On October 8—the first workday following the National Day holiday—we sent a batch of perfume bottle samples destined for Canada, along with the tracking number, to our client. The entire process of this deal unfolded during “staggered holidays”: our long break coincided with the client’s regular workdays.

Those of us in foreign trade are accustomed to a simple fact: holidays rarely align across different countries. With a time difference of over ten hours between Canada and China, it is often evening here when it is morning there; while we were enjoying the seven-day National Day break, the client was proceeding with their procurement plans as usual. Receiving inquiries during a holiday isn’t news in this industry—it’s just part of the daily routine.

During this break, a Canadian perfume client contacted us, looking to purchase a batch of glass perfume bottles. When the conversation reached a crucial stage, the client made a perfectly reasonable request: could they see actual photos of the bottles? They didn’t want renderings or heavily retouched promotional images; they wanted shots of the physical stock items.

We had anticipated this request before the holiday began.

On the last workday before the break, we pulled several popular and best-selling perfume bottle models from the warehouse shelves. Using the natural light from the window, we took photos of each one with a smartphone—capturing the clarity of the glass, the threading at the neck, and the thickness of the base—ensuring every detail was clearly visible before saving the images to the phone’s album. We hadn’t earmarked these photos for any specific recipient at the time; we simply wanted a “mobile sample cabinet” ready to go at a moment’s notice during the holiday.

So, when the client’s message arrived, we were able to send the real-life photos immediately, without keeping them waiting. After viewing the photos, the client selected the styles for sampling and transferred the initial fees for the samples and shipping right then and there.

On October 8—our first day back at work—we arranged for the samples to be shipped immediately and shared the tracking number with the client that same day. The next steps involved closely monitoring the logistics, ensuring the samples safely reached the client, and then awaiting their bulk order. To be honest, there was nothing earth-shattering about it: we didn’t pull all-nighters or spend the entire holiday glued to our phones just to stay online. We simply did one small thing before the break—we prepared answers in advance for the questions clients were likely to ask.

In the export business, no one can realistically promise instant replies 365 days a year. However, if you spend just half an hour before the holiday reviewing your inventory and taking a fresh set of photos, you can provide immediate answers when clients reach out during the break.

Put yourself in the client’s shoes: when selecting a supplier from the other side of the globe, their main concern often isn’t the price, but whether the information matches reality—such as the discrepancy between photos and the actual product, or the two-week turnaround time for shipping samples back and forth. The photos we prepared in advance saved them an entire cycle of sending tentative messages, waiting for replies, and chasing us for images. We believe the holiday shouldn’t become a dead zone for order progress—that is the standard we set for ourselves.

The samples are already on their way. If you happen to be looking for perfume bottles or other glass packaging and would like to see real photos of our current stock, feel free to ask us anytime—no need to worry about the timing; we always have the photos ready.