Placing a Shirt Order: MOQ, Sampling, Payment and Lead Time FAQ

A first custom shirt order rarely fails on product quality. It usually fails on scheduling — a buyer plans a launch date, and the order does not fit the calendar because minimum quantities, sampling rounds or payment steps were not mapped before the order was placed. The product was fine; the plan was not.

This article walks through how a custom shirt order actually runs commercially, from the first quantity conversation to the day the goods leave the factory. The numbers below reflect how we work and how the industry generally works, and they are intended to help you plan backwards from a launch date with realistic assumptions.

How minimum order quantity is actually calculated

Minimum order quantity is not a single number. It is one number per variable, and the effective MOQ for an order is the highest of them. Buyers who ask "what is your MOQ?" and receive a single figure often discover later that the figure applied to one of several variables.

• Per style. Each style carries its own cut and sewing set-up. A program of three styles is three set-ups.
• Per colour. Colour is the variable that most often raises MOQ, because each colourway requires a separate dyeing run and a separate cutting spread.
• Per fabric. Stock fabrics carry lower minimums than custom-developed fabrics.
• Per size. Size grading needs a minimum per size to be efficient, though this is usually a smaller constraint than colour.
• Per label and packaging. Custom woven labels, printed labels and retail packaging each have their own minimums, often from third-party suppliers.

The practical consequence is that the cheapest way to place a first order is to concentrate volume: fewer styles, fewer colours, more units per combination. A buyer who spreads 600 pieces across four styles and six colourways typically pays more per piece than one who orders 600 pieces in two styles and three colourways, even though the total quantity is identical.

Custom fabric versus stock fabric: two different MOQs

Whether you are selecting from an existing fabric range or developing a new one changes the structure of the order more than any other single decision.

For a first order with a fixed launch date, stock fabric is almost always the right starting point. It removes the fabric development timeline entirely and lets the buyer validate fit, finish and market response before committing to a custom dye lot. Custom fabric becomes attractive on the second or third order, once volume is predictable and the colour needs to be exclusive.

The sampling sequence, step by step

Sampling is the stage where a specification becomes a physical product. It is normally two or three rounds, and the sequence matters because each round answers a different question.

The fit sample is the cheapest place to make changes. Adjustments made after the pre-production sample are significantly more expensive because fabric and trims have usually been committed by that stage. Adjustments made after bulk cutting are the most expensive of all, which is why the size set is not optional on a graded range.

Sample charges, and when they are refunded

Samples are normally charged, because they consume fabric, labour and shipping at one-off cost. The charge covers the cost of making the garment rather than the product itself, and the fee structure usually follows a pattern.

• Fit sample. Charged at cost. Where a stock fabric is used, the charge is usually the lowest of the three rounds.
• Pre-production sample. Charged at cost, and often refundable against the bulk order once it is placed.
• Size set. Charged per size, which is why size sets are sometimes quoted as a package rather than a unit price.
• Custom fabric development. Carries an additional charge for the dyeing and finishing trial, which is separate from the garment sample charge.

Sample charges against a confirmed bulk order are frequently credited back, wholly or partly, depending on the program. It is worth asking explicitly at quotation stage rather than assuming, since the treatment varies by supplier and by order size.

Payment structures for OEM and ODM orders

Payment terms for custom manufacturing are built around risk allocation rather than credit convenience. Both sides carry exposure: the buyer has paid before seeing the goods, the supplier has produced before being paid. The usual structures apportion that exposure.

The deposit exists because fabric and trims have to be purchased before production starts, so cash is committed at the beginning rather than the end. The balance before shipment is standard because title and shipping documents transfer at that point. Where a buyer wants to hold back value until after inspection, the third-party inspection step becomes the trigger, and the inspection firm should be agreed in advance.

Lead time: what 20 to 30 days really covers

Our standard bulk production lead time is 20–30 days for large orders, and that window counts from a specific moment: the confirmation of the order and the receipt of the deposit, with the pre-production sample already approved. It does not include sampling, and it does not include shipping transit.

When buyers plan a launch date, the error we see most often is counting only the production window. A realistic end-to-end schedule from enquiry to goods in a warehouse is typically three to four months for a first order, and shorter for a repeat order where the specification is fixed and the fabric is stock.

The five things that push a shipment out

Delays are rarely caused by production speed. They come from decisions that arrive late or change late.

• Late sample approval. Every day a sample sits unapproved is a day of production lost, and the loss is not recoverable at the end of the schedule.
• Specification changes after sampling. A change to colour, trim or label after the pre-production sample resets part of the sequence.
• Label and packaging lead time. Custom labels and retail packaging come from third-party suppliers with their own timelines, frequently overlooked in planning.
• Peak season congestion. Capacity tightens around major holiday production cycles, and our published lead time is adjusted during peak periods.
• Special materials. Unusual fabrics, trims or finishes have their own procurement lead time that sits outside the garment production window.

Four of the five are within the buyer's control. The most effective single action is to have every decision — colour, trim, label, packaging, inspection — resolved and in writing before sampling concludes.

Inspection and handover

We manufacture to ISO standards with multi-stage inspection through production, checking fabric on receipt, work in progress and finished goods. That is our internal control. It is separate from any third-party inspection the buyer arranges, and both can coexist on the same order.

At handover the documentation pack typically includes the commercial invoice, packing list, and any certificates agreed at quotation stage — test reports, material certificates or origin documents depending on the destination market. If the destination requires particular documentation for customs clearance, raising it at quotation stage is far simpler than raising it after loading.

What a sensible first order looks like

A first order is a test of the partnership as much as the product. Plans that succeed tend to share the same shape.

• One or two styles, three or four colours. Enough to test the range, concentrated enough to hit a workable MOQ.
• Stock fabric. Removes the development timeline and lets you validate fit and finish first.
• Two sampling rounds, with a decision deadline on each. Sampling only works if approvals come back quickly.
• A realistic schedule. Three to four months from enquiry to delivery on a first order, planned backwards from the launch date.
• Inspection and documentation agreed up front. Both sides know what must be produced before production begins.

Do that, and the second order is a straightforward volume conversation rather than a repeat of the first.