Sourcing · 6 min read
What MOQ really means when you order leather bags
Most first-time buyers read “150 pcs” as a target. It isn't. It's the point at which the maths of cutting, setting up and buying leather stops losing money.
Where the number comes from
A bag is cut from a hide, and a hide is not uniform. Some panels need the clean centre; others can use the belly. To keep grain and colour consistent across a production run, we cut a batch together. At 150 pieces we can lay out the pattern across enough hides to use the good areas and still keep every bag matched.
Below that, two things happen: the leather buy becomes inefficient, and the setup — pattern, cutting die, hardware order, line changeover — gets spread over too few units. That is why the price per piece rises sharply under 150.
The colour minimum is separate
Our standard terms are 150 pcs per style, 30 pcs per colour. You can split those 150 across colours, but each colour needs at least 30 pieces. The reason is the same: a colour change means a new cutting batch and a new hardware batch.
If a colour is a core line you'll repeat, 30 is usually comfortable. If you're testing a seasonal colour, 30 is the smallest sensible bet.
What “mixed colours” does and doesn't cover
Mixed colours within one style are fine. Mixed styles within one order are not the same thing — each style has its own pattern, hardware and sample, so each style carries its own 150-piece minimum.
How to plan a first order
Pick one style, two or three colours, and put 50–70% of the volume into the colour you expect to sell through. Keep the rest for the colour you're less sure about. If the style works, the reorder is where your margin comes from — and reorders don't need a new sample.
Sampling is 15 days with three rounds of revision. The sampling fee is quoted per style and credited against the bulk order, so the sample is effectively free once you produce.
What to ask before you commit
Ask for the leather card, the hardware options, and a written lead time. Ours is agreed per order — typically 30–45 days — FOB Guangzhou, 30% deposit and 70% before shipment, with a 365-day warranty against manufacturing defects.