Samples and Inspection: What to Check Before You Pay the Balance

1. Three kinds of sample, three different jobs

Confusing the first and the third is a classic and expensive mistake. A stock sample tells you the factory can make good goods. Only a pre-production sample tells you your goods are right.

2. The five checks that matter for craft supplies

1. Colourfastness. Put a pinch into your palest base or resin, seal it, leave it somewhere warm and check at 24 hours and again at a week. Bleed rarely shows on day one — it shows after the batch has shipped.
2. Size consistency across the bag, not just the top layer. Pour some out, measure a handful from the middle. Nominal sizes are nominal.
3. Hole and reverse-side finish. For pen beads, confirm hole direction and that it is clear of flash. For flatback pieces, confirm the back is genuinely flat and clean enough to glue.
4. Pack format and count. Weigh or count one bag against the spec. If you are reselling the bag as retail, check the seal and print now, not after 500 arrive.
5. Smell and residue. A strong chemical smell on arrival usually means insufficient curing time. It is a legitimate reason to hold a batch.

3. Batch variation on detailed pieces is physics

On highly detailed resin designs you may notice small differences between orders. That is not necessarily carelessness. Mixing the two resin components causes an exothermic reaction that generates heat, and that heat plus the casting compounds degrades the mould — a flexible mould typically yields between 25 and 100 castings before it starts losing fine detail.

What to do with that knowledge:

• Judge intricate designs from a current-batch sample, not from a listing photo that may have been taken from an early pull.
• On reorders of detailed pieces, ask whether the run came from a fresh mould if crispness matters to your customer.
• Do not apply the same tolerance to clay slices — polymer clay is PVC-based and cured at roughly 129–135 °C with patterns running through the cane, so its variation shows up as pattern and thickness rather than lost detail.

4. Inspecting without flying anywhere

For a first order at craft-supply values, a full third-party inspection often costs more than the goods. Cheaper checks that catch most problems:

• Photos of the packed cartons before shipment — count, labels and carton condition.
• A short video of a bag being opened and poured out, which catches size and colour spread far better than a styled photo.
• A retained sample kept by you from the approved pre-production batch, so any later dispute is comparison rather than memory.

Once your order values justify it, a third-party inspection at the factory before shipment is the standard next step.

5. What we do on our side

For custom projects, agree the digital proof, prototype or pre-production sample needed, sample fees and timing by email. Confirm packaging and inspection criteria with the quotation. Any requested product reports or additional testing are reviewed for the specific design, material and target market before order acceptance.

Sample fees and whether they are credited against a bulk order are confirmed per project — ask in the enquiry and it will be in writing on the quotation.

Ask for a sample with the checks specified

Tell us which designs and what you need the sample to prove — colour match, size, pack format. Sample options, fees and timing are confirmed by email for each project.

Request samples →