Activewear Samples
At Activewear Bali, we manufacture both custom designs and ready-to-order ones, assembled by a team of 60 experts with at least ten years’ experience in Activewear sample manufacture. These include pattern makers, tailors & seamstresses, merchants & assistants.
Upon request, you will receive an invoice & once paid, you will be assigned an activewear specialist who will discuss any points raised during your handover.
Top Tips
- It is often more effective to organize a callback with your merchant than to send back and forth emails or use WhatsApp to resolve issues.
- When sampling, consider whether you will customize accessories or add prints to your bulk order. You have at least four weeks to create your branding, custom logo and layout for your heat-press, branded accessories such as elasticated jacquard used to promote your brand under the bust or around the waist, packaging, and organize any prints you wish to add. Do this & save weeks or more on your project timeline.
Please inform your graphic designer that we require artwork in vector format in EPS, PDF, CDR, or JPEG, 300 dpi, repeatable, and to scale. Don’t worry if this sounds like mumbo jumbo. Let our graphic designers assist you in making sense of what you have.
Before DHL picks up the samples, your merchant will send you some clear, high-resolution photos for your approval.
Notes
- The samples are often produced much faster if the handover is clear and easy to understand, with notes about any required changes.
- We are able to produce samples in any fabric and colour on our website.
- Most of the time, we produce a maximum of 12 samples in one size.
Fees
Samples made to order are charged twice the estimated price, plus a USD 30 management fee per style, which includes the finished article and stock accessories.
For example, an Activewear Top at USD 14 will be charged at 2 X $14 + $30 = $58.00.
- Sample prices include high-quality, non-branded accessories, some of which can be branded for your bulk order.
- Ready-to-order samples are charged at twice the wholesale price without a management fee.
Is it better to have one sample set or two?
To produce two sets, we charge just the estimated wholesale price for the second set without a management fee. If you only request one set, that has to be sent back to us to be used against your production order, adding courier fees & import taxes into Bali, making two sets cost much the same as one.
In the case of two sets, the set in our office is used to compare against the first cuts in your production.
Mocking Up
After you’ve paid for your samples, we offer a free mock-up service that lets you see how your designs look on a 2D model in your chosen colours/prints
First thing first
The first thing we require is your branded logo, washing instructions & size guide, which we heat press on the inside back of each item. Please choose from one of our templates or create your own.
You can handle this later if your samples don’t need a heat press.
Heat-pressing samples are done in-house with a little desktop printer for confirmation of size and placement only. These may flake or peel after a few washes. In bulk orders, we import them from the Lululemons factory, which uses machines that don’t flake or crack under normal conditions.
Timelines
Usually, samples are produced in 4-6 weeks, depending on the time of year (holidays, etc.) and the number of samples in the queue. Once you’ve approved our prices, we suggest confirming with our communications team or your merchant how long they will take to produce.
Patterns
We work on our International body size guide made using digital 2D auto CAD software as it is far superior to paper patterns. Our sizes and grades are suitable for the majority of markets. However, if your sizes don’t match ours, you can request our sizes be graded up or down.
Before we send your samples
If you want your samples fitted prior to dispatch, we can call in a western-size female fit model who will, with a live video call, try on all of your designs with your merchant, taking notes. This way, you will know firsthand how your styles will look when worn, ask the models how the piece fits, feels, etc. and request any last-minute edits.
Many brand owners choose this service because it’s cheaper than remaking samples, paying couriers, etc.
Costs USD 110 for a 30-minute session.
Dispatch & Delivery
We send samples via FedEx or DHL using our company account or yours. Both couriers arrive daily at our office.
Allow 3-5 working days from uplift to your door.
Read more on dispatch and delivery.
Upon arrival
Once you have your samples & approve them, you’re ready to place your bulk purchase order & custom-branded accessories. In most cases, our samples are approved in the first round. However, if your samples arrive significantly different from what you handed over, remakes are usually free.
Any small edits are made with our digital auto CAD software, which takes minutes instead of weeks.
We suggest checking our size guide and comparing them to your target market. If you don’t and your samples arrive too large or small, you are charged for remakes.
Save time and money on sampling
If you select ready-to-order designs, you can skip sampling completely and move direct to bulk, saving time & money in the sampling process. You will get exactly what you see in our catalogue in your selecting colours & prints.
If this is something for you, add your selected designs as codes in the direct-to-bulk form.
You can also send the designs you want as screenshots with notes on colours and fabrics.
Once received, one of our team specializing in bulk orders will get back to you to confirm your order meets our MOQS.
Visit the Branding and Accessories section for more information.
Additional notes
Mixing Fabrics & Colours
Sample requests are limited to two fabrics and three colours. For example, an activewear one-piece made using a fabric for the outer and another for the inner lining in 3 different colours.
Last Word
As soon as you get your samples & they’re approved, it’s time to send over any artwork for prints and custom-branded accessories for your bulk order.
Read more about adding prints to your collection.