Ducks look like the simplest thing you will ever order. Four questions separate a good order from an expensive one.

Treat it as a toy, because it will be treated as one

If a child can reach it, it needs toy safety testing: phthalates in the vinyl, heavy metals in the paint, small parts, and an age grading.

Ask for current test reports with the quote. A supplier who has them will send them without fuss; one who has to go and find out is telling you something.

Decide whether it squeaks, knowing what that means

A squeak needs a hole. The hole lets bathwater in when the duck is squeezed, and that water stays inside and grows mould.

A sealed duck cannot take water in and cannot squeak. Pools, nurseries and clinics should buy sealed almost every time. A bath toy for home use is a genuine choice.

Do the tooling arithmetic before falling in love with a shape

A custom mould is a real one-off cost. Ask for it as a separate line, then divide it by your run size.

Below the crossover, a printed and dressed stock body gets you most of the way for a fraction of the money. Above it — or if you will reorder, since the tool is held — the mould wins.

Check that the print is made for water

A logo that comes off in the bath is worse than no logo, because the thing that failed is carrying your name.

And artwork needs redrawing for a small curved surface: fine detail and small type distort badly on a duck.

What to send when you ask for a quote

Artwork, quantity, and where the ducks will be used — bath, pool, river race, shop shelf. That last answer changes the body, the hole and the colour.