Buying guide
What determines the MOQ on a custom pet toy
Minimum order quantities feel arbitrary until you see what they are paying for. Every minimum is the point at which a supplier's setup, material and tooling costs stop outweighing the order, and every one of those costs moves when your specification does. This guide sets out the drivers, how to lower a first-order minimum without changing the product, and how to compare minimums that were calculated on different bases.
First
Why no factory publishes a single number
"What is your MOQ?" has no useful answer at the level of a company, because a minimum is a property of a specific line, not of a supplier. The same factory will quote several different minimums on the same day for orders of the same total value.
Because setup is per line, not per order
Cutting dies, print plates, embroidery files, tooling, packaging dielines — each of these is set up once and then amortised across the units in the run. A minimum is the quantity at which that setup becomes a small number per unit rather than a large one.
Because materials have their own minimums
Fabric is milled in runs. A fabric already held can be drawn down in any quantity; a fabric milled to your specification carries the mill's minimum, which can be higher than the toy line's minimum and is entirely outside the toy factory's control.
Because the basis varies between suppliers
Some quote a minimum per SKU, some per colour, some per size, some per order. A minimum of 3,000 per order and a minimum of 3,000 per colour are the same number and completely different commitments.
The drivers
Eight decisions that move the number
Each of these is a decision you control, and each one is quoted as its own line. Reading the list in this order is also the fastest way to see where a first-order minimum came from.
| Driver | Why it moves the minimum | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Colourways | Each colourway is a separate fabric or print run with its own setup. | More colourways raises the minimum, and raises it per colourway rather than the order total. |
| Sizes | Each size in a run is cut and filled separately, and fill weight is set per size. | A wide size run across a small total volume pushes every size below the economic point. |
| Fabric | Stock fabric can be drawn down freely; milled fabric carries the mill's run length. | Specifying from held fabrics is the single largest reduction available on a first order. |
| Pattern work | A new pattern or a graded run costs development time that has to be recovered somewhere. | Starting from an existing construction removes this line entirely. |
| Tooling | A moulded construction needs a tool cut before sampling, and it is amortised across the first order. | This is the largest single driver where it applies, and it applies to every new moulded shape. |
| Insert and mechanism | Squeakers, rattles and electronic modules are bought in, often in pack quantities. | A specific module grade can carry a higher minimum than the toy it goes into. |
| Branding method | Embroidery files, woven labels and printed tags are three separate setups. | One branding method across a range costs one setup; three methods cost three. |
| Packaging format | A header card, a gift box and a multi-pack are three print and assembly operations. | One standard format across the range is usually cheaper than fewer units in two formats. |
Lowering it
Six ways to reduce a first-order minimum
None of these changes the product a shopper sees. They change the number of setups the order requires, which is what the minimum was measuring in the first place.
Specify from fabrics already held
Ask what is in stock before choosing a fabric. A held fabric removes a mill run from the order and is the largest single reduction available on a first run, particularly on plush.
Carry one colourway across sizes
A colourway applied to three sizes is one print or dye setup and three cutting runs. Three colourways in one size is three of everything.
Ship fewer SKUs on the first order
A narrow first order with a coherent range beats a broad one spread thin. Widen the range on the reorder, once the constructions and the packaging standard are proven.
Use one packaging format
One card format across the range is one dieline and one print job. It also makes the range read as a range, so the saving and the merchandising point in the same direction.
Pick one branding method
Where the design allows it, an embroidered logo or a woven label used consistently costs one setup instead of three. Add the others on a later run rather than on the first.
Start from a construction that exists
Private label and ODM routes remove pattern and tooling work from the order, which is why their minimums are lower than a full development project's. Add the new shape on the second season.
What you are paying for
A minimum is four costs, not one
It helps to see what the number is actually recovering. When a supplier raises a minimum, one of these four has grown — and asking which one is a reasonable question.
Setup
Cutting, printing, embroidery files, dielines and tooling. Fixed, paid once, and the reason a small order costs more per unit than a large one.
Material
Fabric, fill, inserts and packaging, each with its own purchasing increment. Some of these are bought in pack quantities that do not divide neatly into a small order.
Line time
A production line switching to your order and back again costs time regardless of how many units it makes. Small runs consume the same changeover as large ones.
Risk
Where a specification is unusual or a buyer is new, part of the minimum is the supplier limiting exposure. That component shrinks after a successful first order, which is worth knowing when the second quotation comes back lower.
Comparing
Three traps in comparing minimums
A lower minimum is only better if it is a minimum for the same thing. These are the three ways two minimums turn out not to be comparable.
The basis is different
Per order, per SKU, per colour, per size. Ask for the basis in writing, then convert both quotations to the same one before comparing. This is where most minimum comparisons go wrong.
The scope is different
Does the minimum include packaging, branding setup and testing, or are those quoted separately with their own minimums? A lower headline minimum with three separate ones underneath is not a lower minimum.
The reorder minimum is different
Ask what the minimum becomes on a repeat. Some suppliers reduce it once tooling and patterns are paid for; others do not. If the reorder minimum is the same as the first, the first-order minimum was not covering setup at all.
A quotation that does not state which line item is driving the minimum is worth sending back. The answer is usually a single decision away from a materially different number.
Next
Where this guide leads
The minimum is decided by the brief. These are the guides that cover writing one, and the routes that avoid the largest minimums.
Preparing a product brief
The fields a brief has to state for a supplier to quote against the product you meant rather than the product they assumed.
Private label or new development
Which route avoids tooling and pattern work, and what each one costs you at the reorder.
Choosing a plush manufacturer
What to ask a supplier, what a good answer looks like, and how to run a comparison that produces a real result.
Ask what your minimum is made of
Send the construction, the size run, the colourway count, the branding method and the packaging format. The quotation comes back with the minimum itemised by SKU and a note on which line item is driving it. Related reading: all buying guides and the OEM and ODM overview.