If you have ever asked a manufacturer for a quote on custom kits, you have run into three letters: MOQ. Minimum order quantity. It is the smallest order a manufacturer will produce, and it shapes everything about your project: your budget, your timeline, and which supplier you can work with.
This guide explains what MOQ really means, why it exists, and how to plan around it.
WHAT MOQ MEANS IN PRACTICE
The minimum order quantity is the fewest pieces a manufacturer needs to make your order worth setting up. Below that number, the math stops working: the same design work, pattern making, screen or sublimation setup, and cutting-table time goes into 20 pieces as into 200, so tiny runs cost more per piece than most buyers expect.
MOQ is usually quoted per design or per style, not per size. A 50-piece MOQ normally means 50 pieces of one design, split across your size breakdown (for example, 10 small, 20 medium, 15 large, 5 XL).
WHY MANUFACTURERS SET A MINIMUM
It is not about turning small clubs away. Four real costs sit behind every MOQ:
- Fabric comes in rolls. A factory buys full rolls of polyester, cotton, or blends. Ordering a full roll for a handful of garments wastes most of it.
- Setup is fixed. Preparing sublimation prints, embroidery files, or screens takes the same hours whether you order 30 or 300.
- Cutting is efficient in layers. Fabric is cut in stacked layers; a single lonely layer is slow and wasteful.
- Dyeing and finishing run in batches. Vats, heat presses, and QC lines are built for volume.
A manufacturer quoting no minimum at all is usually hiding the setup cost inside a much higher per-piece price. An honest MOQ keeps your per-piece price fair.
WHAT COUNTS AS A LOW MOQ?
In teamwear and custom sportswear, the landscape looks roughly like this:
- Large established manufacturers often start at 100 to 500 pieces per design.
- Mid-size makers typically ask for 50 to 100.
- A low MOQ offer sits around 30 to 50 pieces.
At Fabricory, our minimum is 50 pieces per design. That is deliberately low enough for a single club squad, a gym launching its first branded line, or a startup testing a product, while keeping production efficient enough that your per-piece price stays honest. If your project is smaller than that, talk to us anyway: mixed designs or combined orders across a club sometimes bridge the gap.
HOW TO PLAN YOUR ORDER AROUND MOQ
A little planning stretches a 50-piece minimum a long way:
- Combine home and away kits. Two 25-piece designs rarely work, but one 50-piece design with reversible or two-color options sometimes does.
- Think beyond players. Coaches, staff, and supporters wear the same design, and those pieces count toward the minimum.
- Lock your size breakdown early. Guessing sizes after production starts causes the delays buyers complain about most.
- One design, one order. Splitting 50 pieces across three different artworks is three small orders, not one big one.
DOES A LOW MOQ MEAN LOW QUALITY?
No. MOQ is about economics, not craftsmanship. The same fabric, stitching, and quality checks go into a 50-piece run as a 500-piece run at a serious maker. What matters is how the manufacturer works: clear tech packs, physical or photo approval before bulk, and a single accountable contact. That is true whether you order fifty or five thousand.
Read our broader buyer’s guide to ordering custom football kits for the full process from design to delivery, and browse the sportswear catalog or activewear catalog to see what a 50-piece run can cover.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
If you have a design, a rough idea, or just a squad that needs kitting out, start a custom order. Tell us your quantities and we will confirm the minimum for your exact styles, fabrics, and decoration method before anything is cut.