A three-day trade show needs roughly 150 to 250 sample units, arrived early and intact. The failure mode is rarely the product; it is the calendar, the customs paperwork or a carton that arrives crushed. This note covers the run-up, the shipping decision and what to keep at the booth so the stand does not run dry on day two.
1. How many units to send
Allow 40 to 60 units per day for a busy stand, plus 30 for press and 20 held back as spares. A 200 unit shipment covers a three-day show with margin. Counting per day rather than per show prevents the common pattern of generous giving on day one and an empty shelf by the afternoon of day two.
2. Lead time from brief to carton
Samples with existing artwork and a stock formula usually take 10 to 15 working days from approval, then 3 to 7 days in transit by air. New artwork, a new colour or a printed carton adds two weeks. Working backwards, the artwork deadline sits about five weeks before opening day, not two.
3. Paperwork that clears customs
Prepare a commercial invoice with a declared sample value, a packing list with carton dimensions and weights, and a safety data sheet for each liquid. Mark cartons as samples. Where the destination allows a temporary import or an ATA carnet, confirm before shipping; otherwise duty may be charged on arrival and the shipment can sit.
4. Labels on a sample
Every unit should carry product name, batch code, production date, best-before date and “sample, not for sale”. A booth visitor who later asks for the same batch needs the code. Unlabelled samples look like props and cannot be referenced in a follow-up email, which wastes the main reason for giving them out.
5. Packing for baggage handling
Assume a 1 metre drop onto a hard floor and a carton stacked under 30 kilograms. Use a double-wall carton, individual units in a divider, and 20 millimetres of cushioning on all six faces. Liquids travel with the cap taped and the unit bagged. One leaked bottle in a shared carton writes off the surrounding stock.
6. Air freight or hand luggage
Two hundred units at 50 millilitres is often under 20 kilograms and can travel as excess baggage, which removes the customs broker from the critical path. Larger volumes, aerosols or alcohol-based products usually need air freight with a forwarder. Check the airline limit for liquids in cabin baggage before packing a carry-on.
7. At the booth
Keep two cartons: a display set opened on the first morning and a reserve stored flat and sealed. Replenish at the end of each day rather than during conversations. Keep a printed stock sheet so the team knows what is left, and keep one unit of each SKU aside as a reference that is never given away.
8. Capturing the follow-up
A sample without a contact is a gift. Put a QR code on the unit or the bag that leads to a short form, and record the batch code against the visitor. Teams that log 60 percent of giveaways typically convert far better than teams that simply hand out product and collect business cards in a bowl.
9. What not to ship back
Returning opened samples usually costs more than the product is worth and creates a customs question in the other direction. Plan to leave remaining stock with the local agent, donate it, or dispose of it under local rules. Decide this before the show, not at the loading dock on the last afternoon.
10. Where it fits
Sample shipments work best when the format is already in production. See eye patch and facial mask formats, or browse the full range for booth-friendly sizes.
