Often a "we're a small manufacturer of custom thingys and we are looking to improve our product with customization du-jour. We are considering replacing our screws with security screws that those stinking DIY'rs out there can't remove. We would like to consider you as a vendor of this tool but need a sample to ensure that the quality and usefullness of your tools is up to snuff. Could you please send us one to test and if we find it to be useful we will probably be placing an order of significant size in the near future to supply our production lines." ruse will shake one or two free from a supplier that only wants to sell in the 1000 lot. Of course this may be a difficulty to your integrity and may involve some uncomfortable phone conversations where you will have to support the ruse.