Guide · Studio
By Better Swag · Updated September 8, 2026 · 6 min read
Decorating a premium existing product has no minimum with us. Making a product from scratch does: cut-and-sew apparel usually starts at 100 to 200 units, bespoke drinkware and hard goods around 400 to 500. Minimums come from fabric rolls, dye lots, and molds, and there are honest ways to get under them.
A factory buys fabric by the roll, mixes dye by the lot, and cuts a mold once per shape. Those costs do not change whether you order 60 units or 600, so the factory sets a floor where its math works. The floor is the minimum order quantity. It is not a negotiating tactic; it is the price of making something that did not exist before.
The vendors who tell you there is no minimum for custom merch are decorating a blank. That is a fine product, and we sell a lot of it. It is just not custom manufacturing.
| What you are making | Typical minimum | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Premium existing product, decorated (catalog) | None. Ship one at a time. | The product exists; we print or embroider it on demand. |
| Premium blank, domestic print run | Small runs are fine | Screen printing and embroidery set up per design, not per roll. |
| Cut-and-sew apparel from scratch (hoodies, jackets, knitwear) | About 100 to 200 units | Fabric by the roll, dye by the lot, pattern and sample per style. |
| Bespoke drinkware and hard goods | About 400 to 500 units | A mold or tooling is made for your shape. |
| Plush, bags, packaging | Varies by construction | Depends on how many custom components the piece has. |
Our factory network, as of 2026. Every project is quoted; these are the floors we see most often.
A Burger King jacket for the VMAs is the example we use. It was cut and sewn to their spec, printed to match a specific pink, and made in about three weeks at a quantity most vendors would have turned down. It took planning and a few creative choices, not a bigger order.
It depends on how custom. Decorating an existing product has no minimum with us. Cut-and-sew apparel made from scratch usually starts at 100 to 200 units. Bespoke drinkware and hard goods start around 400 to 500 because of tooling.
Fabric is bought by the roll, dye lots are mixed per color, and molds are cut per shape. Those costs are the same for 50 units or 500, so the factory sets a floor where the math works.
Often. Fewer colorways, shared components across styles, or a domestic print run on a premium blank all bring the floor down. Bring us the goal and the number and we will tell you what is realistic.
Sampling takes about three weeks. You approve the physical sample, then production and freight are scheduled and we give you the in-hands date before you sign off.
Have a product in mind and a number that feels too small? Tell us both. The first step takes five minutes.
Start a ProjectBring a goal and a quantity. We tell you the real floor, then pitch concepts until one is worth making.