MOQ explained: why promotional gifts start at 50 pieces
Minimum order quantity is not a supplier being difficult — it is a set-up cost that has to be spread across the run. Here is what drives it, and how to plan a first order without overcommitting.
A procurement manager’s first question is usually “what is your MOQ”, and the answer they want is “one”. That is not how promotional products work, and understanding why makes it much easier to plan a first order.
MOQ is a set-up cost, spread across the run
Every printed product has a fixed cost that exists regardless of how many you make.
There is a screen or a plate to prepare. A print position to dial in on the machine. A pre-production sample to produce and ship. A colour to match. A carton to spec. None of that cost changes whether you run 100 pieces or 10,000.
So the supplier divides it across the order. At 100 pieces you are carrying almost all of it per unit. At 10,000 pieces it becomes rounding.
This is why MOQ is really a pricing mechanism, not a production limit. A supplier who says “50 pieces minimum” is saying “below 50, the set-up cost makes the unit price embarrassing for both of us”.
What actually drives the number
| Factor | Effect on MOQ |
|---|---|
| Print method | Silkscreen needs a screen per colour — more colours, higher MOQ. Sublimation and heat transfer have almost no set-up, so MOQ stays low. |
| Stock vs custom colours | Stock colours are ready to go. A custom-dyed fabric carries a dye-lot minimum, often in the thousands. |
| Ready stock | Some lines are held in stock and can ship in small quantities — usually at a higher unit price. |
| Blank complexity | A plain drawstring bag has almost no tooling. A structured backpack with custom hardware has a lot. |
Where the low numbers come from
In our own catalogue the floor varies by line, and it tracks the table above:
- Hats and caps — from 50 pieces. Embroidery has no screen cost and the blanks are stock items.
- Most bags, drinkware and novelties — 100 pieces. One print position, one colour, stock blank.
- Notebooks and planners — 300 pieces. Foil stamping needs a die, and the covers are made to order.
- Sample-only lines — 1 to 2 pieces. A paper parasol or a luggage cover can be sent as a sample, but that is sampling, not production.
How to plan a first order
Do not try to hit the lowest possible unit price on your first order. Order the smallest quantity that lets you test the product in the real world — at an event, in a store, with actual recipients.
One hundred pieces is enough to find out whether the print holds up, whether the size is right, and whether recipients actually want the thing. If it works, the second order is where you go to volume and the price drops 20–35%.
Order the sample first. A sample is a rounding error next to the cost of 5,000 units of the wrong product, and it is normally credited back against the production order.
Ask what changes the price. Sometimes the answer is not “order more” — it is “reduce from three colours to two”, or “switch from silkscreen to heat transfer”, or “use the stock navy instead of a custom Pantone”. Those changes often cut the unit price more than doubling the quantity would.
Confirm the print area in centimetres. Every extra centimetre of print width can change the method, and therefore the MOQ.
The honest summary
If you need 30 pieces of something custom-printed, most suppliers will decline, and the ones who accept will charge you roughly what 100 pieces would cost. Plan for 100, treat it as a trial, and only commit to volume once you have held the product in your hand.