Guide · 1330 words
What sets a private-label MOQ, and how a sample week actually runs
MOQ is not a policy number. It is arithmetic, and it changes with the item, the material and the packaging. A buyer who understands the four inputs can usually get a smaller first order than one who simply asks for the minimum order.
This page explains how we calculate minimums, what happens in a sample week, and where the calendar usually slips.
How MOQ is calculated
Four inputs decide the number.
Material buy. Timber arrives in boards and billets of fixed length. A board yields a fixed count of parts, and you cannot buy half a board. If a model needs a wide clear section, the yield per board drops and the minimum rises.
Setup. Cutting, turning and routing need jigs, and jigs need setting. On a new profile the setting time is the same at 20 pieces or 200, so it has to be spread over a larger run.
Paint batch. A water-based colour batch has a working volume. Below a certain size you are mixing paint to throw most of it away, and cleaning the line costs the same regardless of quantity.
Packaging. Printed cartons, labels, bags and manuals each carry a minimum from the printer. Digital print has lowered this, but a five-colour carton with a die-cut window still wants volume.
Why 20 pieces works for a catalogue item
Catalogue items are already set up. The jigs exist, the colour is in the system, the carton dieline and artwork exist, and the item has a test report. Adding 20 pieces to a production schedule costs us machine time and material and almost nothing else. That is why our standard MOQ for catalogue models is 20 pieces.
Minimums are per model, and mixed models can share one order. Twenty pieces of four models is a normal first order.
Why 20 pieces does not work for a new profile
A new shape needs drawings, a sample, jigs, a test report and artwork, and that work is the same at 20 pieces as at 500. We do not refuse small runs; we would simply have to charge the setup across 20 units. For a new profile, a run in the low hundreds is usually cheaper per unit.
The sample process
Samples take 3 to 7 working days from a complete brief, and the clock starts when the artwork and the colour reference are approved, not when the enquiry arrives.
A stock sample leaves in two to three days. A custom sample goes through the workshop:
- Day 1: brief review, drawings, colour reference, confirmation of material and finish.
- Days 2 to 3: cutting, turning, routing, sanding.
- Days 4 to 5: painting or printing, drying, clear coat.
- Days 6 to 7: assembly, quality check, photographs, packing for courier.
We photograph the sample before it ships, because a photo is cheaper than a returned courier parcel.
Approve the sample in writing, and keep it: it becomes the reference for the run.
What to send with a sample request
Send the model reference, the expected quantity, the age band, the destination market, the preferred material, Pantone or RAL colours, the packaging format, and any logo artwork. If you have a competitor's product, send dimensions and photos of the joints and the finish, not only a picture of the whole toy.
The brief that causes delays arrives as a photograph and the words "something like this". Colour, size and finish are the three things we cannot guess.
Tooling, dielines and artwork
Wooden toys rarely need an injection mould. What you pay for is tooling of a different kind: jigs and fixtures for a new profile, print screens or laser settings for a logo, a cutting die for a carton, and print plates for anything printed directly on wood.
The dieline is the flat drawing of the carton, supplied for your designer and for the die maker. Once the die is cut, changing the carton shape means a new die; changing only the print does not.
Artwork to settle before the print order goes out:
- barcode and quiet zone, with the number verified against your listing
- age warning, in the language of each destination market
- importer name and address, if you are the EU importer
- country of origin and batch or date code for the tracking label
- recycling and material marks that match the actual construction
The instruction sheet is part of the same job: a language list, a paper stock, a fold and a page count.
A realistic timeline
| Stage | Who acts | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
| Brief and quotation | Buyer, then us | 1 to 3 days |
| Sample | Us | 3 to 7 working days |
| Artwork and dieline | Buyer's designer | 3 to 10 days |
| Deposit and PO | Buyer | 1 to 3 days |
| Production | Us | 15 to 35 days |
| Testing, if not already done | Laboratory | Runs alongside production |
| Booking and loading | Us | 3 to 7 days |
| Sea transit | Carrier | 14 days to the US west coast, 30 to 35 to Europe |
From a clean brief to a loaded container, five to eight weeks is realistic. The variation is almost never in the workshop; it is in artwork, bookings and testing.
Where the calendar slips
Artwork. Nine times out of ten the delay is a missing barcode, an untranslated warning, or an importer address that arrives after the plates are made.
Colour matching. A Pantone reference on paper does not land identically on beech, and the same ink on pine reads darker. Allow a round of adjustment, or choose from the colours already in production.
Chinese New Year. Production stops for two to three weeks and bookings tighten either side of it. An order placed in December for February delivery is a schedule risk, not a workshop problem.
Peak season. Space out of Ningbo and Shanghai tightens from August to October. Book earlier than production alone suggests.
A failed test. If a coating fails migration testing, the fix is a new ink or a new supplier, and that is a week before production restarts. Testing the sample first is cheaper than testing the shipment.
Hidden costs buyers miss
- Tooling and dies, which are one-off and quoted separately.
- The sample fee, usually charged and credited against the order.
- Courier freight on samples, which is not the same as production freight.
- Test reports per model, especially where a colourway changes.
- Bank charges on a 30/70 telegraphic transfer, and the exchange rate on the balance.
Ask for the quotation to separate tooling, samples, product and freight. A single blended price hides the parts you can actually negotiate.
Key takeaways
- MOQ follows material yield, setup, paint batch and packaging minimums, not a fixed rule.
- 20 pieces per model is the standard for catalogue items; new profiles cost more to set up.
- Samples take 3 to 7 working days from an approved brief and colour reference.
- Five to eight weeks from brief to loaded container is a realistic plan.
- Artwork, not production, is the usual cause of a slipped date.
FAQs
Can we mix models to reach the MOQ?
Yes. The minimum is per model, and one order can carry several models and mixed cartons. A new profile is the exception; its setup applies on its own.
Do you charge for samples?
Yes, and the fee is normally credited against the production order. Courier freight is at cost. A free sample usually means the cost is already inside the unit price.
Can our logo go on the toy itself?
Yes, by laser engraving or by printing, depending on the surface and the size of the mark. Engraving holds up better on natural wood and needs no ink; printing allows colour. Both have a minimum run below which the setup dominates.
What happens if we need to change the packaging after the PO?
Before the plate is made, it is a file swap. After it, the old plates are scrap. Tell us at the sample stage, and read the custom process before you brief your designer.
Need a quotation? Send the product, quantity and destination market — we reply within 12 working hours.