by Tekle Sebhatu

Question:

Hi, sir. We are a company engaging in waterproofing materials in China.

Many clients require samples when they send an inquiry to us. As per the nature of waterproofing materials, it is not worth value. But the freight is high from China to other countries. So would you kindly please give some advice about this? How do we decline them or reply to them so that they will not unhappy? Thanks.

Answer:

Dear Djoy: It is always good business to keep your buyer or seller happy, but there is always a limit. Asking samples by a buyer is not new. In fact, it is natural. How the seller responds to the buyer’s request requires careful handling. I personally feel asking the buyer to share some risk is not out of the ordinary. For example, the buyer can help to cover the freight cost or compensate the seller to recover some of the costs associated with shipping and handling, documenting and/or insuring the goods. In a situation where a multinational company is the buyer that could be a different story especially when the potential business is huge. You certainly will not ask Toyota, Samsung, Ford or Nokia to pay for freight to ship samples. You will just do it, a risk worth taking.

If your company has not done any business with the company that is requesting the sample, I suggest that you obtain a written freight cost estimate from the company that will transport the goods and provide the buyer with explanation what the costs are to ship the product and suggest to them to share some of the cost associated with shipping the samples. If the company is seriously interested to do business with your company they will negotiate with you to share some of the costs.