The Reject Tray Policy That Decides a Partnership
Last May, a US buyer of sizing Guide placed 300 sizing Guide against a sample signed in September. The first container landed with 9 pieces that failed on prong geometry alone, and USD 30-85 landed on the buyer's P&L before a single unit sold, shipped as heart gift box and certified IGI report.
On a 300-piece order at USD 42-235, a prong geometry rate above two percent is not a quality surprise. It is a costing error that shows up as a credit note three weeks later.
Nothing in the rebuild was expensive. A gauge, a written limit and a retained tray did the work that a discount would only have delayed, and 300 pieces leaves Wuzhou in heart gift box at USD 42-235.
What US buyers Check Before They Sign
At USD 42-235 per piece the four measurements below are worth more than the discount being negotiated. One of them costs nothing to write down.
| Spec point | Common trade output | HOLYCOME standard | Cost if missed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hallmark depth and placement | Stamped where it fits | Fixed position, depth measured so it never breaks the shank | Customs query and remaking |
| Solder flow at the joint | Not inspected | Joint inspected under 10x before setting | Crack at the seam in transit |
| Plating thickness | Nominal only | 0.20 micron rhodium logged per lot, 3 microns on vermeil | Wear-through inside one season |
| Surface porosity after polish | Seen after plating | Cast porosity checked before plating, rejects pulled at that stage | Plating blister six weeks later |
Write these into the Valentine Program purchase order and the arrival check becomes arithmetic instead of recollection, and the Valentine Program quote for it sits at USD 42-235.
Where USD 42-235 Per Piece Actually Goes
Cost at USD 42-235 leaves no room for assumption. The table shows which line compresses and which line only moves quality down.
| Cost line | Share | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Base metal or alloy for sizing Guide | 30% | Alloy choice and casting yield |
| Stone or melee for sizing Guide | 20% | Sieve range and lot batching |
| Setting and finishing labor for sizing Guide | 19% | Jig design and bench minutes |
| Plating, polish and QC for sizing Guide | 12% | Per-tray versus per-piece checks |
| Packaging for sizing Guide | 19% | heart gift box |
A factory that cannot state its bench minutes per piece has never costed its own line. Ask for minutes and for the reject rule, not for a discount, certified IGI report and packed heart gift box at 300 pieces, certified IGI report and packed heart gift box at 300 pieces.
Order Terms, Sample Timing and Packing
The commercial frame is short enough to state in full. Minimum order is 50 pieces per design, and mixed designs travel in one shipment, so a 300-piece Valentine Program order can carry three or four models without a separate setup charge. Sample pieces leave in 3-5 days when the components are in stock, and a new model adds about twenty days before the first article exists, and at USD 42-235 for 300 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
Payment is 30 percent with the order and 70 percent against the bill of lading, with the balance window stated on the invoice rather than agreed by message. Prices quoted at USD 42-235 are FOB Guangzhou or Shenzhen; DDP is quoted separately because the duty line moves with the tariff schedule and not with our cost.
Packing follows the heart gift box format at 300 pieces to the carton, and the packing list carries SKU, size and stone size so receiving can count without opening every box. Private-label cartons add three days for the print run and must be approved before the first bulk order, not after it, certified IGI report and packed heart gift box at 300 pieces.
Certification is IGI report for the lots that carry it, with a batch report and per-piece measurement of stone retention after a 40-cycle wear test for the lots below the threshold. The document set travels with the shipping papers, which is what a customs broker asks for at the port rather than after clearance, which the Valentine Program file records at USD 42-235 in heart gift box.
A rejected tray is settled inside the same order cycle against the retained reference piece. If the difference sits on our retained sample we replace or credit; if it appeared in transit we split the assay cost and file with the carrier, and that rule is written on the order before the deposit clears, with IGI report and heart gift box stated on the same sheet.
The Three Failures We See Most in Incoming Samples
prong geometry
A prong that grips the girdle instead of the pavilion survives the showroom and fails the third ultrasonic clean. The seat has to be cut to the pavilion angle before the prongs close, the figure being USD 42-235 for a 300-piece run.
Our countermeasure is a gauge and a written limit. It adds about 22 seconds per piece and removes the defect from the run rather than from the carton, and at USD 42-235 for 300 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
rhodium burn-off
A 0.05 micron rhodium layer reads white in the tray and shows yellow at the shank in six months of daily wear. Thickness, not bath chemistry, is the variable that matters, which the Valentine Program file records at USD 42-235 in heart gift box.
In a 300-piece run this typically shows on 17 of pieces. Catching it means measuring stone retention after a 40-cycle wear test at the tray level, not inspecting the finished carton, the figure being USD 42-235 for a 300-piece run.
size-step drift
A run gauged at size 6 and estimated elsewhere ships a size 8 that measures 7.75. The mismatch shows up as a resize queue two weeks after launch, priced at USD 42-235 for the 300-piece Valentine Program run.
The commercial effect is a return shipment plus a resize labor claim, typically USD 9-14 per piece. Buyers who have seen it once put it in the purchase order; buyers who have not usually discover it on the first return, quoted at USD 42-235 per piece in heart gift box.
The Reject Tray Policy That Decides a Partnership
Nobody quotes it for sizing Guide until something goes wrong, which is exactly why it belongs in the first email, shipped as heart gift box and certified IGI report.
