When you're ready to bring your idea to life, you'll use the "Request Quote" button on your tech pack. In that dialog, you'll see a critical choice: "Sample Order" or "Quantity Order." They might sound similar, but they represent two totally different stages of your production journey.
Think of a Sample Order as your first date with the physical product. It's a very small production run—usually just one to five units—designed to be a real-world test. This is your chance to hold your creation, check the fit, feel the materials, and inspect the quality of the construction up close. It’s all about making sure the product the factory made matches the vision you had in your head (and in your tech pack).
A Quantity Order, on the other hand, is the main event. This is the bulk production run for the inventory you plan to sell to customers. You only place this order after you’ve received a sample, approved it, and given the manufacturer the green light to make hundreds or thousands of them.
The All-Important Sample Order
Diving straight into a full production run without seeing a sample first is a massive gamble. The sample is your safety net. It’s the single best way to catch any potential issues and iron out the kinks before you’ve invested a huge chunk of capital.
Is the stitching as durable as you specified? Is the color just right under natural light? Does the sizing match your guide? These are questions you can only answer with a physical product in your hands. The sample process is where you and the manufacturer get on the same page, ensuring there are no costly surprises down the road. Because it's a small, custom job, getting a sample made is relatively quick—think in terms of weeks. The goal here isn't speed, though; it's accuracy. Getting this step right is everything.
Gearing Up for the Quantity Order
Once you've approved your sample (or maybe a revised second sample), you're ready to get the ball rolling on your Quantity Order. This is where the factory scales everything up. They'll order raw materials in bulk, set up their assembly lines, and produce your product at volume.
This process naturally takes a lot more time. You're now looking at a timeline measured in months, not weeks. The factory has to coordinate a lot of moving parts, and good work simply takes time. By starting with a sample, you’ve essentially de-risked this entire phase. You can place that large order with confidence, knowing that the final product will be exactly what you and your customers expect.
Inside Genpire, the flow is straightforward. After generating your tech pack, you’ll hit "Request Quote." For your first interaction with a manufacturer on a new design, you'll select "Sample" as the order type and enter a small quantity. Once you’ve received it and you're happy, you’ll start a new quote request from that same tech pack. This time, you’ll switch the order type to "Quantity" and enter your full production numbers. This keeps everything organized and ensures both you and your manufacturing partner are clear on what's being made at each stage.
Related questions
Can I skip the sample and go straight to a quantity order?
Technically, you could, but we strongly advise against it, especially for a brand-new product. It's a huge financial risk. Any misunderstanding or small error in the tech pack could be multiplied across your entire inventory, potentially leaving you with thousands of units of a flawed product you can't sell.
Does the sample cost the same per unit as the quantity order?
No, you should expect the per-unit cost for a sample to be significantly higher than the per-unit cost in your bulk order. That's because a sample is a one-off custom job that doesn't benefit from the economies of scale, like bulk material discounts and streamlined labor, that make larger production runs more efficient.
What if I need changes after I receive my sample?
That's perfect! Finding things to improve is exactly what the sample process is for. You'd simply communicate your feedback to the manufacturer, update your tech pack in Genpire to reflect the changes, and then request a revised sample to confirm the adjustments have been made correctly before moving forward.