We have watched first orders go right and go wrong for over four decades from the factory side. The failures repeat with remarkable consistency — and nearly all of them are avoidable by decision, not by luck. Here are the mistakes we see most, in roughly the order they get made.
Buying Price Instead of Cost
The cheapest FOB quote routinely becomes the most expensive landed rug — thinner pile, skipped finishing, claims that eat the saving. Compare specifications first, then prices, and model landed cost per sellable piece, including the ones that arrive unsellable.
Skipping the Sample Stage
Ordering bulk from photographs is the classic catastrophe. Screens lie about colour and cannot show hand-feel. The three weeks a sample takes is the cheapest insurance in the trade.
Vague Specifications
"Like the photo, beige, about 5×8" is not a specification — it is an invitation to disappointment. Fibre, pile height, weight, tolerances, backing, edge, labelling: in writing, every order.
Ignoring the Cash Calendar
Handmade production takes 6–12 weeks, the voyage 3–6 more. Importers who spend their working capital on stock alone discover that duty, clearance and three months of expenses were also invoices. Map the cash cycle before committing.
Spreading Too Thin
Thirty designs, one piece each, teaches you nothing and looks like a clearance sale. A tight, coherent range with depth in the winners outsells variety every time.
Treating the Supplier as a Vending Machine
The buyers who thrive share plans, give feedback, and pay as agreed — and get priority looms, flexible minimums and honest advice in return. This trade runs on relationships. Start yours with a conversation, and we will happily talk you out of the other five mistakes too.