Every quote we send includes a one-page spec sheet. I do not print its figures in articles, for a simple reason: the factory's sheet is the one source I trust, and a number copied into a blog post can drift from it.
So this article is about how to read such a sheet, using five headings that come with ours, and which questions to ask of any supplier's.
What should be on the sheet?
Five things: battery, water resistance, weight, sizes and connectivity. Our sheet states them as confirmed by the factory. If a supplier sends a glossy brochure with adjectives and no figures, ask for the sheet.
How do you read the battery line?
Look for a figure and for the conditions behind it. A number with no conditions tells you little. Ask how long the collar runs between charges in ordinary use, how it is charged, and what the owner sees when it is low.
Then think of the owner. A collar that is often off the dog because it is charging does not record the day. Battery is the line that decides whether the daily numbers are complete.
How do you read the water resistance line?
Look for a named rating and ask what it covers: rain, a puddle, a swim. Dogs find water. A collar that fails on the first wet walk produces a return and a bad review.
I do not state a rating here. Take it from the sheet, and test a sample in the conditions your customers live in.
How do you read weight and sizes?
Weight matters most for small dogs. Sizes decide who can buy. Compare the size range with the dogs your customers own, and check whether the sheet shows neck measurements or only labels.
If your range serves toy breeds or giant breeds, say so in your first message. The size line may be the reason you stop, which is a perfectly good outcome at this stage.
What does connectivity tell you?
It tells you how the collar talks to the phone. Read it with the app description in the quote, which covers languages and what owners see today. Connectivity is also where buyers assume features. I do not list GPS location or a data connection to other software as confirmed, so check the sheet for what is actually stated.
Which claims should you challenge?
- Any figure without conditions.
- Any feature in a brochure that does not appear on the sheet.
- Any rating you cannot see the test for.
- Any line that is blank. Ask what it means.
Challenging a line is not rude. A supplier who is confident in the product will be glad to answer.
How does the sheet connect to everything else?
The sheet goes with the certificates for your market and the rest of the quote. Read them together. A good figure on the sheet does not help if the certificates for your country are missing. See Radio approvals for a smart collar, market by market.
What do you do with the sheet?
Keep it. Use it to write your listing, to brief your support team and to check the samples against what was promised. If a sample behaves differently from the sheet, you have found something valuable before a batch exists.
How should you compare two sheets?
Put them side by side and compare the same five lines. Notice which lines are blank on one and filled on the other, and which figures come with conditions. Then compare how each supplier answers your follow-up questions. The sheet is only the start. The quality of the conversation around it is the other half of the information.
If two sheets list different conditions for the same line, you cannot compare the figures. Ask both suppliers to state the conditions in the same terms.
What belongs in your own notes?
- The date you received the sheet and the version.
- The questions you asked and the answers, in writing.
- Any difference between the sheet and what the samples did.
- The lines you want to put on your listing, and the ones you will leave out.
Keep these with the quote. If something goes wrong later, the file is your evidence.
What if the sheet and the samples disagree?
Tell us. Write down exactly what you saw, with the date and the conditions, and send it with your questions. A difference between the sheet and the samples is exactly what the sample stage exists to catch. I would much rather hear about it from you at that point than from a customer later.
Do not assume the sheet is wrong or the sample is wrong. Ask, and ask for the answer in writing.
Which line do most buyers read too fast?
Connectivity. It looks technical, so people skim it, and it is where assumptions hide. Read it slowly, together with the app description in the quote. Ask what the collar needs in order to show data on the owner's phone, and what the owner has to do on the first day. Then test exactly that with the samples, from the box, as a customer would.
What should you do if you do not understand a line?
Ask. It is not a weakness. A line you did not understand is a line your support team will not understand either, and you will be the one answering. Write the question in plain words and send it with the date. Keep the reply with the sheet.
To get the sheet for the collar, request two samples. A broader checklist is in Twelve questions to ask a smart collar supplier before you order.