Ordering Terms: MOQ, Lead Times, Samples and Spare Parts
These are the commercial terms we quote against, written down so that a quotation can be checked against them rather than argued about later. Where a term changes with order size, the change is on the proforma invoice as a number, not as a conversation. Putting several suppliers on one basis before you reach that point is a separate exercise: putting three quotations on one basis.
Minimum order, samples and trials
Minimum order is one unit on any standard configuration. Buy one terminal, test it against your software, then move to production volume. Unit price steps down as quantity rises, and we put the ladder in the quotation before you commit.
We do not send free samples. What we do instead is separate a sample from a trial, because they are different things and buyers usually mean one and ask for the other. What to do once the trial is the right instrument is a separate question, and designing a pilot that produces a decision is where that starts.
| Order size | What it is | Price | Credit against a later order |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 5 units | A sample | Standard unit price plus freight | Credited in full when the following production order reaches around 100 units |
| Above 5 units | A trial run | Volume rate | Not credited — a trial is stock you keep, not a sample you send back |
Freight on a sample is not covered by us and is not credited later. That is the one part of the arrangement a buyer sometimes expects to be absorbed, so it is worth stating plainly: the unit is priced at standard, the shipping is yours.
Orders that carry your brand rather than ours — logo silkscreen, custom boot screen, branded packaging — start at 50 units per configuration, because the print and packaging runs carry their own setup cost. Send the model and the target quantity and we confirm the specification in writing before you commit.
Lead times
| What you are ordering | What it covers | Lead time |
|---|---|---|
| Standard build with configuration set at order | CPU, RAM, storage, single or dual screen, MSR, NFC | 10 to 15 days |
| Appearance only | Logo printing, packaging or boot screen | 7 to 20 working days |
| New tooling, structural change or special process | New mould, housing change, process outside the standard route | 15 to 50 working days |
The middle band can undercut the band above it, which looks wrong and is not. Print and packaging on a stocked unit run in parallel with assembly rather than after it, so a logo change on an existing model can land faster than a component change that has to wait for a build slot.
The ranges are deliberately wide. A ten-day window on a standard build is honest about December, when every retail customer wants hardware before the same six weeks. We would rather quote a range we hold than a number we miss. The tier your order falls into is stated on the quotation.
Quality does not scale down with the order
A 50-unit private-label run and a seasonal rollout for a chain go through the same route: incoming component check, assembly, functional test, burn-in, final inspection, packing. The plant is 5,400 square meters in Shajing, Shenzhen, with four assembly lines, 120 production operators, six QC staff and four in-house engineers, running under an ISO 9001:2015 system since 2019.
SMT placement happens at one qualified partner line. Assembly, burn-in, final test and packing all happen in our building. We say so because a buyer who discovers an outsource split later discounts everything else they were told.
Burn-in means 48 continuous hours at 50°C for every computing unit before it is packed. The aging room holds 1,200 to 1,500 units at full load; around 800 carry production aging in a normal week, and the rest of the capacity holds first-article units, goods awaiting inspection and units held for return analysis.
Capacity is around 20,000 units a month and current output runs around 10,000. The gap is deliberate: it is what lets a small private-label run and a large seasonal order sit in the same quarter without one of them pushing the other out.
Dead on arrival and spare parts
A unit that fails within 30 days of delivery is treated as dead on arrival and replaced rather than repaired. Beyond 30 days it moves to the standard RMA repair route, which is where a wear part belongs anyway. How long that route takes is one number; how many units are sitting in it at any moment is another, and how many units are in repair at any one time follows from the failure rate rather than from the size of the order.
Bulk orders carry a spare-parts allowance of 2% of the ordered quantity, by unit count, shipped with the order. It arrives in the same container and clears the same customs entry, so a failed unit is swapped at the counter instead of waiting for an international shipment. Tell us your fleet size and we will size the allowance against your failure history rather than a flat rule.
The ratio is calculated on units, not on invoice value, and the difference is roughly a factor of five. Worth confirming on any quotation you compare.
