First order to my supplier - 100% defects - What now?

[rambovsrocky]

I was about to launch my e-commerce. Had a product validated with my supplier, a brand, values, market, distribuition channels, etc.
Everything was looking perfect, except when I opened the first batch delivered by my supplier. I wanted to have a 100% quality check for the first batch and really got disappointed with the products.
Some colours don’t match, some zippers have different sizes and there’s some stains in some of the pieces.
This represented a 4k investment that I’m sure I would sell in the 1st month - I have a 100k community on IG and worked with some brands before where my codes were generating a lot in sales, so I’m extrapolating to my brand.
At this moment I have my stock ready to be shipped but I’m quite unhappy with the result. So my options are:

1. Sell it anyway, because some clients won’t notice the mistakes (prob greatest part of them)
2. Ask supplier for a reimbursement-not likely
3. Shutdown the business for now, as I can’t invest into a 2nd batch
4. Get a loan for a new batch
5. Any other?

Had anyone go through the same problem? Please share you suggestions, I’d highly appreciate

 

[lisa0617]

@rambovsrocky I bet it’s not really 100% unusable, even if none of them are 100% identical to the prototype. Figure out what is acceptable from the lot. Maybe it’s enough to get started. Also check your contract with the supplier. They might be obligated to replace them.

 

[rambovsrocky]

@lisa0617 Not unusable, one of the sides of the zipper is longer than the other, so it doesn’t look as good as in the prototype. It could ne itchy to the skin even though there’s a fabric cover covering the zipper (not covering properly).
My main concern is that I wan’t to position my brand as a top-end brand and feel like I shouldn’t do it with this product.
Bearing in mind I’m holding 300 parts right now - so I would address a very low share of the market- would it look bad selling it anyway and improve next batch?

 

[jesusisking123]

@rambovsrocky You can't have a low quality supplier, sell items with defect and imagine yourself as a high value brand. Those don't work together.

 

[ora]

@rambovsrocky Pick out the best units and sell those. Make sure it sells and work on the rest of the sales channel to make sure everything there is working. If have 50 units, sell those and try and recover your losses and also learn where problem #2 is going to come from.

 

[rambovsrocky]

@ora What is problem #2?

 

[613jono]

@rambovsrocky Problem 2 is any other defects that you didn't find yet. Did you try putting the garment in a washing machine 3 to 4 times to see if it falls part? Colors fading in the first wash? Garment stinks after 1 wash? Zippers rusting? etc.

 

[kate2014]

@rambovsrocky fix it as much as Possible, next time if you want a High end brand , get a good supplier, you got what you payed for

 

[magnet21]

@kate2014

what you paid for

FTFY.

Although payed exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:

• Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. The deck is yet to be payed.
• Payed out when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. The rope is payed out! You can pull now.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.

Beep, boop, I'm a bot

 

[kate2014]

@magnet21 fuck off

 

[ridgerunner0]

@kate2014 Second this. China suppliers are what you get.

 

[truthinlight]

@rambovsrocky That's why companies have multiple brands. Can you sell them under a different brand that's meant for lower end products? The goal now is to recoup.

 

[613jono]

@rambovsrocky If you only have 300 units, you could try contacting a local sewing company to see if they are salvageable.

 

[lennef]

@rambovsrocky Be honest if you want your business to thrive in the long term. Sell those items at discount so your clients get a better deal meanwhile knowing that they got a cheaper item because of quality issues and that they will get a better product when paying top rates.

 

[esper]

@rambovsrocky Are there tolerances specified in the contract? Get a reimbursement (or rebuild) for any item out of tolerance. Tighten up the tolerances if needed, although this will probably increase your cost. Is there an agreed upon failure rate across the lot count (example: 3 out of 100 can be bad)? Make sure to account for that stock loss and possibly lower the failure rate.

Sell what you have now. Find out what the customers think. Right now you're guessing at what someone else might see as a design flaw.

 

[rambovsrocky]

@esper These are very good hints. Unfortunately I don’t have a contract but for sure this will be something to work in the future

 

[kate2014]

@rambovsrocky "don't have a contact"

congratulations, you just blew 4k

take this as an expensive lesson

 

[613jono]

@rambovsrocky Not even a contract, but a spec sheet.

Or did you just send a reference sample and a list of desired modification to the factory and got a custom prototype done?

 

[613jono]

@rambovsrocky If you are dealing with Asian suppliers, you need to get your QC skills up to date. If you are seeing crooked zippers or misaligned lines, who knows what else is defective under the hood. Try on a few pieces and stress test them. Put them in the washer 3 or 4 times and see if they fall apart or lose color or shrink too much (over 3%).

Next time you should find a third party QC company to check on the shipment before paying the balance. If you withhold the balance, at least the factory is incentivised to fix their own problems. Also try smaller test runs next time before committing to larger orders.

Zippers of different sizes are not noticeable unless if they are worn as a team but even then it is not so bad. Mismatching colors at least should not happen on the same garment (sleeves vs body). Some stains can be removed with a spot gun in minutes without needing a full wash and dry and can be incorporated into your distribution chain.

You say you want to position yourself as high end but as long as your retail price is not too high, customers may not expect Gucci quality and may expect Lacoste quality so it might not be too bad.

 

[dantex]

@rambovsrocky What if you sold at a discount, acknowledged the defects, and then offered a coupon to people buying them on a future order when you've been able to identify a better supplier.

Or a combination of those ideas.