Sample Policy

Effective date: 10 September 2026

Samples help business buyers assess a product's appearance, material, workmanship and fit for their purchasing plans. This policy applies to sample orders confirmed by the STRAND entity named in the Terms & Conditions, and applies alongside the order itself and our other policies.

1. Requesting samples and what we can supply

Send us the products, SKUs, quantities, customisation requirements and destination through an enquiry on this website or to [email protected]. We confirm whether a stock sample or a custom sample can be supplied, based on stock, production process and your intended use.

Not every product can be sampled. The minimum quantity per style, how many styles you can request, the colours available, whether customisation is supported and whether samples can be consolidated into one shipment are all explained before the sample order is confirmed. A request, or an automatic acknowledgement of one, does not by itself form a sample order.

2. Sample prices and payment

Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing, samples are supplied for a charge, with freight and any applicable taxes confirmed separately. Where a custom sample involves design, tooling, special packaging, materials or other costs, we itemise them before you pay.

Free samples or discounts apply only to a promotion or an individual arrangement whose conditions have been stated. They do not mean every product or every customer qualifies. The accepted payment channels, the receiving entity and the payment milestones are those confirmed in the quotation.

We start preparing or making the sample once we have received the payment the sample order requires and the necessary specifications, artwork or other preconditions have been confirmed. Any additional work and cost requires your agreement first.

3. Sample lead times and delivery

Estimated preparation time for stock samples and production time for custom samples are confirmed separately, and the quotation states what starts the clock. Preparation or production time is stated separately from transit time. We do not promise one fixed number of days for all samples.

The despatch point, transport method, charges, taxes and customs responsibility follow the sample order and the Shipping & Delivery Policy. If you need a sample by a particular date, raise it before the contract is formed so that both parties can confirm whether that date can be committed to.

4. Sample fees and credit against bulk orders

Sample fees are not automatically credited against a later bulk order. Where we offer such a credit, we state in a form you can keep — before you pay the sample fee — which products or customers it applies to, the minimum order value or quantity, the deadline for ordering, the amount, how many times it can be used and how to use it.

Freight, taxes, design fees, tooling fees and third-party charges are not included in a credit by default; where something else has been expressly agreed, that applies. If the stated conditions for a credit are not met, the sample fee is settled as originally agreed.

5. Confirming the sample and the standard for bulk

Please inspect the sample you receive and confirm in writing the style, material, dimensions, colour, workmanship and packaging you want kept or changed. The sample and the record confirmed by both parties can serve as one basis for accepting the bulk order.

Any variation permitted between sample and bulk must be expressly disclosed and validly confirmed before the bulk order is formed; later changes to the specification need written confirmation again. Confirming a sample does not release us from the obligation that bulk goods conform to what was agreed and to applicable requirements.

If you need the goods for a particular use, or need material testing, certification or destination-market compliance, tell us in advance so that both sides can confirm whether it can be met and at what cost. Supplying a sample does not mean that all later bulk production, or every sales market, has been through the same testing.

6. Custom revisions and ownership of the work

The number of revisions to a custom sample, the scope of changes and any additional cost are set out in the quotation. Where you ask for additions or changes after confirming the original specification, we confirm the cost and time again before starting the work.

Where a sample fails to meet what was already confirmed, we verify and correct it under the original agreement rather than charging it to you as a new customisation request. Ownership, custody and later use of artwork, moulds and other work product follow the valid written agreement made before the charge or the production.

7. Cancelling, returning and quality issues

To change or cancel a sample order, contact us in writing as soon as possible. Where procurement or sampling has not started, we stop by agreement and return the balance after deducting reasonable actual losses that can be settled under the law or a valid agreement. Where work has started, settlement follows progress, the cost evidence and applicable law — we do not simply keep the whole sample payment.

Samples for business purchase are normally not returnable for a change of mind, the wrong style being chosen, or a decision not to place a bulk order. Where a sample is the wrong item, short in quantity, defective or damaged in transit, you can claim under the Returns, Refunds and Quality Claims Policy. Custom samples must still meet what both parties confirmed.

Send the sample order number, SKU, quantity affected, a description of the problem and any evidence you have to [email protected]. The suggested notice period, our response times and refund timescales are the same as in our general after-sales policy. Rights that applicable law says cannot be excluded are unaffected.