A first-time importer’s guide to working with a garment factory

Your first import is the one where the gaps show: a quote that left out freight, a sample nobody washed, a shipment that reached port before anyone had arranged customs clearance. None of it is complicated once you see the whole path. This guide walks through it in order, from the work you do before contacting a factory to cartons in your warehouse, and links to our deeper guides at each step.

What should you prepare before contacting a garment factory?

Factories answer prepared buyers first, and preparation also protects you. Have ready a product definition, quantities per style and per colour, a target landed cost, a date the goods must be in your warehouse, your destination markets, your importer set-up, and a budget for samples and inspection. In detail:

• A product definition. A tech pack, or at least a reference garment, photos, target fabric and a size chart. What a tech pack needs to contain.
• Quantities per style and per colour. Minimums apply per style and colour, so check your range against them before you ask for quotes.
• A target landed cost, not just a target unit price (more on this below).
• A date the goods must be in your warehouse, so the factory can tell you honestly whether it is achievable.
• Your destination markets. They decide labelling rules, duty and the origin paperwork you will need.
• Your importer set-up. For the EU and Great Britain that means an EORI number; elsewhere, your market’s equivalent. Also a customs broker or freight forwarder you can call.
• A budget for samples and inspection, which are real costs on a first order.

What should your first email to a factory include?

A good first message fits on a page: who you are and where you sell, the product with tech pack or references attached, fabric and weight (or “please advise”), size range, quantity per style and colour, decoration, labels and packing, destination, target delivery date and the Incoterm you want quoted.

Ask the factory to state what the price includes and what it assumes. A factory that replies with questions is usually a better sign than one that replies with only a number.

What does an FOB price cover, and how do you compare quotes?

Quotes are only comparable when they are built on the same specification and the same Incoterm. Under FOB, the seller clears the goods for export and delivers them on board the vessel at the named port of shipment; from there, costs and risk are yours. FOB applies to sea freight only, so an air shipment should be quoted FCA.

We quote EXW Gaindakot, FOB Kolkata for sea, and FCA Kathmandu for air. Incoterms explained.

Landed cost is the unit price plus everything below the line, divided by the pieces that arrive in sellable condition. A cheaper quote from a country your market charges more duty on can be the more expensive product once landed. Ask each supplier which origin paperwork it can issue, and ask your broker what duty that origin attracts for your HS code.

Why should you never skip the sample?

Never skip the sample. The approved pre-production sample becomes the standard your bulk order is made and inspected against, so check it properly: measure it against your spec, wash it, look at the inside. Plan for at least one revision round. What happens between sample and bulk, stage by stage.

How should you pay a garment factory on a first order?

A common structure is a deposit to start production and the balance against inspection results or shipping documents. Two rules for first orders: do not pay 100% upfront to a supplier you have not verified, and confirm bank details by phone or video, never by email alone.

For larger orders, a Letter of Credit shifts the trust onto the banks and the paperwork. How to pay a new factory safely.

When should the goods be inspected, and to what standard?

Book a final inspection before the goods leave the factory, and tie the balance to its result. AQL 2.5 for major defects is the common apparel standard, checked against the approved sample and spec. If you use a third-party inspector, give them the approved sample reference, the measurement chart and the packing instructions, not just the order number.

Which documents arrive with your goods?

Expect a commercial invoice, a packing list, the transport document (bill of lading for sea, air waybill for air) and the origin document your market needs for any duty preference. Customs cross-checks them against each other and against the goods, so descriptions, quantities and values must match.

Ask for draft documents before shipment and check them. Every document in a garment shipment.

What decides how smoothly freight and customs go at your end?

Once the goods are on board, three things decide how smoothly they clear: your importer registration, such as an EORI number in the EU or Great Britain; your broker’s brief, given before the goods arrive; and the duty and import tax your market charges. In detail:

1. Your registration. The European Commission states that an EORI number is mandatory for clearing customs operations in the EU, including import, issued by the customs authority of the EU country where you are established. In Great Britain, HMRC issues a GB EORI to businesses established there that move goods in or out or make customs declarations.
2. Your broker’s brief. Give them the product description, fibre composition, HS code, invoice value, Incoterm and the origin document before the goods arrive. The broker lodges the declaration; you remain responsible for what it says.
3. Duty and import tax. Duty depends on the HS code, the customs value and the garment’s origin, including any trade preference your market gives that origin. Most markets also charge VAT, GST or sales tax at import. In the UK, for example, import VAT is calculated on the customs value plus any duty and any onward transport and insurance to the first destination in the UK, and VAT-registered businesses can use postponed VAT accounting to declare and reclaim it on the same VAT return.

By sea, allow roughly 6–8 weeks from our gate to Europe, then clearance and delivery. Samples go by express courier, usually 3–7 days; urgent orders can fly from Kathmandu in about a week.

Which first-order mistakes cost the most?

The costliest first-order mistakes are skipping or rushing the sample, ordering too many styles and colours, comparing unit prices instead of landed costs, approving changes by message, leaving customs until the goods arrive, forgetting labelling rules, and leaving no buffer in the calendar.

• Skipping or rushing the sample. Bulk copies the sample, including its faults.
• Too many styles and colours. Minimums stack; a tight first range lets you order properly on your best sellers.
• Comparing unit prices instead of landed costs, or comparing quotes on different Incoterms.
• Approving changes by message. Every change to fabric, fit or trims should be a new, dated version of the spec.
• Leaving customs until the goods arrive. Registration, broker and HS code should be settled before shipment.
• Forgetting labelling rules. Care, composition and origin labels are cheapest to get right before labels are ordered.
• No buffer in the calendar. A late sample approval moves everything behind it.

How does Trishakti Apparel work with first-time importers?

We are a cut-and-sew knitwear factory in Gaindakot, Nepal, with 150+ machines and capacity of 40,000–50,000 pieces a month. The minimum is 200 pieces per style and colour, with 1,000 pieces in total per order, and we welcome new importers who want to start with a trial order. We send photo and status updates at every stage on WhatsApp or email, inspect in-line and to AQL 2.5 at the end, and welcome your third-party inspector.

We make patterns and grading in Optitex CAD. We source fabric to your spec from established mills, and you choose: our regular mills, OEKO-TEX-certified fabric, or a mill you nominate. We confirm the mill and its country before you order. Payment is staged, or by L/C, with balances against inspection and shipping documents. Tell us what you are planning and we will tell you what we need to quote it.