We paid the fee and dislike the sample, can we get the money back?

Answer: Under no refund the supplier owes a rebuild, not cash. Under a credit convention the money waits until production absorbs it.

Does the credit expire?

Answer: Usually after 12 months, when most suppliers convert the fee to a service charge.

Why does a simple-mould sample cost more than ¥6000?

Answer: The cavity is cut to your shrink rate and clips, and survives only 300 to 1500 shots.

Who keeps the sample, and can we buy the tool?

Answer: The sample goes to the buyer and the tool stays with the supplier. A buy-out is priced as tooling, with the transfer date written in.

Can freight be sent collect?

Answer: Yes, if the quotation says so. Collect rates run about 40 percent above a monthly account. ---

Protective Case Sample Fee: Refundable or Not

Quick answer: A Sample Fee is refundable only if the clause says so: three conventions cover it, no refund, credit against a qualified order, or full waiver. Prototypes run ¥1200 to ¥2600 and simple moulds ¥6000 to ¥16000.

What the Sample Fee Actually Buys
Convention One: No Refund
Convention Two: Credit on a Qualified Order
Convention Three: Full Waiver
Writing the Credit Clause and Keeping the Sample
FAQ

1. What the Sample Fee Actually Buys

The Sample Fee is not one price but four costs added up: prototype machining, a simple mould, a short printing run and freight. They behave differently at credit time, and blending them into one figure is how a friendly conversation becomes a dispute.

Prototyping is the common line. A CNC prototype of a 400 mm by 300 mm by 180 mm case, lid and insert included, bills at ¥1200 to ¥2600 in 5 to 7 days. A 3D print costs ¥800 to ¥1500 but needs sanding and only proves the shape.

The simple mould is the expensive line: an aluminium or epoxy tool at ¥6000 to ¥16000, lasting 300 to 1500 shots over 12 to 18 days. That money is a deposit on tooling, because the cavity carries your shrink rate and clip positions and cannot be resold.

Item	Cost (¥)	Lead time	Usual treatment
CNC prototype	1200–2600	5–7 days	Often creditable
Simple mould	6000–16000	12–18 days	Rarely creditable
Screens and proof run	230–400	2–3 days	Creditable
Freight	60–900	1–5 days	Not creditable

2. Convention One: No Refund

No refund is the most common wording in the trade, and it dominates enquiries where the design is still moving. A prototype carries the buyer's shell shape and insert cut-outs, so no other customer can use it, and a simple mould dies with the next revision.

Sample Fee negotiation: a yellow case standing upright, moulded handle centred in the lid, one latch each side, front panel left blank, white background

For the buyer the clause is not purely bad. Money that will not come back buys queue position: on the same line a paid prototype is promised in 5 days while an unpaid one waits 10 or more.

The scope must be drawn when the clause is written. The usual trap is a line that refuses a refund but says nothing about revisions, so three clip changes arrive as a fresh invoice. Workable wording keeps the first build non-refundable, charges ¥600 to ¥1200 for a revision within the same exterior, and treats the third round as a new sample.

One line is routinely forgotten: who owns the sample. Under no refund the sample belongs to the buyer while the tool and program stay with the supplier. Without that sentence, buyers assume the drawing came with the payment.

3. Convention Two: Credit on a Qualified Order

Credit against a qualified order suits funded projects. The fee is paid up front, then deducted from goods once the order passes an agreed volume; if the volume never arrives, the money stays where it is.

The trigger needs quantity and time together. Quantity alone lets a buyer order in year three; time alone lets a supplier set a threshold nobody can reach. The workable form is a cumulative 3000 units within 12 months.

Convention	Trigger	Credit rate	Where it lands
No refund	None	0	Paid in full up front
Credit on order	3000 units in 12 months	100% prototype, 50% mould	Inside the deposit
Full waiver	Single order above 10000 units	Waived at source	Starts on deposit receipt

The rate matters as much as the trigger. Prototypes are usually credited at 100 percent against the first payment, simple moulds at 50 percent with the rest treated as tooling. A ¥9000 sample over 3000 units is ¥3 per case, which keeps the accounts simple.

Where the credit lands is the detail that gets missed. A deduction inside the deposit changes the buyer's cash position at once; a deduction inside the balance waits for shipment. The gap is 30 to 60 days of working capital.

4. Convention Three: Full Waiver

A waiver looks like the best deal and carries the hardest conditions: a single order above 10000 units, or a signed annual frame. A supplier can afford it because ¥9000 across 10000 units is ¥0.9 per case.

Sample Fee clause signed: a blue case closed and upright, one flat unbroken front panel, handle and two latches in the same colour, white background

In practice a waiver is deferred, not forgiven. The clause usually adds that if no order arrives within 12 months the standard ¥9000 is invoiced, and if volume lands below 10000 units the difference is recovered. That sentence deserves a slow read.

There is also a hidden cost in the queue. Free samples sit behind paid ones, so a prototype stretches from 5 days to 12 and a simple mould from 15 to 25. When a launch date is fixed, two lost weeks cost more than the fee saved.

5. Writing the Credit Clause and Keeping the Sample

The credit clause needs three lines, not length: the trigger, the mechanism, and what happens if the trigger fails.

Clause line	Suggested wording	What fails without it
Trigger	Cumulative 3000 units within 12 months	Order drifts with no end date
Mechanism	Credited against the deposit at ¥3 per case	Finance cannot reconcile
Lapse	50% recovered if volume misses	Both sides claim a different deal

Ownership belongs on its own line. The common split gives the sample to the buyer and the tool, program and jigs to the supplier, with a buy-out priced as tooling. That must match the tooling-ownership clause word for word.

Invoice the sample and the tool separately. A sample is a service and a tool is an asset, with different tax treatment, and a combined invoice is routinely returned for reissue.

Conclusion

Whether a Sample Fee comes back depends on the convention, then the trigger, then who holds the sample and the tool. Each convention buys something: no refund buys queue position, a credit buys commitment, a waiver buys annual volume. The test is short — quantity, deadline, lapse rule. With all three written, sign it.