In a quote from Artificer,
"I assume the powers that be (Steve, one-man-committee) would get a sample made to assure of the proper colour."

I'm sorry, but I have not yet found any company that will produce a finished tie as a sample to review for color.
The average minimum order is 25-50 ties. I'm afraid this is an all or nothing sort of deal.
Companies will provide artwork and thread samples for review but most require you to specify color by Pantone number to avoid problems with color matching.

This is sort of like getting a special weave of Tartan, You can ask for yarn color samples but setting up the loom is where the labor is and is only done once for each run.