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Sample to Shelf: What a Private Label Timeline Really Looks Like
THE STAGE THAT DECIDES EVERYTHING
Design is the fun part. Production is the predictable part.
Sampling is where private label runs are won or lost, and it's the stage most first-time brands rush — usually because they're already late.
Here's what actually happens in it, and what to do with your one real chance to change something.
WHAT A SAMPLE IS, AND ISN'T
A mockup is a drawing. A flat or a 3D render of your design on a sock shape. Free, fast, unlimited revisions. It tells you about layout and proportion and nothing about the product.
A pre-production sample is a real sock, knitted on the machine that will knit your run, in your yarn, in your colours. It's the only thing that tells you what you're actually buying.
The gap between them is bigger than people expect. Colour reads differently in yarn than on screen. Fine detail resolves differently at gauge. Fabric weight is something you can only assess by holding it.
Approve the mockup to lock the design. Approve the sample to lock the product.
THE SEVEN THINGS TO CHECK
When the sample arrives, don't just look at it. Work through this:
✅ Colour, in daylight. Not under office lighting. Compare against your Pantone reference or your existing product if you have one.
✅ Logo and artwork resolution. Is the mark clean at the size it's actually printed? Any ragged edges, lost detail, or type that's gone mushy?
✅ Fabric weight and hand. Does it feel like the product you're selling at your price point? Too thin is the most common disappointment.
✅ Put them on. Genuinely. Wear them for a day. Check the cuff holds, the heel sits right, the toe seam doesn't press.
✅ Wash one. Cold wash, air dry. Check for colour bleed, shrinkage and shape recovery. Most brands skip this and it's the check that catches the worst problems.
✅ Turn it inside out. Look at the float threads, the seam finish, the reinforcement. This is where build quality shows.
✅ Check the sizing against your intended market, not against the size chart.
HOW MANY ROUNDS
One round is normal. Design locked at mockup, sample approved, into production.
Two rounds is common when there's a colour to dial in or a detail that didn't resolve as expected.
Three or more usually means the design wasn't finished at the mockup stage, and each round costs one to two weeks.
When to stop: when the remaining changes are things only you would notice. A sample is not a prototype iteration cycle — it's a confirmation. If you're still redesigning at sample stage, go back to mockups, where it's free and fast.
THE HONEST TIMELINE, STAGE BY STAGE
| Stage | Time | Who's holding it |
|---|---|---|
| Brief and first mockup | 1–2 days | Us |
| Mockup revisions | 2 days – 3 weeks | You |
| Sample production | 7–10 days | Us |
| Sample in transit | 3–7 days | Freight |
| Your evaluation | 1 day – 3 weeks | You |
| Second sample, if needed | 10–14 days | Both |
| Production | 2–3 weeks | Us |
| Freight and delivery | 1–2 weeks | Freight |
Add it up and the manufacturing side is about six weeks and highly predictable. The two rows marked you are where the variance lives, and in our experience they're where most of the delay comes from.
The single best thing you can do for your own timeline is block out the days for sample evaluation before the sample ships, rather than fitting it in when it arrives.
WHEN TO SKIP THE SAMPLE
Rarely, and only in two situations:
A repeat of a design we've already produced for you. The colours are matched, the artwork is proven, nothing has changed.
A very simple design in colours we've run for you before, where being slightly wrong is recoverable.
Not for a first run, a new colourway, fine artwork or anything where you'd have to sell through a mistake. Skipping saves ten days and occasionally costs you the entire order.
AFTER APPROVAL: THE PART NOBODY PLANS
Sample approved, production runs, stock lands. Then what?
Count it and check it on arrival. Spot-check across the run, not just the top of the box.
Know your reorder trigger before you need it. A reorder is another six to ten weeks. If you wait until you're out, you're out for two months.
Keep the approved sample. It's your reference for every future run, and it's what we'll match against.
Record what actually sold, by size. Your first run's size split is a guess. Your second run's shouldn't be.
WE'LL SAMPLE PROPERLY
Every Team Feet Labs run includes a pre-production sample before full production. Free design and unlimited mockup revisions before that, so the sample stage is a confirmation rather than a redesign.
Free designs, free revisions, and a pre-production sample before full production. Free shipping from 30 pairs. 100 pairs per style on the Team Feet Labs range.