Most supplier relationships do not fail at production. They fail at the questions nobody asked before the first deposit went out: what the minimum covers, what the price excludes, who pays when a carton arrives wrong. By the time those answers surface, the money has already left.
We manufacture strip lashes and quote weekly to importers, distributors and private-label brands in markets such as Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and the Gulf states. If we were the buyer, this is the twelve-question list we would put in front of any supplier — including ourselves — before committing to a first order.
The product questions
1. Which styles are stock, and which are made to order?
A catalogue of 200+ styles is only as good as the stock behind it. Stock styles sit in finished inventory and ship in days; made-to-order styles run on a production line with their own minimums and lead times. Ask the supplier to mark every line of the quote as stock or made-to-order. Many “we have everything” catalogues are half order-book.
2. What does the minimum order actually cover — per style, or per order?
| Order type | Typical minimum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Stock styles | 20 boxes per style | Buy from inventory, mix styles within the catalogue |
| Simple private label | 200 boxes | Your brand on standard packaging |
| Printed private label | 500 boxes | Custom-printed boxes for your artwork |
| Full OEM | 1,000 boxes per style | Style built to your specification |
The number itself matters less than its unit. “MOQ 20” is generous if it means 20 boxes per style and meaningless if it means 20 boxes across the whole order. Ask which one it is, and ask whether mixing styles inside a carton changes the number. A supplier who cannot answer this in one sentence has not thought the question through.
3. Can I have the spec sheet, not the catalogue photo?
Pairs per box, fibre thickness in the factory’s own codes, curl, length range per row, band type. Two details trip up new buyers here. First, “D” appears in two columns on most spec sheets: as a curl name and inside thickness codes like 20D or 30D, or the word “Dense”, which describe fibre weight, not curve. Second, pairs per box drives unit economics more than any other line — our SD series is 10 pairs per box, the WD series 5, and the same style priced per box compares very differently. Confirm the specifications in writing before production, not from a product photo.
4. How does the sample process work, and what happens to the sample fee?
A serious supplier sends physical samples of stock styles — we send five pairs free — and tells you up front who pays the courier. If you pay a sample fee or a plate charge for private label, ask in writing whether it is credited against the first bulk order; ours is, 100%, while sample shipping is on the buyer and is not credited. A supplier who cannot put the sample terms in one paragraph is asking you to buy on faith.
The commercial questions
5. What does the quoted price include, and what does it not?
Ask what the unit price leaves out: upgraded packaging, box printing, courier, export documents, anything arranged on your side. Ask for one currency, one validity date, and one page. Quotes that arrive as three spreadsheets with footnotes are where discrepancies live.
6. What are the payment terms, and when does each payment fall due?
A deposit with balance before shipment is the trade norm, and small sample orders usually run on card or PayPal. The percentage matters less than the sequence: ask what the deposit commits them to do, and what happens to it if you cancel at each stage. Get the terms in the proforma invoice, not in a chat message.
7. What are the lead times, and what happens at peak season?
Stock styles ship in days — ours in 3–7; full OEM runs 15–30 days depending on how far the style sits from what we already build. The useful question is the follow-up: what happens if your order lands two weeks before the factory’s busiest holiday? A supplier who answers “we are always fast” is guessing; a supplier who quotes a peak-season date has planned for it.
8. What export documents do you provide, and who arranges the freight?
At minimum: commercial invoice and packing list, and clarity on who books the shipping — their forwarder or yours. Import paperwork, duties and clearance on your side are set by your own customs authority and vary by country and product, so anything touching them should be confirmed with your customs broker; the supplier’s job is accurate documents and honest weights, not destination-country promises.
The operational questions
9. Who is my contact, and how fast do they answer a spec question?
One named contact, in a stated timezone, with a realistic response window. Test it before the deposit: ask a spec question that requires them to check with the production line, and measure how long the true answer takes. That lag is exactly what you will get mid-production.
10. What do you check before a carton leaves the factory?
Ask which checks run — curl and shape against the approved sample, pair count per box, box and carton counts — and whether they photograph the packed cartons before the seal goes on. If you can request pre-shipment photos of your own order, say so in the purchase order.
11. What happens when something arrives wrong?
Every long relationship eventually has one. Ask now, not later: what the claims window is (ours is 14 days from receipt), what evidence they require (written notice with photos or video), and what remedy follows — replacement, credit or reprint. A supplier who has never thought about this question has never handled a claim.
12. What can you show me that I can verify?
Not testimonials — verifiable things. How long the website and domain have operated, whether they will take a video call from the production floor, whether the bulk shipment matches the sample you approved, whether the documents match the cartons. Verification-friendly is the single most predictive trait of a supplier worth a second order.
Red-flag answers, summarised
| Question | Red-flag answer | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Minimums | “Flexible, just tell us your budget” | The minimum reappears at the proforma stage |
| Spec sheet | “It’s all in the photos” | Photos do not carry pair counts or thickness codes |
| Price | “Don’t worry about the details” | The details are the discrepancies |
| Lead time | “Always fast” | No plan for peak season |
| Claims | “Our quality means no problems” | No process is also a process — the bad one |
| Verification | “Trust us, look at our reviews” | Reviews are not production floors |
What we will and will not tell you
We will answer all twelve questions in writing, quote stock and made-to-order separately, state minimums per style, and put the claims window in the proforma invoice. We will send the spec sheet with the sample, not after the deposit.
We will not tell you which styles will sell in your city, or promise destination-country clearance. The first is your sell-through data; the second belongs to your customs broker.
Related reading
- Eyelash MOQ explained: what 20, 200, 500 and 1,000 boxes actually mean
- What actually drives the price of private label eyelashes
- What actually happens inside a lash factory: seven steps from fibre to box
Order terms described here reflect how we run our own lines. Trade terms vary between suppliers, so confirm every point in writing with the supplier you choose. Nothing here is a claim about certification, test results or sales performance, and nothing here is customs advice.
Ready to send us the twelve questions?
Paste the list into our contact form — or ask us for ours pre-filled. Written answers, spec sheets and sample terms included.