Quality control: 12 checks before the container closes

The 12-point pre-shipment check

1. Stem joint play — assembled, locked, pushed forward and back. Any movement is a reject.
2. Lock effort — must open with one hand.
3. Tube wall thickness at the joint, checked with a calliper on a cut sample.
4. Wheel spin — free rotation, no bearing noise, light engages at walking speed.
5. Light board — every unit switched on, sound checked, mute switch where specified.
6. Deck grip — pattern present, no smooth patches.
7. Brake — rear fender contacts the wheel without dragging.
8. Hardware — every bolt torqued, no missing caps.
9. Carton drop — one carton per batch dropped from 60 cm on a corner.
10. Carton print — artwork version, barcode scan, mandatory warning wording.
11. Count — cartons counted against the packing list, photographed in rows.
12. Container — photographed empty, during loading, and closed with seal number visible.

What happens when a check fails

The batch stops. We replace from the same production run if the fault is isolated, or re-run the affected component if it is systemic. You get the photos of the failure, not just the fix — because you will need them if the same fault appears in a later order.

Where the checks start: incoming materials

Most defects are cheaper to catch on the component than on the finished scooter, so three checks happen before assembly starts. Aluminium tube arrives with wall thickness measured on cut samples per batch — 1.2 mm versus 1.5 mm looks identical in a photo and behaves completely differently at the folding joint. PU wheels are checked for hardness and hub fit, because a wheel that is too hard drops the light-up magnet's engagement at walking speed and one that is too soft flats in summer heat. Cartons are checked against the agreed spec — flute, print version and the warning wording your market requires — before a single unit is packed into them.

Sample versus production

A golden sample is kept from the approved pre-production run and every batch is judged against it, not against memory. If a shell colour drifts, a grip pattern softens or a music board sounds different from the sample, that is a stop, and you see photos of both side by side. This is also why we ask buyers to approve the sample with a signature or an email — "the factory knows what I want" is not a specification.

Third-party inspection

You are welcome to appoint SGS, BV, Intertek or your own agent. We book the slot and provide the samples; the report goes to you directly. We do not ask to see it first.

Certificates: model by model, not a badge on the page

The supply base here is uneven, and pretending otherwise is how buyers end up with a container they cannot clear. Some factories in the cluster hold a current EN71 or CE report for a particular model; others have never submitted that model for testing. A trader who says "all our products are CE certified" is describing a wish, not a document.

So the sequence is simple. You tell us the destination market at quotation stage. We check the specific model against what the factory can actually show. You get one of three answers: the model ships on an existing report, the model needs a fresh test through a third-party lab (SGS, BV or Intertek) before loading, or we would rather not quote that model for your market. Lab fees are quoted per model and passed through at cost, and testing fits before production ends if you raise it early. If a report cannot be produced, we will not put a compliance mark on the page and hope nobody asks for it.