Warranty by category
One warranty number across a catalog is a marketing number. Categories fail differently, so the terms differ by category.
| Category | Coverage |
|---|---|
| POS terminals, general range | 12 months |
| Selected terminal lines | 24 months |
| Barcode scanners | 24 months |
| Receipt and label printers | 12 months |
| KDS, industrial mini PC, payment kiosk | 24-month service coverage: 12 months warranty, then parts at cost with labor included through month 24 |
| Electronic shelf labels | 3 years |
| Extended coverage | 3-year and 5-year contracts, purchasable at order or at any point inside the standard term |
Read the KDS row carefully, because the distinction is where buyers get caught. 24-month service coverage is not a 24-month warranty. Year one is warranty. Year two is parts at cost with labor waived — real coverage, but you pay for parts. Any supplier who writes "2-year warranty" and then charges for parts in year two is describing coverage with a friendlier word. Ask what the buyer pays in month 18.
The category-by-category detail, including what is excluded and how a claim is opened, is on warranty and RMA.
Certifications
CE, FCC and RoHS are routine across the range. UKCA, RCM, NOM and IMDA apply to specific models only, and we will tell you which ones for the model you are ordering rather than implying the whole catalog carries them. Where a market requires a certificate we do not hold for that model, we say so before the order rather than after.
Ask for the certificate number and the model list attached to each certificate, not a logo wall. A logo wall is a claim; a certificate with a scope is evidence.
How an order runs
Every step below starts from a written enquiry. If you would rather send one document than answer these questions in a thread, a one-page RFQ template follows the same sequence.
- Model and configuration. You name the model and the changes: CPU, memory, storage, screen, MSR, NFC, logo, packaging. If the answer is "the standard one", say so and we will confirm which configuration that means.
- Written specification. We send back the specification in writing, including whatever the change does to the price and the lead-time tier. Nothing goes to production against a verbal brief.
- Proforma invoice. The invoice carries the unit price and the ladder, the lead-time tier, the spare-parts allowance and the payment terms for that order. This is the document to check against the twelve questions buyers usually ask before wiring a deposit.
- Production. Assembly, functional test, 48-hour burn-in, final inspection, packing. QC inspects to AQL II Major 0.65 Minor 1.0, with 100% test on the functions that make a unit unusable rather than merely imperfect.
- Pre-shipment inspection. Yours, your agent's, or a third party's at your cost. Agree this before the order, because the right is much easier to obtain before the goods are finished and waiting for a container.
- Documents and shipping. Commercial invoice, packing list, and the certificate set for your market, issued against the destination you name.
Where to go next
- The product range — terminals, printers, drawers, displays and scanners.
- OEM and ODM services — what changes when the product carries your brand.
- The factory — floor area, lines, headcount, burn-in capacity and inspection standard.
- Twelve questions to ask before you wire a deposit — the buyer-side checklist this page is written to survive.
- What a POS system costs — where the money goes across hardware, software and installation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum order?
One unit on any standard configuration. OEM orders with your logo, boot screen or packaging start at 50 units per configuration, because print and packaging runs carry their own setup cost.
Do you send free samples?
No. A sample ships at the standard unit price plus freight, and the freight is not covered by us. Up to five units counts as a sample, and the sample value is credited in full once the following production order reaches around 100 units.
What counts as a trial rather than a sample?
Above five units. A trial run is priced at the volume rate and the value is not credited against a later order, because a trial is stock you keep rather than a sample you return.
How long does production take?
Ten to fifteen days for a standard build with the configuration set at order. Seven to twenty working days for appearance-only changes such as logo printing or packaging. Fifteen to fifty working days where new tooling or a structural change is involved.
What happens if a unit arrives dead?
Within 30 days of delivery it is treated as dead on arrival and replaced rather than repaired. After 30 days it moves to the standard RMA repair route. Bulk orders also carry a 2% spare-parts allowance by unit count, shipped with the order.
Is the warranty the same for every product?
No. Terminal coverage depends on the line, scanners run to 24 months, printers to 12 months, electronic shelf labels to 3 years, and KDS, mini PC and payment kiosk carry 24-month service coverage, which means 12 months of warranty followed by parts at cost with labor included. Three-year and five-year extensions are available.