Cost, MOQ and Wholesale Economics: A Buyer Reference
Cost is a structure, not a number. A unit price is meaningless until fabric, decoration, quantity and size run are fixed, and a factory figure is not the cost of the order once freight, duty and your own channel costs are added. This hub teaches the structure and gives you worked examples with clearly labelled illustrative figures – never a Fexwear price list.
What this hub covers
Buyers usually ask for a price first because it feels like the simplest question. In custom production it is the last question that can be answered reliably. A unit price is the output of a specification, not an input to it. Until the fabric, construction, decoration, quantity per colour and size run are fixed, two suppliers quoting a number are describing two different garments.
This hub separates the factory cost structure from the landed cost structure. It explains what moves a unit price, how minimums work at low volume, why freight and duty belong in the same worksheet, and how to calculate margin and break-even retail price. Every figure used in an example is illustrative and labelled as such. Fexwear does not publish a price list here and does not issue a quotation from an editorial page.
The companion calculators – the Budget Range Estimator and the Landed Cost and Margin Calculator – require you to enter your own numbers. Neither contains a Fexwear price, a freight rate or a duty table.
Read the four price levers first if you are still designing the garment. If you already have a quote, go to the landed cost section and put its numbers into the calculator.
What actually moves a unit price
Four levers dominate. Fabric consumption is the first: GSM, usable width, marker efficiency and the number of panels determine how many metres one garment uses. A heavier cloth costs more per metre and adds mass per garment. The second is make-up complexity: seam count, pockets, plackets, linings, trims and operations all add labour. A hoodie with a lined hood, a kangaroo pocket and rib trims is not a tee with a higher GSM.
The third lever is decoration: method, colour count, print area, placement complexity and setup. A six-colour screen print has six setups; a sublimated panel has a different cost shape entirely. The fourth is order size. Fixed costs – sampling, screens, films, digitising, lab dips, setup, inspection – are spread across the number of pieces. At forty pieces they dominate; at five hundred they almost disappear.
| Lever | What changes the number | Small-run effect |
|---|---|---|
| Fabric consumption | GSM, width, marker efficiency, panel count | A size spread raises cutting waste |
| Make-up complexity | Seams, trims, pockets, linings, operations | Labour is a larger share at low volume |
| Decoration | Method, colours, area, placement, setup | Fixed setup per colour hurts small runs |
| Order size | Pieces per style, colour and design | Fixed costs spread over few garments |
| Fabric minimum | Mill or stock-lot minimum in rolls or kilograms | Custom dyeing may be out of reach entirely |
A quote that excludes setup, samples, packaging and freight is not cheaper – it is incomplete. Compare the total landed cost of the same specification, not the headline unit price.
Minimums and the size run
A minimum is usually applied per style and per colour, sometimes per print design, not to the order as a whole. Sixty pieces in one colour is a different proposition from sixty split across three colours. Fabric adds another layer: a mill may require a minimum in kilograms or rolls that is far above what sixty garments consume, which is why small runs are usually built from available stock fabrics rather than custom knitting or dyeing.
The size run interacts with both. A wide spread across many sizes on a small total quantity produces very few pieces per size, reduces marker efficiency and can force a separate cutting plan. Adding sizes is rarely free. Work out the split before requesting a quote, and ask explicitly what the minimum is per colour, per style and per print.
| Minimum type | Usually expressed as | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Garment MOQ | Pieces per style or per order | Does it apply per colour too? |
| Colour minimum | Pieces per colourway | Can two colours share one fabric lot? |
| Print or design minimum | Pieces per artwork | Does a second logo create a new minimum? |
| Fabric minimum | Kilograms or rolls | Is this a stock fabric or a custom lot? |
| Top-up minimum | Pieces for a repeat small order | What does one replacement shirt cost? |
Reading a factory quotation
A useful quotation states what is included: fabric, trims, make-up, decoration, setup, samples, inspection, packaging and the delivery point. It states what is excluded just as clearly. It names the specification version it refers to, the quantity split, the lead time measured from a named approval, and the validity period. Without those, two quotes cannot be compared and a dispute has no reference document.