At 300 pieces the arithmetic on sizing Guide changes: the fixed costs spread, the variable costs do not. That is why the second order prices better than the first even when the gold fix has moved up, certified IGI report and packed heart gift box at 300 pieces.
We quote both a first-run price and a reorder price for sizing Guide on the same sheet so the buyer can see where the curve flattens. Most flatten by the third run, certified IGI report and packed heart gift box at 300 pieces.
What the Quote Actually Covers
It is not a marketing point on sizing Guide. It is the number that decides whether the second order happens, which the Valentine Program file records at USD 42-235 in heart gift box.
One practical note on timing for sizing Guide: the calendar starts when the spec is signed, not when the deposit clears. A buyer who signs in week one and pays in week three gets the goods in week five, shipped as heart gift box and certified IGI report.
We date the sizing Guide proforma from signature for that reason, and we state the deposit deadline in the same email that carries the spec sheet, quoted at USD 42-235 per piece in heart gift box.
Valentine Window for sizing Guide
The Valentine window is short and unforgiving: stock has to be in the warehouse by the last week of January or the season is gone. That puts the production order in the second week of December, ahead of the Lunar New Year slowdown, and 300 pieces leaves Wuzhou in heart gift box at USD 42-235.
Paired designs move better than single pieces here. A matching pair of sizing Guide, boxed together with two cards, converts at the same retail price as two singles and costs about nine percent more to make, which is USD 42-235 on the Valentine Program schedule.
Photography has to be red-and-white neutral. A sizing Guide shot on a red silk background reads as a gift in a listing thumbnail, and that is the only image most buyers will ever see, with IGI report and heart gift box stated on the same sheet.
How a Repeat Order Gets Built
Nothing in this sequence is unusual, and that is the point. Each step exists because skipping it produced a specific failure on a previous order, the figure being USD 42-235 for a 300-piece run.
- Lock the spec: metal, stone size range, plating thickness, sizing band and finish, all written on one sheet.
- Pull a stock-component sample in 3-5 days and measure it against that sheet, not against the photo.
- Approve the sample in writing, including the reject rule and the retained reference tray.
- Run bulk in 15-20 days for orders under 500 pieces, with the gauge check independent of the shift.
- Ship from Guangzhou or Shenzhen with the QC sheet in the carton and the batch report by email.
Reorders inside this sequence run 12-15 days because the model, the gauge set and the signed spec stay in our system, shipped as heart gift box and certified IGI report, on a 300-piece Valentine Program order at USD 42-235.
What This Means for a First Order
A first Valentine Program order of 50 pieces per design at USD 42-235 tests the line rather than the range. Three designs covers the shelf.
Ask for the retained tray and the IGI report batch sheet with the first shipment. Both are free and both decide the reorder, which the Valentine Program file records at USD 42-235 in heart gift box.
Freight, Duty and the Arrival Check
Export runs through Guangzhou or Shenzhen. Air lands in 5-8 days on the US west coast, 7-10 on the east, and sea takes roughly three times the transit, and at USD 42-235 for 300 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
FOB is the default on sizing Guide and DDP is the option. Buyers new to North American retail usually take DDP once, then switch after they see the breakdown, which is USD 42-235 on the Valentine Program schedule.
If prong geometry appears in the arrival check, the retained tray decides who owns it. Keep the IGI report batch sheet in the same folder as the packing list, and 300 pieces leaves Wuzhou in heart gift box at USD 42-235.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the payment terms?
30 percent deposit with the order, 70 percent against the bill of lading. For accounts on a second order we quote 30/70 with a 15-day balance window once the first shipment has cleared, and the Valentine Program quote for it sits at USD 42-235.
What is the minimum order for sizing Guide?
50 pieces per sizing Guide. Designs mix inside one shipment, so a first order of three designs at 50 pieces each is normal for a new US account. Below 50 the gauge check stops being independent of the shift, shipped as heart gift box and certified IGI report.
Do you supply certificates for sizing Guide?
IGI report on sizing Guide above the threshold stated on the quote. Below it we supply a batch report plus per-piece measurement of stone retention after a 40-cycle wear test, which is what a counter or a listing actually needs, and 300 pieces leaves Wuzhou in heart gift box at USD 42-235.
How do you handle a rejected tray?
We replace or credit inside the same order cycle. The retained reference tray decides: if prong geometry shows on our retained piece we own it, and if it appeared in transit we split the assay cost and file with the carrier, and the Valentine Program quote for it sits at USD 42-235.
What are the payment terms?
30 percent deposit with the order, 70 percent against the bill of lading. For accounts on a second order we quote 30/70 with a 15-day balance window once the first shipment has cleared, and the Valentine Program quote for it sits at USD 42-235.
Next Step
The next step is a sample in 3-5 days, not a container. Write to service@holycome.com or WhatsApp +86 18078079070, subject Valentine Program, certified IGI report and packed heart gift box at 300 pieces.
HOLYCOME is operated by Wuzhou HengliLai Jewelry Co., Ltd., a factory in Wuzhou, Guangxi, producing since 2009 at roughly 60,000 pieces a month. Contact service@holycome.com or WhatsApp +86 18078079070, which is how the Valentine Program account reads it at USD 42-235.
Related reading: Sizing Guide Made to Order: What the Quote Actually Covers - HOLYCOME Industry Insights Trade Show Sample: The Sample Approval That Survives Production - HOLYCOME
