Questions to Ask Hair Vendors

The questions

Open any question to see why it works.

1. 1

   Are you the factory, or are you buying from one?

   Most accounts that describe themselves as vendors are resellers, which is not automatically a problem, but it changes what they can control. A reseller cannot fix a processing fault, adjust a weft or hold a colour consistent across reorders. Ask how far they are from the production line and who they call when something is wrong.

2. 2

   Where does the hair come from, and how is it collected?

   Ask for a country and a method, not a marketing word. Collected directly from a donor in a single ponytail behaves completely differently from hair gathered from salon floors and combings, which has to be heavily processed to look uniform. A vendor who cannot answer this at all has never been past their own supplier.

3. 3

   What do you mean by raw, virgin and remy, in your own words?

   None of these are regulated terms and every seller defines them differently, which is exactly why you must ask rather than assume. What you want in writing is whether the hair has been chemically treated, whether cuticles are intact and running one direction, and whether the bundle came from one head or several.

4. 4

   Is this single donor, and if not, how many heads go into a bundle?

   Mixed hair is more common than the listings suggest and it is why one bundle in a set behaves differently from the other two. Single donor costs more and is more consistent in texture and lift. Ask what the price difference is, because a vendor who charges the same for both is probably selling one thing under two names.

5. 5

   Has this been steam processed, and to what pattern?

   Most of the curl patterns sold are created with steam rather than grown, which is normal and worth knowing, because steamed patterns can relax over time and after heat. Ask how the pattern behaves after ten washes and whether it returns when wet, since that is the complaint you will receive from customers.

6. 6

   What is the natural colour before processing, and how light can it be lifted safely?

   Almost everything sold as natural black has been dyed to get there, and dark dye hides how much the hair has already been through. If your customers colour their bundles, ask what level it lifts to without breaking, and whether the vendor has photos of their own stock lifted rather than a stock image.

7. 7

   How is it wefted, and how much does it shed at the seam?

   Machine double weft, single weft and hand tied are different products with different prices and different failure modes. Hand tied lies flatter and sheds more easily if cut without sealing. Ask directly whether the wefts can be cut, since customers will cut them regardless of the answer.

8. 8

   What is the weight per bundle, and is that weighed with the weft?

   Bundles are sold by weight and light bundles are the most common quiet shortfall in this trade, particularly in longer lengths. Ask what tolerance they work to, then weigh your first order yourself. A vendor who is confident about weight will tell you to do exactly that.

9. 9

   For closures and frontals, what lace, what density, and are the knots bleached?

   Lace type, knot bleaching and hairline density determine whether a unit looks convincing, and these are the details customers judge in a photograph. Ask whether bleached knots are done in house, since over bleached knots shed at the base and the damage shows up weeks after the customer has already paid you.

10. 10

    Can I buy a sample first, and what does it cost?

    The answer separates suppliers from sellers. A serious vendor will sell you one bundle at a slightly higher unit price and expect you to test it. A refusal, or an insistence on a full order to see the quality, is the point where most people lose money in this business.

11. 11

    What is the minimum order, and where does the price break?

    You want the whole ladder rather than one number, because that tells you what scale their business is built around. A vendor whose price only improves at very large volumes is aimed at other wholesalers, and you will always be their least important customer.

12. 12

    How long from payment to dispatch, and what happens when you are out of stock?

    Lead times stretch around holidays and factory shutdowns, and the failure everyone experiences is a vendor who takes payment and then goes quiet for three weeks. Ask what they do when an item is unavailable: hold the order, substitute a texture, or refund. Substitution without asking is the common one.

13. 13

    Which courier, and who pays customs and duty?

    A quoted price that excludes duty is not the price. Ask how the parcel is declared and at what value, and be wary of any offer to under declare, since the consequences of that land on you as the importer rather than on them. Ask what happens if a shipment is held.

14. 14

    What happens if it sheds, tangles or mats after a few washes?

    This is the complaint that will actually reach you, usually two to four weeks after a customer's install. Ask for their policy in specific terms: what evidence they need, what the window is, and whether the remedy is a refund, a replacement or credit against a future order, which is the answer most of them give.

15. 15

    Has anyone ever received a refund from you, and what was it for?

    A better question than whether they offer refunds, because it asks about an event rather than a policy. Listen for whether they can describe a real case with a real resolution. Vagueness here almost always means the policy exists on the page and nowhere else.

16. 16

    What payment methods do you take, and does any of them protect me if nothing arrives?

    Some payment routes carry a dispute process and some carry none at all. A vendor who will only take methods with no recourse, or who asks you to send money as a personal transfer between friends, has told you something important about how their previous disputes ended.

17. 17

    Can you do private labelling: my wraps, my packaging, my logo?

    Ask the minimum quantity for custom packaging separately from the minimum for hair, since they are usually different and the packaging minimum is often higher. Ask who holds the artwork and whether they would use it for anyone else, which is a real risk that people only discover later.

18. 18

    Do you drop ship, and whose name and address appears on the parcel?

    Drop shipping removes your inventory cost and hands your customer's details to your supplier along with a direct route to them. If you do it, ask specifically whether their branding, invoices or contact details go in the box, because a customer who finds the source usually stops needing you.

19. 19

    How many other sellers in my city do you supply?

    You are asking whether you will be selling the same bundles as three shops within a few miles, at the same wholesale price. Some vendors offer territory arrangements. Most will not, and the honest ones will say so rather than promise exclusivity they have no way of keeping.

20. 20

    Can I speak to two clients who have ordered from you more than once?

    Repeat customers are the only reference that means anything, since anyone can produce a happy first order. Ask them what went wrong at some point and how it was handled, because every supply relationship has one incident and the handling is the whole story.