Watch for the boundary between ex-works, FOB and delivered pricing. A factory figure may stop at the factory gate or at a port, leaving freight, insurance, duty, import tax and last-mile delivery to the buyer. Those are not minor extras on a small air-freighted order. The Landed Cost and Margin Calculator keeps them as separate lines so nothing is silently absorbed.
| Quote line | Include | Common omission |
|---|---|---|
| Unit price | Fabric, trims, make-up, decoration as specified | Setup and packaging excluded |
| Sample and setup | Proto, pre-production, screens, films, digitising | Whether samples are credited against bulk |
| Delivery point | Ex-works, FOB, or delivered, named explicitly | No statement of who pays freight |
| Lead time | Measured from a named approval | Measured from order rather than artwork sign-off |
| Validity | Date and any price-adjustment condition | A price quoted before fabric is confirmed |
From factory price to landed cost
Landed cost is what one unit actually costs you when it is available to sell. Start with the factory invoice for the whole order, then add samples and setup, freight, insurance, customs clearance and port charges, duty, import tax, last-mile delivery and any platform or payment fees you choose to include. Divide by the number of sellable units, not the number ordered – a defect or sample allowance reduces that figure.
Consider a clearly illustrative example. If a buyer enters a factory figure, a freight amount, a duty rate and a defect allowance into the calculator, it will show a landed unit cost and a total cash outlay. None of those inputs is supplied by Fexwear. The point of the worksheet is that a lower factory price with higher freight or duty can produce a higher landed cost, and that the cash you must outlay is not the same as the unit cost.
| Cost line | Why it belongs | Who supplies the number |
|---|---|---|
| Factory goods value | The base invoice for the confirmed specification | Your supplier quotation |
| Samples and setup | Fixed costs that are real money | Your supplier |
| Freight and insurance | Varies by mode, weight and destination | Your forwarder or carrier |
| Duty and import tax | Depends on classification and destination | Your broker or adviser |
| Clearance and last mile | Port, broker and delivery charges | Your broker and carrier |
| Platform or channel cost | Commission, payment fees, returns | Your own sales channel |
If two units out of a hundred are unsellable, the landed cost is spread over ninety-eight, not a hundred. A defect allowance is a cost decision, not just a quality metric.
Margin, markup and break-even
Margin and markup are not the same number. Margin is profit as a share of the selling price; markup is profit as a share of cost. Confusing them produces a price that looks profitable and is not. Work from a target margin on the selling price, then solve for the price: selling price equals landed cost divided by one minus the target margin, before any channel commission you have not already included.
Break-even price is the price at which contribution after all variable costs is zero. Below it, every sale loses money. A useful worksheet shows three numbers side by side: landed unit cost, break-even selling price and the price required to hit your target margin. It also shows total cash outlay, because a profitable order that you cannot fund is still a problem for a small brand.
| Metric | What it answers | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Landed unit cost | What one sellable unit really costs | The floor for any pricing decision |
| Total cash outlay | How much money must be available before sales | Check it against your working capital |
| Break-even price | The price below which each sale loses money | A hard floor, not a target |
| Target-margin price | The price that delivers your chosen margin | The starting point for a retail price |
| Markup multiple | How many times cost the price represents | Useful for comparison, not a substitute for margin |
A worked structure, with illustrative numbers only
Suppose a buyer enters a hundred-piece order, a factory figure they obtained themselves, a freight amount from their forwarder, a duty rate from their broker and a two per cent defect allowance. The worksheet adds each line, divides by ninety-eight sellable units, and shows the landed unit cost, the cash outlay and the two price thresholds. Those inputs belong to the buyer; the page contains no price list and no tax table.
Now compare a second quotation with a lower factory figure but a heavier garment and air freight. Because consumption and freight both rise with weight, the landed cost can be higher even though the headline unit price is lower. This is the whole reason to keep the two calculators separate: one shows what moves the factory number, the other shows what the order actually costs.
This hub teaches the structure. Any number you see in an example is illustrative. A real quotation follows a confirmed specification, and real duty and freight figures come from your broker and carrier.
What we see in enquiries
First-hand observations from the desk
Four recurring costing mistakes, all of them visible before an order is placed.
A price requested before the fabric. A unit price is meaningless until fabric, construction, decoration, quantity and size run are fixed. We ask for the specification first rather than inventing a number.
