Sending product samples to U.S. buyers
Updated
For exporters and brands whose U.S. prospects ask for samples. This guide explains how to send samples to the USA through customs and FDA, when a duty-free sample provision applies, and how to run samples from U.S. stock so they arrive fast and turn into orders.
Treat samples as a program, not a favor
A U.S. buyer who asks for samples is giving you a short window. If the parcel takes two weeks, sits at customs, or arrives without a price list, the buyer has moved on to the next brand on the desk. Yet many exporters handle samples as one-off favors, sent whenever someone asks, by whatever courier is at hand, with no record of what happened next.
A sample program fixes that. You decide in advance what goes into a standard sample pack, where it ships from, who can request it, how fast it goes out and how you follow up. The rest of this guide covers each part: the customs and FDA rules that apply to every sample, the shipping options, and the tracking that tells you which samples are worth sending.
If you sell beauty products, our guide to beauty product sampling for U.S. retailers covers testers, deluxe minis and demo days. This guide covers the logistics and rules that apply to samples of any product.
Samples still go through U.S. customs
Customs does not have a separate lane for samples. A sample is imported merchandise, and every commercial import needs an entry, an importer of record and a declared value. The entry is filed on behalf of the importer of record by a licensed customs broker, which for a courier parcel is usually the express carrier's own brokerage.
Low value no longer means duty-free. Duty-free de minimis treatment for shipments valued at $800 or less has been suspended for all countries since August 29, 2025. CBP made the suspension indefinite from June 24, 2026, and the law ends the exemption on July 1, 2027. The informal Entry Type 86 that many sample parcels used to clear under is no longer available.
Three points cause most of the trouble with sample parcels:
- Value: “No commercial value” is a description, not a value. Customs still needs a value for the entry. Show a realistic value for each item on the commercial invoice, usually your cost or normal selling price, even if the buyer pays nothing.
- Description: “Samples” or “gift” alone invites a hold. Describe what the product is, what it is made of, the quantity and the country of origin, the same way you would on a normal invoice.
- Who pays: If duties and the carrier's clearance fees are billed to the recipient, a buyer can refuse the parcel. Decide who pays before you ship. Our guide to Incoterms for shipping to the USA explains how DAP and DDP terms split these costs.
Duty on a sample is determined the same way as on any import: by its classification in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTSUS), its country of origin and any additional duties in force at the time. Additional duties have changed several times since 2025, so check the current position for your product before you ship. Our guide on how U.S. customs clearance works covers entry types, bonds and partner agencies in more detail.
Duty-free options for commercial samples
U.S. law has a few routes that can reduce or avoid duty on samples. Each has conditions, and none removes the need for an entry or for FDA and other agency compliance. CBP's informed compliance publication “Importation of Commercial Samples” describes them; you will find it in CBP's list of informed compliance publications.
| Route | Main conditions | Can the samples stay or be sold? | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular entry, duty paid | Normal classification, value and duties | Yes. The goods are fully imported | Sample stock you will keep in the U.S., saleable samples, food samples |
| HTSUS 9811.00.60 | Each sample valued at not over $1, or marked, torn, perforated or otherwise treated so it is unsuitable for sale or for use other than as a sample | They stay, but cannot be sold | Swatches, cut or marked product samples, low-value samples |
| Temporary Importation under Bond (TIB), HTSUS 9813.00.20 | Used solely for taking orders, entered under a bond, not sold | Must be exported within one year; extensions can bring the total to three years | Sales rep kits and showroom samples that go back |
| ATA Carnet | One document for commercial samples, professional equipment and goods for exhibitions and fairs; valid for one year | Must leave again; no goods for sale and no consumables | Trade show displays and samples you carry in and out |
Marking and mutilation
For subheading 9811.00.60, “unsuitable for sale” has to be real. CBP's publication gives examples: textile samples marked “SAMPLE” in indelible ink or paint, or cut or torn in a prescribed way, and footwear marked “SAMPLE- NOT FOR RESALE” conspicuously, in a place where the marking will not wear off. A sticker that peels off does not qualify. A buyer who wants to judge your packaging on the shelf will not get much from a defaced product, so this route suits swatches and component samples better than finished retail goods.
