MOQ
What it is
MOQ is the smallest quantity a factory will accept. In most cases it is not greed: it is the minimum economic batch of a process — raw material bought by the tonne or by the roll, a plate that must be made for printing, a line that must be stopped and purged for a changeover, a dye lot that needs a full vat.
Why it matters
Find out which step sets your MOQ before you negotiate. If it is raw material, you may change the spec or accept split deliveries. If it is plates or tooling, paying those separately can unlock a lower run. If it is changeover, only order consolidation or accepting a longer schedule will help. Argue the wrong point and ten rounds change nothing.
Three points
- Ask which process sets the MOQ before asking for a lower number
- Paying plate or tooling charges separately often unlocks a smaller run
- Packaging and contents usually have separate MOQs — the real threshold is the higher one
Three common traps
- Treating MOQ as a price lever — squeeze the factory below cost and quality goes first
- Negotiating the contents MOQ while ignoring packaging, then getting stuck on the colour box
- Accepting a verbal 'small batch first' and being asked to top up the difference later
What we do about it
We separate the contents MOQ from the packaging MOQ at quotation stage and say which process sets each. Where paying a plate charge separately would lower the run, we put that option and its cost side by side.
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