Two quotes compared at the headline. One includes setup and delivery, the other stops at the factory gate. Comparing the unit figures rewards the incomplete quote. Compare total landed cost on one specification.
The colourway added after the quote. A second colour is added and the minimum changes, but nobody re-checks the price. Minimums are applied per colour, and the arithmetic has to be redone.
Cash outlay ignored. A buyer works out a healthy margin and then discovers the full order must be paid before any sales arrive. Margin and working capital are different constraints.
These are process observations rather than complaints about buyers. Someone specifying a first small run is being asked to make decisions that normally sit across several roles. The purpose of this hub is to put the questions in one place before a sample is made.
Checklist
Use this as the agenda for a specification or approval meeting. It is written for a small run; a full compliance programme will need more, and a destination market may impose requirements not listed here.
- Fix the specification and version number before asking for a price.
- State the quantity split by style, colour and size.
- Ask for the minimum per style, per colour and per print design.
- Confirm whether the fabric is stock and what its minimum is.
- List every inclusion and exclusion in the quotation.
- Record the delivery point and who pays freight and insurance.
- Add samples, setup, duty, tax, clearance and last-mile costs separately.
- Divide by sellable units after a defect or sample allowance.
- Work out total cash outlay as well as unit cost.
- Calculate break-even price and target-margin price separately.
- Check that margin is expressed on the selling price, not as markup on cost.
- Re-run the worksheet after any change to colourways, size run or specification.
Selected reading from the archive
This is a deliberately short, grouped selection rather than a dump of every link. The cluster currently contains 145 articles; the rest remain available through the Blog category, the Guides category and the site XML sitemap. Where an older article disagrees with this page, this page reflects current practice.
Unit cost and pricing
What moves a unit price and how to read a cost breakdown.
- 80% Cotton / 20% Polyester Embroidered Hoodies: The Wholesale Buyer’s Technical Blueprint for Profit, Performance Partnership
- Recycled Cotton/Recycled Polyester Blends Embroidered Sweatshirts: The Wholesale Buyer s Ultimate Technical Guide to Sustainable Performance Profitability
- 50% Polyester / 25% Cotton / 25% Rayon (Tri-blend) Embroidered Hoodies: The Wholesale Buyer’s Comprehensive Guide to Performance, Profit Sustainability
- 85% Organic cotton / 15% Recycled polyester Embroidered Sweatshirts: The Wholesale Buyer’s Unfiltered Guide to Profitable, Sustainable Performance
- 60% Recycled Cotton / 40% Recycled Polyester Embroidered Hoodies: The Wholesale Buyer’s Unfiltered Guide to Performance, Profit, and Planet
- 80% Cotton / 20% Polyester Embroidered Sweatshirts: The Wholesale Buyer s Definitive Technical Guide to Performance, Profit Partnership
- 65% Polyester / 25% Cotton / 10% Spandex Yoga Pants: The Wholesale Buyer s Uncompromising Technical Blueprint for Profitable Sourcing
- 50% Cotton / 50% Polyester Embroidered Sweatshirts: The Wholesale Buyer’s Ultimate Guide to Performance, Profit Partnership
- Recycled Cotton/Recycled Polyester Blends Training Pants: The Wholesale Buyer’s Technical Blueprint for Performance, Profit Planetary Responsibility
MOQ and minimums
Minimum order quantities, small runs and size-run arithmetic.
- The Wholesale Yoga Pants Buyer’s Guide: MOQs, Eco-Fabrics, and the Supplier Comparison Nobody Else Publishes
- The Unvarnished Truth About 50% Cotton / 50% Polyester Gym Wear: What Wholesalers, Buyers Boutique Owners MUST Know Before Placing That Bulk Order
- Wholesale Basketball Uniforms Buyer s Guide: Real Costs, MOQs, and a 10-Point Supplier Checklist
- Men s Clothing Manufacturers: A Startup Roadmap With Real MOQs, Pricing, and Ethics Data
- The Boutique Owner’s Guide to Choosing Wholesale Yoga Apparel: Beyond MOQ Price
- Bulk Workout Shirts: Wholesale vs. Retail Packs for Teams and Solo Athletes
- Bulk Tracksuits Buyer s Guide 2024: Source Smart, Avoid Pitfalls, and Protect Your Margin
Freight, duty and landed cost
Freight, insurance, duty, import tax and last-mile considerations.
