Custom Bag Manufacturing Cost & MOQ
Custom bag pricing is driven by five things: material, embroidery density, hardware, order quantity and packaging. Our MOQ is 50 pieces per design, the sample fee is refunded in full at 200 pieces, and a quotation is returned within 24 hours of receiving your tech pack. Below is exactly how the tiers differ and what a quotation does and does not include.
What drives your unit price
- Material — 12oz vs 18oz canvas, combed cotton vs linen, natural rattan vs carbonised bamboo. Weight and grade move cost more than anything else.
- Embroidery density & coverage — a small monogram costs far less than full-panel Suzani. Stitch count is the single biggest variable on embroidered styles.
- Hardware — solid brass and custom die-cast moulds carry tooling and material premiums; standard antique-bronze fittings do not.
- Quantity and packaging — unit cost falls as setup costs spread and retail packaging (boxes, dust bags, hangtags) is priced per unit.
Quantity tiers
| Tier | Minimum | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Trial run | 50 pcs | Sample fee charged, highest unit cost |
| First production | 200 pcs | Sample fee refunded 100%, unit cost drops |
| Core order | 500 pcs | Substantially lower unit cost, priority production slot |
| Programme | 1,000+ pcs | Best unit cost, dedicated line planning, seasonal capacity hold |
What a quotation includes — and what it does not
How to read an embroidery bag quotation
A tiered quotation is not a discount ladder, it is a fixed-cost recovery curve. The first tier carries pattern grading, embroidery digitising, sample approval and label tooling; later tiers carry material, labour, inspection and freight, which scale linearly. If tier three looks dramatically cheaper than tier one, the difference is almost entirely setup, not margin.
When you compare two factories, compare them at the same tier and the same specification. A quote that looks 15% cheaper usually differs in interlining weight, thread count, zipper brand or inspection level, and those are exactly the four things a shopper notices in the first month of use.
Ask for the tier table as a spreadsheet rather than a paragraph. Seeing cost per unit plotted against quantity makes it obvious where setup stops dominating and material starts to, which is usually the quantity where a seasonal buy becomes cheaper than three small runs.
Quick Answers: MOQ, Sampling & Lead Times
Short, self-contained answers to the questions buyers ask most about this programme.
- What drives the unit price most?
- Embroidery density, then hardware. Stitch count drives machine and artisan hours more than fabric does, and a solid brass slider or a leather patch can add more to the cost than the canvas itself. Material weight matters, but less than most buyers assume.
- Is a firm price guaranteed for a re-order?
- We hold the tier price while the specification is unchanged, and we tell you before the order if a raw material has moved. What does invalidate a price is a specification change: a heavier canvas, more stitches or a different zipper is a new quotation, not a re-order.
- What is excluded from the quotation?
- Import duty, destination port charges and any third-party testing your market requires are excluded, because we cannot know your tariff code treatment. Freight is quoted separately as FOB or EXW. Everything else — labels, polybags, cartons, inspection and carton marks — is inside the unit price.
Production & Customization FAQ
What is the minimum order quantity?
50 pieces per design. Colours can be mixed within that 50, but each different silhouette needs its own 50-piece minimum because it requires a separate pattern and embroidery setup.
How much does a sample cost?
The sample fee is quoted per style because it depends on embroidery density and hardware tooling. It is refunded in full once that style reaches 200 pieces in production.
Do you publish fixed unit prices?
No, and any factory that does is quoting a specific specification. A 12oz plain tote and an 18oz mixed-media bag differ several-fold. Send your spec and we return a real number within 24 hours.