Sample requests: free or paid, shipping, and sign-off

Samples are where many export deals are won, and where a lot of solo sellers quietly lose money: free samples to buyers who never order, parcels stuck in customs, and arguments months later about whether the bulk order matches "the sample". This guide covers the decisions in order. Sample fees and how to credit them against a first order are covered on relaysolo.com in how to write a quotation email, so we don't repeat them here.

Free or paid?

There's no official rule; it's a business decision. A practical way to decide:

Asking a buyer to pay the courier is not rude. Serious buyers do it all the time, and the request filters out people who only collect samples. relaysolo.com's guide to replying to inquiries has more on telling serious inquiries from fishing.

Shipping on the buyer's courier account

If the buyer has an account with an international express courier, they can pay the shipment and the import charges directly. Ask for everything in one message, so you don't lose a week:

Dear [name],

We are happy to send samples of [item(s)]. To ship them on your courier account, please send:
1. Courier company and account number
2. Full delivery address, contact name and phone number
3. Your tax or importer number, if your country requires one for imports
4. Who pays import duties and taxes on arrival (you or us)

We can ship within [x] working days of receiving these details.

Best regards,
[name]

Agree in writing who pays import duties and taxes on arrival, and tell the courier. A buyer who is surprised by charges at the door may refuse the parcel, and getting it back costs you time and money. If you agree to pay everything to the door, that's effectively delivered duty paid; see the DDP section of Incoterms 2020.

Customs: declare a real value

Free to the buyer doesn't mean zero value to customs. Customs authorities value goods even when no money changes hands:

• United Kingdom. HMRC guidance says free-of-charge goods are valued by reference to the price that would have been paid if they had been bought. Relief from duty and VAT for commercial samples of negligible value has to be claimed; posted samples should be marked "Commercial samples of negligible value – relief claimed", or the parcel may be held until duty and VAT are paid.
• United States. U.S. Customs and Border Protection's guidance on commercial samples says samples must be classified and valued; a duty-free provision covers samples valued at not over $1 each, or marked, torn or otherwise made unsuitable for sale.
• Everywhere else. Rules differ. Ask your courier or forwarder what the destination requires, and declare an honest value with a clear description.

Writing "no commercial value" with a zero value doesn't make a sample duty-free, and an obviously wrong value can delay the parcel or create a problem for the buyer as importer. Describe the goods in plain words, with material and use: "cotton tote bags, 3 pcs, samples" rather than "gift" or "sample".

Keep a counter sample

Before you ship, set aside an identical piece from the same batch: the counter sample (also called a reference or retained sample). Label it with the buyer, date, and what was sent, and photograph both. If the buyer later says the bulk order doesn't match, you have the evidence. This is common industry practice rather than a legal rule, but it matters because of what the sale of goods rules say about samples (next section).

Get the approval in writing

Under the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), where it applies, goods must have the qualities of any sample or model the seller held out to the buyer (Article 35(2)(c)). In plain terms: once a sample is the basis of the deal, the bulk order is expected to match it. That works for you only if everyone agrees which sample, and what it covers.

Subject: Sample approval: [item], sample ref. [S-2027-08]

Dear [name],

Thank you for your comments on sample ref. [S-2027-08], sent [date].

Please confirm by reply that this sample is approved as the standard for order [PO / proforma number] for:
- Material: [ ]
- Colour: [reference]
- Size and tolerance: [ ]
- Packing: [ ]

Not covered by this sample: [e.g. "final logo print, which will follow your artwork file v3"].

We keep an identical counter sample here for reference.

Best regards,
[name]

Then put the sample reference on your proforma invoice: "Quality as approved sample ref. S-2027-08". If something about the sample can't be matched in bulk (a hand-made finish, a colour from a different dye lot), say so now, not after production.

After the sample

• Give the buyer a date to send feedback, and follow up on that date. If they go quiet, relaysolo.com covers following up when a buyer goes quiet.
• If the bulk order's lead time or price changes because of sample comments, say so before confirming; see delay and price-increase emails.
• Agree payment terms before production, not after.
• Check holiday closures at both ends before promising the sample date; see working weeks and holidays.

Sources

• HMRC (UK), Customs valuation: free-of-charge goods and Pay no import duty and VAT on importing commercial samples.
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Importation of Commercial Samples (Informed Compliance Publication, 2003).
• ICC, ATA Carnet.
• UNCITRAL, United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), Article 35(2)(c). Whether the CISG applies depends on the countries and the contract.

Read next

• How to write a proforma invoice; all of Samples, orders and documents.
• Letter of credit: what to check, in Getting paid.
• Bank detail change fraud, in Fraud and safety; Quoting and trade terms.
• Plain English for non-native buyers, in Working across markets. How we check sources: about this handbook.