Wholesale and business planning
Wholesale economics, investment and buyer guides.
- Launch Your Yoga Apparel Brand: Yoga Outfits Wholesale Suppliers Compared Gaiam Alternatives
- 85% Organic Cotton / 15% Recycled Polyester Heavyweight Fleece Embroidered Sweatshirts: The Wholesale Buyer’s Deep Dive Guide to Premium, Sustainable Performance
- Organic Cotton/Recycled Polyester Blends Embroidered Hoodies: The Wholesale Buyer’s Definitive Technical Guide to Sustainable Performance
- 80% Polyester / 20% Spandex (for fitted shorts) Athletic Shorts: The Wholesaler’s Technical Blueprint for Performance, Profit Production
- 58% Polyester / 32% Cotton / 10% Spandex Training Pants: The Wholesale Buyer s Deep-Dive Guide to Performance, Profit Perfect Fit
- 55% Nylon / 35% Polyester / 10% Spandex Leggings: The Wholesale Supplier’s Blueprint for High-Performance, High-Profit Activewear
- 80% Polyester / 20% Cotton Performance T-shirt: The Wholesale Buyer’s Deep Dive Guide for Profitable, High-Performing Inventory
- Why 50% Cotton / 50% Polyester Embroidered Hoodies Dominate Wholesale Markets: The Ultimate Sourcing Guide for Savvy Buyers
- Tri-blend (50% poly / 25% cotton / 25% rayon) Gym Wear: The Wholesaler’s Blueprint for Performance, Profit Partnership
Limits and sources
Where this guide stops
Figures are indicative. Numeric ranges on this page describe families of products or processes. A supplier specification, a physical sample and a test on the exact item always outrank them. Do not copy a range into a tech pack as an acceptance criterion.
Standards are references, not certifications. ISO, AATCC, ASTM and OEKO-TEX appear as method families or documents to request from a supplier or test house. This page does not claim that Fexwear holds any certification and does not report a test result for your garment.
This is not a quotation. No Fexwear prices, minimums or lead times appear here. A price depends on a confirmed fabric, decoration, quantity and size run.
It is not compliance advice. Labelling, chemical restrictions, import classification and claims vary by destination and change over time. Check them with a qualified broker, test house or adviser for your market.
No live data. Real-time freight rates, exchange rates, duty tables and stock availability are not published here. They change faster than an editorial page can be responsibly updated.
<b>No tax, customs or legal advice.</b> Duty rates, import tax, HS classification and labelling rules vary by destination and change over time. Use figures from a qualified broker or adviser.
<b>All example numbers are illustrative.</b> No Fexwear price, freight rate, duty rate or margin benchmark appears on this page. Enter your own figures in the calculators.
Sources and corrections. Costing breakdowns from small-run enquiries, quotation comparison records and the structure of the two free browser-only calculators. Reader corrections go to the editorial desk and are recorded in the changelog.
Frequently asked questions
Why will Fexwear not publish a price list here?
Because a unit price is not meaningful until fabric, construction, decoration, quantity and size run are fixed. Publishing a number earlier would be wrong or would describe a different garment. The calculators accept your own figures.
What is the difference between margin and markup?
Margin is profit as a share of the selling price; markup is profit as a share of cost. A 30 per cent markup is not a 30 per cent margin. Decide which one you mean before setting a retail price.
Why did a cheaper factory quote end up costing more?
Often because the cheaper quote excluded setup, samples or delivery, or because a heavier fabric raised freight. Compare total landed cost on an identical specification, not the headline unit price.
How does a size run affect cost?
A wide size spread on a small total quantity reduces marker efficiency and can require a separate cutting plan. Minimums may also apply per colour. Work out the split before requesting a quote.
Should duty and import tax be in the unit cost?
Yes, for any pricing decision. They are part of what a sellable unit costs you. The exact rate depends on classification and destination, so use figures from your broker rather than a general table.
What is a break-even price?
The selling price at which contribution after all variable costs is zero. It is a hard floor, not a target. The price that delivers your chosen margin is higher and should be calculated separately.