A first order is where the habits get set. Everything below is easier to agree before money moves and close to impossible afterwards.
1. Verify the entity and the bank account
Trade registry record, tax and social-security status, ownership, registered address, and — the one that matters most — the bank account name matching the registered company name exactly. Payment to a personal account or a slightly different name is where most total losses begin.
If nothing else on this list gets done, do this one.
2. Get the specification in writing
Materials, dimensions, tolerances, finish, function, components by brand where brand matters. If you have a sample, seal two: one for you, one held at the factory, both signed and dated.
Every ambiguity in a specification is resolved in favour of whoever is holding the goods, and that is not you.
3. Fix the AQL level and the defect classes
ISO 2859-1, General Inspection Level II, 0 critical / 2.5 major / 4.0 minor is a defensible commercial default. More important than the numbers is a one-page definition of what counts as a major defect for your product, with photographs if possible.
Agreeing this after the defects appear is a negotiation you will lose, because by then the vessel is booked.
4. Choose the Incoterm deliberately
FOB is the right default for a first order: the seller handles the part of the journey that requires being Turkish, and you keep control of the carrier. EXW looks cheaper and is not, once inland haulage, export clearance and terminal handling are added back. CIF is comfortable and hands the freight margin and the carrier choice to your supplier.
5. Write the inspection into the payment terms
The clause: balance payable against a passed third-party pre-shipment inspection report.
This single sentence converts inspection from an observation into leverage. Turkish exporters accept it routinely. A supplier who refuses it is telling you what they expect the goods to look like.
6. Cap the deposit at 30 per cent
Enough for the factory to buy materials; small enough that losing it does not end your year. Never 100 per cent to a new supplier, whatever the discount offered for it.
7. Settle certification before production, not after
CE marking, EN standards, REACH, LFGB for food contact, flammability for upholstery, market-specific labelling. Decide who is responsible for what, in writing, before the first unit is made.
A factory that has never exported to your market may be excellent and still not know your requirements — and you will be paying for that education either way. Better to pay for it in a specification meeting than in a customs hold.
8. Agree packaging and labelling in writing
Carton construction, units per carton, inner packing, barcodes, destination-market marking, language requirements, pallet configuration. Approve a printed proof before production.
Labelling is the cheapest defect to prevent and one of the most expensive to discover after clearance.
9. Get a named ship date, not a lead time
“Forty-five days” is not a date. Ask for the ship date, then ask for the production completion date, which should be at least a week earlier. Book the inspection against the production completion date.
Then ask, near the time, for the truck slot rather than the loading day — because in Türkiye trucks arrive early more often than they arrive late.
The one-page summary
| Before deposit | Before balance | Before loading |
|---|---|---|
| Entity verified | Production 80% complete confirmed | Truck slot confirmed |
| Bank account name matched | Pre-shipment inspection passed | Empty container inspected |
| Specification signed | Quantity reconciled | Cartons counted at the door |
| AQL and defect classes agreed | Labelling verified | Seal number photographed |
| Incoterm set | Certification documents in hand | Report received before port |
| Deposit ≤ 30% |
None of this is exotic and none of it is expensive. It is simply the order things have to happen in for the money to stay connected to the goods.