Get clothing samples made by a professional manufacturer! It’s probably one of the wisest piece of advice that a start-up clothing brands could get. But have you ever wonder why the cost of making samples is always more expensive than the cost of bulk production?
Why it is Not Cheap to Get Clothing Samples Made
A lot of start-ups looking for a clothing manufacturer Bali to get clothing samples made. One of the main attraction is the “affordable” cost. But in reality, it might not be as cheap as you think.
In average, depending on various factors, the cost to get clothing samples made could reach 2 – 3 times the actual cost for the bulk production. The following explanation could help you understand why.
1. Expertise & Experience
As a clothing manufacturer Bali, we regularly receive requests to get clothing samples made. Normally, they come with sketches, and sometimes with reference photos. No technical data about what sewing technique required, how to cut the fabric, how to find points of measure, etc. Practically nothing but incomplete and unrefined ideas about a clothing design.
Making a sample requires expertise and years of experience to figure out the design and how to make it into a piece of clothing. Not everyone with the ability to operate a sewing machine can get clothing samples made. He/she wouldn’t even have a clue of what to begin with. Maybe he/she would eventually able to get clothing samples made, but unlikely in a manner that is time and cost efficient.
2. The Cut
Cutting the fabric to get clothing samples made for the first time is not as simple as one might think. It requires skills to understand the pattern and its placement on the fabric, before the markings could be laid down and the cutting started.
Sometimes, when the cut parts of the fabric are sewn together on the first attempt, the result fails to fulfil the expectation. In that case, the pattern has to be readjusted before the cutting works could be repeated using the new pattern.
Once the most efficient placement of the pattern has been determined and the sewing results fulfil the expectation, the cutting works could be repeated as many times required. But as ever, the first time it is always the most difficult and not everyone can do it.
3. Work Flow Creation
Sewing skill alone is not enough to get clothing samples made. There should be a set instructions on where to begin and how should the works progress. This is called the work flow, and only skilled and experienced sample makers can figure this out.
One might have a ready made sample for the manufacturer to copy the cuts and the sewing techniques. It’s true that this could make the job easier. But since there is no technical instructions on what to do first, the manufacturer has to use its expertise and experience to figure out the complete work flow.
4. Revisions
A sample is the manufacturer technical interpretation of a designer’s vision. Since two different people don’t always share an identical understanding about a concept, it is unrealistic to expect a clothing manufacturer to successfully produce a sample with a single attempt.
Normally, a manufacturer would give the customer 2 – 3 free revisions; that is to give more chance for both the manufacturer and the designer to align their mutual understanding of the design.
For each revision, the manufacturer will have to compensate it from the fee that the customer already paid. In other words, if the sampling cost is very cheap, the manufacturer won’t have enough budget to complete the revisions. And instead of making a healthy profit, the manufacturer will have to suffer losses. Nobody wants that to happen.
You can find out more about the works required to complete this job in the ultimate guide to clothing manufacturing.
5. Sustainability of the Clothing Manufacturer
Clothing industry is moving towards sustainability, and it works both ways. Not only that the clothes have to be sustainable environmentally, the business of producing them must also be sustainable economically. In other words, the term “sustainability” should also include the element of “fair trade”.
In reality, sustainable fabric and trims are not cheap and a clothing manufacturer can’t operate on a loss for long. It must make a healthy (reasonable) profit from the sample so that the business itself can be sustainable. Imagine a situation where you get sampling clothes made perfectly, only for the manufacturer to be gone out of business the next time you return with the actual bulk order.
So, if you’re looking to get sampling clothes made of sustainable materials, we suggest that you prepare to pay extra.
6. Confidentiality
Clothing business is very competitive and no such thing as a brand new design. Even the most creative design ideas get inspirations from previously existed ideas. But imagine your competitor walk in to your clothing manufacturer partner, check out your samples, then ask the manufacturer to make the exact copies of them and put his/her own label to them.
We know that it really happened in Bali, and that is one of the risks of getting clothing samples made for cheap. Why should the manufacturer care so much about protecting your intellectual property rights when it barely makes any profit from making the samples?
A professional clothing manufacturer in Bali will make real effort to protect the confidentiality of your designs, and even sign an NDA.
Additional Cost: Sample Shipment
Read our recommendations about what to consider when you’re starting a garment business.
Normally, the fee to get sampling clothes made doesn’t include the shipping cost. So, the shipping cost doesn’t included in the calculation of production cost. But if you get clothing samples made in Bali while you live in a different country, the shipping cost should be an important consideration.
In a very simplified explanation; the more you send, the cheaper the shipping cost per unit. Sending a sample size set is cheaper than sending a single sample, while sending the bulk production is cheaper than sending a size set sample.