How sticker sampling is charged, and how to keep the golden sample

Sampling fee, approved sample, bulk-seal sample — clear these three before custom foam stickers and avoid disputes later.

How the sampling fee is usually set

Foam-sticker sampling cost is mostly the die and machine setup: the blade die is priced by shape, and HF tuning + trial press needs labor. Our standard-pattern sampling runs a few hundred RMB; large orders often offset it against the PO, effectively free sampling.

What the golden sample is

The signed-off sample is the golden sample — the quality baseline for bulk. After sampling passes, we seal a puffy sticker golden sample; every bulk lot is checked against it, and if color, thickness or 3D height drift too far, we rework.

Sampling lead-time promise

Standard artwork: 3-5 days to golden sample; rush can compress to 2 days. As noted in our lead time article, sampling uses the same rush lane as bulk — it won’t stall at machine tuning.

What buyers should keep

Put the golden-sample ID in the contract; on arrival, compare to it before accepting. Then reorders skip re-color-matching — just pull the archived sample.

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