TIB and ATA Carnet
CBP explains that samples used solely for taking orders may be admitted under a TIB, on condition that they are not sold and are exported within one year, with extensions available up to three years in total (CBP business samples). An ATA Carnet replaces the usual customs documents for temporary entry. In the U.S., carnets are issued and guaranteed through the U.S. Council for International Business. Goods for sale, giveaways and other consumables cannot be listed on a carnet, and if listed goods are sold or given away, the guaranteeing association must pay 110 percent of the import duties and taxes and then recovers that from the carnet holder (CBP ATA Carnet FAQs).
Food samples that buyers will taste are consumed, so they do not fit a TIB or a carnet. Plan to import them through a regular entry. Also check the HTS and the current USTR notice for additional duties that apply to the provision you plan to use, or ask us to review it as part of your quote.
FDA rules for food and cosmetic samples
Food samples need Prior Notice
FDA's Prior Notice guidance is direct on this point. Prior Notice is generally required for imported food, “including food for gifts and trade and quality assurance/quality control samples.” The guidance lists no exemption for samples for research and development or for test marketing, and it states that food shipped by express carrier is not exempt (FDA Prior Notice Q&A).
- Trade samples you carry in your luggage are not personal-use food. FDA's answer is that they are imported for commercial use and need Prior Notice.
- Enforcement discretion exists for samples imported for quality assurance, research or analysis in quantities consistent with that purpose. Buyer samples sent to win orders are a different purpose, so do not rely on it.
- The facility rules still apply. The facility that makes or packs the food must be registered with FDA, and the importer's FSVP obligations still apply. Our guide on how to import food into the USA covers registration, FSVP and labeling.
Food samples that will be shown to retail buyers should also carry a compliant U.S. label. A buyer judging whether your product can go on the shelf will look at the label too.
Cosmetic samples follow the same law as products for sale
FDA states that cosmetics offered for import must comply with the same laws and regulations as cosmetics made in the U.S. FDA conducts field examinations, collects samples and reviews labels at import, and labels must be in English (FDA, importing cosmetics). A sample-size cosmetic is still a cosmetic. For the full requirements, see how to import cosmetics into the USA.
Other categories have their own agencies and carrier rules: children's products, electronics, anything with batteries, supplements and anything that could be classed as dangerous goods. Check these before you send the first box, because a held sample costs you the buyer's attention as well as the parcel.
Sending samples to the USA by courier
For the first few samples, an express courier (DHL, FedEx, UPS or a similar integrated carrier) is usually the practical choice. The carrier picks up, flies and delivers the parcel and normally clears it through customs within its own network, billing duties, taxes and its clearance fees to whoever the shipping terms name.
When you compare carriers, ask:
- What does clearance cost? Ask for the carrier's clearance or disbursement fees, not only the freight rate. On a small parcel these fees can exceed the duty.
- Can you bill duties to the sender? Shipping with duties paid by you (often called DDP or “bill duties to shipper”) avoids a buyer paying at the door.
- What is restricted? Food, liquids, aerosols, batteries and cosmetics often have carrier-specific rules on top of government rules.
- How is FDA handled? For food, confirm who submits Prior Notice and that it is done before the parcel arrives.
- What tracking do you get? You need a delivery date to time your follow-up.
Courier works for occasional samples. Once you send samples every week, each parcel repeats the same costs: international freight, a customs entry, clearance fees, duties and the wait. That is the point where a U.S. sample stock usually costs less per send. Our guide on how to ship your first 100 products to the USA compares courier, air freight and LCL for a consolidated shipment.
Keep a sample stock in the U.S.
The alternative to many international parcels is one import. You send a carton or a pallet of samples with a normal shipment, it clears customs once under a regular entry, and it waits in a U.S. warehouse. When a buyer asks, a sample ships domestically and typically arrives within days.
- Courier from abroad, every time
- International freight per parcel
- A customs entry and clearance fees per parcel
- Duties billed per parcel
- Longer and less predictable transit
- From a U.S. sample stock
- One import, one entry for the whole stock
- Domestic parcel to the buyer
- Faster delivery and easier follow-up
- Storage and handling per month and per order
Beyond cost per send, a U.S. stock gives you control. Every sample pack is the same, it can include your U.S. price list and spec sheet, and the buyer receives it while your call is still fresh. Damaged or mislabeled samples are caught before they reach a buyer, not after.
