MOQ Per Colour Vs Total Order: Calculate What You Actually Have To Buy
Check whether supplier MOQ applies per colour, size or total order. Compare variant quantities, carton multiples and cash requirements with worked examples.
A supplier's minimum can apply to the whole order, an individual colour, a size or a combination of variants. Ask the supplier to approve your exact quantity breakdown. The headline MOQ alone cannot tell you how much inventory your planned range requires.
This guide focuses on calculating a workable variant mix. For negotiating the minimum itself, read how to reduce your first order quantity. The two decisions are connected, but they are not identical: a supplier can accept a low total while still rejecting your chosen colour split.
Identify Every Minimum That Applies
Shopify's MOQ guide explains that minimums can involve quantity, value, pack multiples or individual colours and sizes. For your quotation, separate these constraints rather than assuming one replaces the others.
| Condition | Question for the supplier | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| Total order | What is the minimum across this purchase order? | Units or currency value |
| Colour | Must each colour meet its own quantity? | Minimum for every selected colour |
| Size or configuration | Can sizes mix within a colour minimum? | Permitted mix and any separate minimum |
| Packing | Are quantities constrained by carton or inner-pack multiples? | Units per pack and mixing permission |
| Customisation | Does printing or packaging introduce another minimum? | Logo, print run and packaging quantities |
Worked Example: A 180-Unit Test Becomes 240
Suppose you want 180 tote bags: 100 blue, 50 terracotta and 30 mustard. A hypothetical supplier quotes $4.20 each, a 180-unit total minimum, an 80-unit minimum per colour and carton multiples of 20 within each colour. Your proposed order meets the total minimum, but two colours fail their individual minimums.
| Colour | Planned | Meets 80 minimum? | Smallest valid quantity at or above plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | 100 | Yes | 100 |
| Terracotta | 50 | No | 80 |
| Mustard | 30 | No | 80 |
| Total | 180 | Two variants fail | 260 |
Keeping your original minimum of 100 blue requires 260 bags and $1,092 in product cost. If you are willing to reduce blue to 80, an even 80/80/80 mix requires 240 bags and $1,008. Your original product budget was 180 × $4.20 = $756. The revised 240-unit mix ties up another $252, before freight, inspections or taxes.
An alternative 100-blue/80-terracotta order totals 180 and still costs $756 at the assumed price, but removes mustard from the test. Confirm the supplier keeps the same price for that mix. These figures are invented to explain the decision; they are not supplier offers or evidence of demand for any colour.
Pack Multiples Need Their Own Calculation
If your desired quantity is 90, the minimum is 80 and the pack multiple is 20, the smallest valid quantity at or above your plan is 100. Under those assumptions:
Required variant quantity = round up [max(planned units, variant minimum) ÷ pack multiple] × pack multiple.
Then add all variant quantities and check the total-order condition. If the total is still too low, allocate additional units in valid packs. This simple formula assumes the pack rule applies independently to each variant. It does not apply unchanged when mixed cartons are allowed or a supplier requires a fixed size ratio.
For apparel, request a colour-by-size table. “80 per colour, sizes can mix” is different from “80 per colour per size.” Do not multiply every dimension automatically; ask which combinations actually carry a minimum.
Choose The Mix That Tests Your Business Question
If you want to test whether shoppers buy the product at all, fewer variants may preserve cash for freight and selling costs. If the commercial question is which colour sells, removing all but one colour changes the test. Write down the question before choosing a quantity mix.
Also check whether the supplier can repeat that mix. Existing material stock might support a small first order without supporting a later reorder on identical terms. Record whether the quote applies to stock colours, a one-off production slot or a continuing arrangement. Use the quotation comparison guide to keep quantity assumptions consistent across suppliers.
Send This Quantity Clarification
Please quote the attached colour/size breakdown. Confirm the minimum per total order, per colour and per size, carton multiples and whether mixed cartons are allowed. State any separate logo or packaging minimum. Please return the smallest acceptable revised mix and its total product cost if our proposed mix is not feasible.
请按所附颜色及尺码数量表报价，并确认整单、每色及每个尺码的起订量、装箱数量倍数，以及是否允许混色或混码装箱。如印标或定制包装另有起订量，请单独列明。如我方数量组合不可行，请提供最接近的可接受数量组合及产品总价。
Download the blank variant-planning CSV. Enter the supplier's actual conditions; the worksheet does not assume defaults.
Common Questions
Does a lower MOQ always mean a cheaper test?
No. A smaller run can have a higher unit price or separate setup costs. Compare the complete cash requirement, not the MOQ number alone.
Can I combine different products to meet one minimum?
Only when the supplier explicitly agrees. One product's minimum may reflect a production constraint that another product cannot satisfy.
What if the listing and quotation disagree?
Resolve the difference and record the final variant mix in the order before paying. For a stock alternative, see Ready to Ship versus customised orders.
Need help clarifying quantity rules with a Chinese supplier? Send your variant plan through China Sourcing & Procurement.