Hi red. I've been doing some research too and ordered my piece which I should receive in 2-3weeks.
From what I understand you have to try and miss until you get what you want. This is why I went for the cheapest piece for the first one, so I can see if I am comfortable wearing...
I made a template and sent a hair sample, to see how good they can match my color(I have complicated color. different shines under different lightning conditions).
Other things you should consider regarding your own hair & hairstyle :
-base (from what I understand the swiss lace is the best for exposing the hairline, but is less durable than french lace, other bases are not so good, because the scalp can't breath)
-hair direction : regarding your hairstyle, it can be forward combed, backward combed, freestyle (or you can combine for example front freestyle + the rest of the piece combed forward)
If you don't have your own crown, you should decide how much receeded the crown should be for the piece to look natural and where you want the crown point (center,left,right).
You should also consider your years and eyebrows and maybe have a piece with slightly graduatly receeded front, if nothing else, less people will suspect anything, because you look like you are receeding
-Curl (many posts I read says that even if you have somewhat straight hair is better to order the lightest curl, because it looks more natural than straight hair)
-density (be careful not to order a piece too dense, esecially in the hairline... if there is an unnatural wall of hair, everyone will know... you can also send a close-up picture of your existing hair for the company to match your density, because every company has their own standards (density in %))
-hair color. it is best to send the hair sample, so they can do their best to match it. I doubt they can do the exact match of your hair (they color processed asian hair, which I assume is black) if you don't have the standard - easy color like black, brown..... not many tones or shines. But if they are close it's ok, because even with the gel or some styling product you can blend it well (if I put gel on my hair there is no specefec shine and the hair is darker). Else there are also some products available for this purpose to darken or lighten the piece color, but I haven't tried any yet, so I can't say more about them.
-Do ask for bleached knots or else it looks wierd when you can see the knots
I should receive the piece in 2-3 weeks and will report on the color match.