Sample Orders: Four Documents and Three Cost Lines to Agree in Writing Before the Courier Arrives
Almost every dispute in the sample stage is a paperwork dispute dressed up as a commercial one. The unit arrives, it is right, and then somebody discovers that the freight was billed to the wrong party, or that the invoice value does not support the duty the broker calculated, or that the test report the buyer's compliance team asked for was never in the box. None of these are product problems. All of them cost a week.
This article covers the three cost lines and the four documents that should be settled before a sample ships — and the fields that belong in the sample invoice, whether you are buying portable units, RV modules, or residential heaters.
Three Cost Lines, Three Separate Agreements
Buyers routinely negotiate "the sample price" as a single number, then discover that the number covered the unit and not the journey. The three lines are distinct and each has its own convention.
1. Unit cost. What you pay for the sample itself. Two conventions exist: the sample is charged at a premium over the mass-production price, or it is charged at production price. In many OEM relationships the sample charge is credited back against the first bulk order — but this is a term to negotiate and write down, not an assumption to carry into the relationship. If it is not in the proforma invoice, it does not exist.
2. Freight. Who books the courier, and who pays. Common arrangements are freight prepaid by the supplier and added to the invoice, freight collect on the buyer's account, or freight included in a delivered price. Each shifts risk differently: on a collect shipment the buyer controls the routing and sees the actual cost; on a prepaid shipment the buyer should ask for the carrier's invoice rather than accept a lump sum.
3. Destination charges. Duty, taxes, customs clearance fees and any brokerage. These are almost always the buyer's, and they are the line most often missing from the buyer's own budget. They are also the line that depends entirely on how the invoice was written, which is why the next section matters.
The Four Documents
1. Commercial invoice. The document the customs authority reads. Its declared value determines duty, and its description determines classification. A vague description such as "water heater sample, no commercial value" is the single most common cause of a held shipment. "No commercial value" is not a customs category.
2. Packing list. Dimensions, gross and net weight, number of cartons, and what is in each. For a single sample this seems excessive until the courier charges by volumetric weight and the numbers on the invoice and the label disagree.
3. Test report or inspection record. Not a certificate — a record of the tests performed on the unit being shipped. Buyers want it for three reasons: the destination customs authority may ask for technical documentation, the buyer's own compliance team needs something to file, and the distributor's insurer may require it. Ask for it before the unit ships, because producing it retroactively from a different lot is not the same document.
4. Declaration elements. The classification inputs: product name, model, function, heating method, rated gas input, power rating, materials of the water circuit, and country of origin. These are what the broker uses to assign a code — for instantaneous gas water heaters the common heading is 8419.11, but the final code is the importing country's decision, not the supplier's. What the supplier can do is supply accurate elements so the broker's decision is straightforward.
Why the Test Report Travels With the Sample
There is a practical reason that has nothing to do with compliance theatre. A sample that arrives without documentation becomes a sample the buyer cannot evaluate internally, because in most organisations the person who approves a new supplier is not the person who unboxed the unit. The test record is what turns "it works at my desk" into "it has been verified against the specification".
If the report shows measured values — pressure hold, ignition behaviour, outlet temperature at a stated flow, leak check on the water circuit — it is useful. If it shows a list of ticked boxes with no numbers, it is decoration. Ask which it is before you order.
Schematic, not to scale. One document, read twice: at the border it settles value and classification; in the approval meeting it settles whether the sample charge is credited against the bulk order.
The Sample Invoice Should Carry These Fields
| Field | Why it matters | Common failure |
|---|---|---|
| Full product description | Drives customs classification | "Sample" or "gift" |
| Model and rated input | Supports the declared code | Missing power or gas rating |
| Declared value | Determines duty | Under-declared to "save duty", then held |
| Incidental costs shown separately | Freight and insurance visible | All folded into one number |
| Country of origin | Required in most markets | Left blank |
| Terms (who pays freight) | Prevents the invoice dispute | Assumed, not written |
| Sample-charge credit terms | Whether the charge returns on the bulk order | Agreed verbally |
| Batch or serial reference | Ties the report to the unit | Report from an unrelated lot |
The Message That Prevents All of It
Before the sample ships, send one message with five questions:
- What is the declared value on the invoice, and does it include freight?
- Who books the courier, and will you send the carrier invoice if it is prepaid?
- Which documents will be in the carton: invoice, packing list, test record?
- Does the test record show measured values, and can you send a redacted example now?
- Are the sample charges credited against the first bulk order, and what is the minimum quantity for that credit?
The answers take ten minutes and remove most of the friction from the first order.
Practical Pitfalls
- Do not treat "sample price" as the landed cost. Three lines, three agreements, one budget.
- Do not accept "no commercial value" on the invoice. It does not describe the goods and it does not speed clearance.
- Do not rely on a verbal credit agreement for the sample charge. It is the term most often forgotten when the bulk order is priced.
- Do not let the test record come from a different lot. A report that cannot be tied to the unit is not evidence about the unit.
- Do not consolidate a sample with other goods to save freight unless you are prepared to describe each item separately and pay duty on all of them.
- Confirm which product line the sample belongs to before evaluating it. Portable outdoor units, RV modules and residential heaters have different installation and venting requirements, and a sample evaluated against the wrong rules produces a wrong decision.
- Combustion appliances produce carbon monoxide, which is colorless, odorless and toxic. Follow the unit's manual for installation and operation; portable units are for outdoor use only.
- SEFFY heaters are designed to international gas-safety standards; we are actively preparing for EU CE certification, expected soon.
