factories.
Evidence and deliverables
Send your reference and requested changes
Send the reference, the changes, and who signs off. We write the sampling brief, run the revisions, and record what each one changed in cost or lead time. Nothing is marked approved without a named owner.