Low MOQ clothing manufacturer for first orders
Our minimum order quantity (MOQ) is 50 pieces of a style, where a factory sewing for big brands usually asks for 300–500. We either buy 50 of a garment a Chinese factory is already making and sew in your labels (Ready-made), or draw a pattern for your own design and have it cut and sewn (Custom). Fifty Custom T-shirts in one color cost $475–841 delivered to a US address, plus import duty.
- 11–18
- days from payment to a US address on a Ready-made order
- 31–48
- days from deposit to a US address on a Custom order
- 30%
- deposit on a Custom order, the rest after inspection
Three first orders, priced line by line
We used $9.00 as an example garment price for the hoodie. All other lines use our current fees and freight rates. The T-shirt prices cover our full range for a plain tee. The hoodies and the 50 T-shirts weigh under 45 kg, the minimum for air freight, and go by express.
50 Ready-made hoodies
Paid in full when you order
| Garments, $9.00 a piece | $450.00 |
|---|---|
| Sourcing fee, 12% | $54.00 |
| Neck labels, $0.35 a piece | $17.50 |
| Hang tags, $0.25 a piece | $12.50 |
| Branded packaging, $0.45 a piece | $22.50 |
| Express to the US, 35–40 kg | $280–480 |
| Total before duty | $836.50–1,036.50 |
$16.73–20.73 per piece
50 Custom T-shirts
In a jersey color that needs no dyeing
| Development fee | $80–150 |
|---|---|
| Garments, $5.50–9.50 a piece | $275–475 |
| Neck labels | Included |
| Branded packaging | Included |
| Inspecting all 50 | Included |
| Express to the US, 10–12 kg | $120–216 |
| Total before duty | $475–841 |
$9.50–16.82 per piece
300 Custom T-shirts
The same shirt at a big-brand minimum
| Development fee | $80–150 |
|---|---|
| Garments, $3.50–6.00 a piece | $1,050–1,800 |
| Neck labels | Included |
| Branded packaging | Included |
| Inspecting all 300 | Included |
| Air freight to the US, 60–72 kg | $420–720 |
| Total before duty | $1,550–2,670 |
$5.17–8.90 per piece
Ordering 300 for the lower price per piece means paying $1,550–2,670 before you know whether the shirt sells.
All three orders come with the free Launch Kit: a ten-second video, a campaign image and five listing images.
Where a small run's extra cost comes from
You pay some costs once per style, design or color, whatever the quantity. At 50 pieces they add six times as much per piece as at 300.
| One-off cost | Total | At 50 pieces | At 300 pieces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Development fee, T-shirt | $80–150 | $1.60–3.00 | $0.27–0.50 |
| Screens, four-color print | $60–180 | $1.20–3.60 | $0.20–0.60 |
| Embroidery digitizing, estimate | $10–75 | $0.20–1.50 | $0.03–0.25 |
| Small dye lot, one color | $80–150 | $1.60–3.00 | $0.27–0.50 |
Screens for a four-color logo cost $60–180 before any printing. On 50 shirts, the screens plus $0.50–1.20 per color of printing come to $3.20–8.40 a shirt. DTF needs no screens and costs $1.50–3.50 a shirt for the same logo. For a first run of 50, we recommend DTF.
A color the Guangzhou and Keqiao fabric markets already stock costs nothing extra. A knit mill normally dyes about 500 kg of a color at once. For a small order in another color, we buy undyed jersey and pay a dye house to dye 50 kg. You pay $80–150 for that batch and wait 5–7 days longer. Fifty T-shirts use about 16 kg of it, and we charge you only for that 16 kg. The factory keeps the other 34 kg for six months. If the shirts sell, we can cut two more runs of 50 from it with no new dyeing. Heavy hoodies need 40–45 kg for the same 50 pieces. For a hoodie reorder in your color, you pay for a new batch.
If a factory already makes something close to your design, order it Ready-made and pay no development fee. On a Custom order of 50, we use stock zip pullers and snaps. Pullers and snaps stamped with your logo need 500–1,000 pieces and an $80–200 mold. We cut the garments from fabric the markets already sell. To knit jersey to your spec, a mill needs an order of 300–500 kg, and 300 kg makes over 900 T-shirts. Woven fabric made to order has a 1,000 m minimum.
What counts toward the 50-piece MOQ
| Ready-madeStock Match | 50 pieces of one style, in any mix of the colors and sizes it comes in |
|---|---|
| CustomMade to Order | 50 pieces of one color, split across sizes any way you like |
| Sets | A bikini top and bottom count as one piece |
| Several styles | One order can mix styles. We count every style separately |
| Your branding | A label, hang tag or packaging design has to go on at least 50 pieces |
A Custom T-shirt in white and sand needs 50 shirts of each color. We give the price for this 100-piece order on your quote.
Paying for a Custom order
You pay for a Custom order in two parts. You make the second payment after looking through the inspection photos, and we ship once we receive it.
Since May 2025, US Customs has charged import duty on every shipment of goods made in China, however small. We put an estimate of the duty on your quote.
Payments on 50 Custom T-shirts
- When you accept the quote
- $142.50–252.3030% of $475–841
- After the inspection photos
- $332.50–588.70The other 70%
- After customs clearance
- Import dutyAt cost
After the first 50 sell
A Ready-made reorder reaches a US address 11–18 days after you pay if the factory still makes your garment. Once the garment goes out of production, our buyers find the closest one still being made and tell you how it differs. You decide whether to switch.
To keep the exact fit, we draw a pattern from your best-seller and make it a Custom style. Reorders of that style skip sampling and reach a US address 21–30 days from the deposit.
For 100–299 pieces we give the price on your quote.
- $5.50–9.5050–99 pieces
- $3.50–6.00300–500 pieces
More garments at 50 pieces
Hoodies
Pullover or zip, in 350–500 gsm fleece. Fifty come to $745–1,345 with the development fee, before freight and duty.
Jeans
Cut to your fit reference and washed to the finish you approve on the sample. Fifty pairs come to $875–1,555 with the development fee, before freight and duty. Denim dyed to a color of your own is quoted separately.
Dresses
Lined, with concealed zips. Fifty come to $900–1,710 with the development fee, before freight and duty.
Questions
Can I order fewer than 50?
No. Our minimum is 50 pieces. You can buy one piece of a Ready-made garment first. It costs the factory price plus $15–60 for express shipping. We deduct the piece price from your 50-piece order.
How many pieces do you check on a 50-piece order?
Thirteen, picked at random, on a Ready-made order. We check them under ISO 2859-1 at AQL 2.5 for major defects and 4.0 for minor ones. A single minor defect still passes, and we swap that piece for a good one before shipping. If we find one major defect or two minor ones, we go through all 50 and replace every faulty piece. Checking all 50 from the start costs $0.18 a piece. On a Custom order we check every piece at no charge.
Do I need a tech pack or a registered company?
No. A photo and an email address are enough for a quote. On a Custom order we write the spec sheet for you.
What if some pieces arrive faulty?
Send us photos or a short video of them within 14 days of delivery. We replace them and pay the freight, or refund them if you prefer.