Product samples for selling on Amazon: price and shipping costs

Product samples are absolutely vital before you start selling a product on Amazon. It is very risky to simply rely on images or videos that a supplier can provide. You should check finishes, prints, textures... every detail that is relevant to your product.

Ordering product samples is not a mandatory step before launching your product on Amazon's marketplace. Moreover, it can be a tedious process, since it involves negotiating with the supplier and, in most cases, managing the shipping. In addition, if you are not sure which supplier you want to work with, you will have to go through this process several times. Lastly, you have to take into account the delay in the item launch that this implies. For this reason, there are sellers who try to skip this step. However, just because it is a boring process that slows down your launch schedule, does not mean that you should avoid it.

So, what are the advantages of ordering a product sample?

• Check that what we negotiated with the manufacturer is fulfilled. Manufacturers are generally honest. Whether in China, Europe or elsewhere, if you agree to something with them, they will stick to it. However, they may have missed some element or finish, so it's best to check every detail yourself.
• Spot potential improvements. When you have the product in your hands you may come up with a new feature that could improve the item, an element to add or remove, etc. This could make the difference between your product and the competition.
• Correct defects. By inspecting the product you will be able to note flaws that the supplier should correct before launching the item.
• Compare suppliers. If you request samples from more than one supplier, it will allow you to see the attention to detail and quality of each supplier.

What's the price of product samples?

In general, product samples are usually free of charge. However, the cost comes from the shipping fee. This depends, to a large extent, on whether the supplier is located in your country or not. In this regard, we can talk about three main scenarios:

• International shipping. This is the most common case, as many sellers work with suppliers in the Far East. In this case, you usually have to pay for shipping. The figure will depend mainly on the volume of the package. However, many times you can negotiate that, if you finally reach an agreement with this supplier, the shipping cost will be deducted from the total order. For example, if the shipping is $100 and then you decide to order $10,000 from that supplier, you will only have to pay $9,900. In other words, samples are usually free if you end up placing a large order with the manufacturer.
• Domestic shipments. In this situation, samples are free in almost every case.
• Trade shows. If you are at a trade show and want samples of a product, the supplier will usually be able to provide you with a few units at the end of the day, once they no longer need them to show to visitors. Once again, in this case, samples are free.

How to reduce shipping costs

When you order samples from several suppliers, the cost of shipping charges from each supplier can add up to a very high total. To solve this problem, there are consolidation companies. A consolidation company is based in the country where the suppliers are located, receives the different national shipments, puts them together, packages them and sends them to your address. In this way, several shipments become one, which will obviously reduce significantly the total price of transportation.

At Soem Labs we work with AIO Express, but there are many other consolidation companies in the market that offer similar services.

Can I skip quality control if I order product samples?

No. The truth is that quality control is a very important part of the process. Keep in mind that a supplier can devote a lot of attention to sending great samples and then fail to meet the same standards when producing a larger quantity. It is better to think of product samples and quality control as complementary elements: samples to determine standards and control to verify that these standards are respected.

Conclusion

Product samples are critical before putting your brand on the market. A bad or defective product will damage your image, impact your profits and may even cause Amazon to close your account. Therefore, if you need advice with this procedure or you are looking for a way to grow your business, remember that you can contact us through the contact form or by sending us a message to contact@soemlabs .com.

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