What happens during shoe sampling.

Buyers ask “how many days for a sample?” the same way they ask for MOQ: they want a number they can put in a spreadsheet. An honest factory cannot give that number before it has seen the last, the material set and whether new tooling is required.

That is why this page does not publish a fixed sampling calendar. Timing is confirmed per style. What we can publish is the sequence — because the sequence is what later becomes your bulk lead time.

The answer, in one paragraph

Sampling is the period where last, materials, colour and construction are locked. A human replies to the brief within 12 working hours. After that, mill lead, tooling and revision count decide the calendar. The approved sample is the reference for bulk. Until it exists, any production date is a guess.

What we need from you

• A tech pack, a reference pair, or a clear direction. Category, target market, and whether the last comes from you.
• Colour intent. Pantone or a physical swatch beats “make it look premium.”
• The job of the shoe. Performance running, court, trail, walking or lifestyle change the construction conversation.

Mutual NDA is signed before any design discussion that needs it. Client work is not published and is not shown to another buyer as a sales reference.

What happens on the floor

The manufacturing partner campus in Shicheng, Jiangxi covers 473 mu (about 78 acres) with 480,000 m2 of floor space, 16 intelligent production lines and 68 smart stitching lines. Sampling uses the same construction language as bulk. That is the point: the pair you approve should be makeable on the line that will later run the order.

• Last and pattern. If you supply the last, we work from it. If you do not, last development is part of the sample plan and it changes both timing and tooling cost.
• Materials. A mesh and rubber already in the qualified network of 100+ mills is a different job from a special compound with a long mill lead.
• Upper, sole, assembly. Colour, stitch quality and fit are judged on a complete pair, not on a swatch alone.
• Revisions. Most programmes need at least one revision. Revision time is confirmed per style with the material-sourcing window.

What “approved” actually means

An approved sample is a freeze: last, materials, colour and construction. After that freeze, bulk lead time can be confirmed. Before that freeze, a factory quoting a shipping week is selling you a calendar, not a shoe.

Related reading: sample to shipment, ready stock vs custom, OEM vs ODM vs private label, and how to verify the plant before you pay anyone, including us.