What you need to set up:
- A defined sample kit per buyer type (retail buyer, distributor, foodservice), with SKUs and quantities.
- A request process: who may request samples (you, your team, U.S. sales reps), by what channel, and what information each request needs (recipient, company, address, kit).
- Inserts: cover letter, wholesale price list (see pricing for the U.S. market), spec sheet, and a contact for orders.
- A reorder point so the stock never runs out in the middle of a campaign.
- Expiry control for food and cosmetics, so no buyer receives an old sample.
Abanro's sample fulfillment service is built for this. Your sample stock arrives with your shipment, Abanro handles U.S. customs clearance as part of that shipment, and the samples are received, counted against your packing list and kept in storage (carton storage from $8 per carton per month). Each request is picked, packed with your inserts and shipped within the U.S. (pick and pack from $4.50 per order, postage separate). All starting prices are on the pricing page.
Tell us what samples you send and how often. We will set up a U.S. sample stock and ship each request to your buyers.
Plan your U.S. sample programTrack which samples convert
Without records, you cannot tell whether samples are winning orders or just disappearing. Keep one line per sample sent, in a spreadsheet or your CRM:
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Buyer, company and buyer type | Shows which kind of account responds to samples |
| Source of the lead | Trade show, cold email, referral or inbound request |
| Kit sent and its full cost | Product, packing, postage and any duty, so you know your cost per order |
| Ship date, tracking and delivery date | Your follow-up runs from delivery, not from dispatch |
| Follow-up dates and notes | Who said what, and what they asked for next |
| Outcome and first order value | Order, pending, declined (with the reason), or no response |
After a few dozen samples, three numbers tell you most of what you need: the share of delivered samples that get a reply, the share that turn into a first order, and the total sample cost divided by the orders won. If one buyer type or lead source converts far better, send more there and fewer elsewhere.
Follow up within a few days of delivery, while the product is on the buyer's desk, and ask a specific question: did it fit their range, what price point they would need, and what they need from you to place a test order. Our guides to following up after a trade show and testing your product with 25 U.S. buyers cover the follow-up side in more depth.
Sample program checklist
- Define kits: which SKUs and quantities go to each buyer type, and the full cost of each kit.
- Check the rules for your product: HTSUS classification, any additional duties in force, FDA (Prior Notice and facility registration for food, labeling for cosmetics) and any other agency or carrier restrictions.
- Decide the customs route: regular entry for a U.S. stock or saleable samples; 9811.00.60 only for samples that are truly marked or mutilated or valued at not over $1 each; TIB or ATA Carnet for samples that leave again.
- Prepare documents: a commercial invoice with a real value and clear description for every item, a packing list and country of origin marking.
- Choose where samples ship from: courier from abroad for occasional requests, a U.S. sample stock once requests are regular.
- Set the request process: who can request, how, and how fast samples go out.
- Add inserts: cover letter, U.S. wholesale price list, spec sheet and an order contact.
- Log every sample with ship date, tracking, delivery date and outcome.
- Follow up within days of delivery, with a clear next step.
- Review monthly: reply rate, order rate, cost per order won, and stock levels against the reorder point.
The most common mistakes are the reverse of this list: invoices that say “samples, no value,” food parcels sent without Prior Notice, duties billed to the buyer, samples that arrive after the buyer has forgotten the conversation, and no record of what was sent. If a sample shipment does get held, Shipment Recovery can help work out the next step.
This guide is general information, not legal or customs advice. Duty provisions, agency rules and carrier policies change, so confirm them for your product and shipment before you send samples.
Sources and further reading
- Indefinite suspension of the de minimis exemption for merchandise arriving through all modes other than the international postal network (interim final rule, June 24, 2026), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Register
- Informed Compliance Publications, including “Importation of Commercial Samples”, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Business and government samples: Temporary Importation under Bond and ATA Carnet, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- ATA Carnet FAQs, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Prior Notice of Imported Food: Questions and Answers (Edition 4), U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Importing cosmetics, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Sources checked on