At the woodwind shop I buy reeds from, it's pretty standard practice to try before you buy when looking for something new. You take a batch down to the basement and try them out on your bassoon. If you don't like them, they go back in the box and someone else may buy them. It's just the same as donating a reed to another player etc - all part of the job.
If it's mass produced, you can test every 100th, throw them away and assume that other 99 are ok. If you're producing small quantity for friends/students, they can always return the bad ones to you. You don't have to test the exact one you're selling.
Due to the variability of cane, every reed must be tested.