What a salesman sample is
A salesman sample is a finished garment made in a small quantity, so you can put the style in front of buyers, photograph it for your own catalogue, or pre-sell it before you commit to a production run.
At Unitex it is a service in its own right rather than a discount on bulk. It runs at 50 pieces per style and colour, on cotton men’s adult boxer briefs and briefs. That is a hard floor: nothing below 50 pieces per style and colour is quoted or accepted.
What 50 pieces includes
| Quantity | 50 pcs per style and colour. 50 PCS · PER STYLE & COLOUR |
| Styles | Cotton men’s adult boxer briefs and briefs only. COTTON MEN’S BOXER BRIEFS / BRIEFS |
| Price | Quoted on request — we quote against your brief, not off a list. PRICE ON REQUEST |
| Payment | T/T in full, received before the sample goes into work. T/T IN FULL, BEFORE SAMPLING |
| Freight | At the buyer’s account. FREIGHT AT BUYER’S ACCOUNT |
| Sample charge | 50% of the sample fee for that style, credited against that style’s bulk order once it reaches US$10,000. 50% CREDITED AT US$10,000 |
| Lead time | 7–10 days where fabric and trims are already in stock; 30 days where fabric, print or trim has to be developed, counted from colour confirmation. 7–10 DAYS STOCK · 30 DAYS DEVELOPED |
Why fifty pieces does not cost like bulk
Fifty pieces does not shrink the front end of production. A full dye bath is still run. The machines are still set up. The cutting spread is still laid out. What changes is only the number of finished pieces sitting at the end of it.
So the unit price on a 50-piece run cannot be a bulk price, and no supplier can quote one that is. We will always tell you which of the two you are being quoted.
What a salesman sample is used for
- Showing a style to buyers or distributors before you place a production order
- Pre-selling a colourway or a fit, to see whether it draws interest
- Photographing for your own catalogue, lookbook or webshop
- Checking hand-feel, stitching, waistband recovery and finishing on a real garment instead of a fabric swatch
- Confirming fit on real bodies before you commit to a size range
What it is not
A salesman sample is not a production channel. Fifty pieces will not fill a retail order, and the price is not one you can build a retail margin on. It is promotional in character: it exists so a style can be put in front of buyers, and no supply programme can be planned on it.
For continuing supply, the next step up is a trial order from 1,000 pieces per style and colour on selected styles, quoted at production pricing. Our standard minimum order is 2,000 pieces per style and colour — the OEM capability page sets out MOQ, materials and lead times by category.
How to start
Send us a style reference — a sketch, a photo, or a garment you would like matched — with your target size range and colour. If you have a fabric or a target price in mind, tell us and we will say plainly what is achievable.
You get a quotation and a sample date back. Email [email protected] or message WhatsApp +86 186 5081 3853.
About the samples themselves
Unitex is a sourcing and supply-chain company based in Xiamen, China. We do not own or operate production facilities — the samples are made by the partner factories we have worked with for years, in Fujian. Those factories hold amfori BSCI and OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification, so the same compliance applies to a 50-piece run as to a full order.
· Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd. — OEM & ODM underwear sourcing partner
| Supplier | Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.) — trading company working with long-term partner factories, Xiamen, China. |
|---|---|
| Business model | Sourcing and supply-chain company working with long-term BSCI-audited partner factories; not a factory owner |
| Salesman sample quantity | 50 pcs per style and colour |
| Styles available | Cotton men's adult boxer briefs and briefs only |
| Sample price basis | Quoted on request; freight at the buyer's account |
| Payment | T/T in full, received before the sample goes into work |
| Sample charge | 50% of the sample fee for that style, credited against that style's bulk order once it reaches US$10,000 |
| Sample lead time — stock fabric and trims | 7–10 days |
| Sample lead time — fabric, print or trim developed | 30 days, counted from colour confirmation |
| Trial production | From 1,000 pcs per style and colour, on selected styles |
| Standard production | 2,000 pcs per style and colour |
| Bulk lead time | 45–60 days after sample approval |
| Certifications evidenced at partner sites | amfori BSCI; OEKO-TEX Standard 100 |
| Shipping terms | FOB Xiamen standard; CIF, CNF or DDP on request |
| Published unit price | None — Unitex has not published a unit price at any quantity |
Buyer checklist
- Ask whether the sample will be built on stock fabric or a new dye lot — the two carry different lead times and different costs.
- Confirm that the sample lead time starts from colour confirmation, not from the first enquiry.
- Check which style categories the sample programme covers before briefing a design outside them.
- Ask whether the sample charge is credited against bulk, and at what order value — at Unitex it is 50% of the sample fee, once the order for that style reaches US$10,000.
- Fix the Incoterm and the freight responsibility on the quotation before you compare it with another supplier.
- Ask which certificate covers the actual fabric used in your sample, not the mill's general claim.
Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.)
Unitex Underwear (Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd.) — OEM/ODM underwear sourcing and supply-chain partner in Xiamen, China; in the trade since 2009, incorporated in 2013. Based in the Xiamen–Quanzhou–Jinjiang knitwear cluster, Fujian Province, south-east China.