MOQ, sampling and lead time: honest answers for first-time private-label brands
Written by the Satyam Exports merchandising team, Noida
Every week we speak to a founder launching their first label — in Bengaluru, Berlin or Bristol — who has three questions. Here are our straight answers.
Why is the MOQ 300 pieces?
Because fabric has a minimum. A dye lot is 300–500 metres; a print run is similar. At 1.6 metres per dress, that is roughly 300 pieces before the fabric itself is even efficient. Below that, you are paying for metres you never use. We do offer three ways in:
- Ready designs: buy 50–100 pieces of a style we already run, in our stock fabrics and prints.
- Shared fabric: pick from fabrics we hold for several buyers (organic jersey in 12 colours, chambray, poplin) and the MOQ drops to about 150.
- Mixed sizes and colours: the 300 is per style, not per colour — 3 colourways × 5 sizes is fine.
What does a sample cost, and why?
A proto sample costs ₹1,500–₹3,500 depending on the style, plus courier (₹2,000–₹4,000 to Europe). That covers pattern making, a metre or two of fabric, a sample tailor’s day and a fit check. It is charged at cost and adjusted against your bulk order. We do not do free samples for new buyers — factories that do are pricing them into your bulk order anyway.
How long does everything take?
| Stage | Typical time |
|---|---|
| Costing after tech pack | 48 hours |
| Proto sample | 7–10 working days |
| Fit revision | 5–7 days per round |
| Fabric booking to arrival | 2–4 weeks (longer for GOTS or custom prints) |
| Bulk stitching, finishing, packing | 3–4 weeks |
| Sea freight to Europe | 4 weeks |
Add it up: about 14 weeks from first email to European warehouse for a new style, 8–9 weeks for a repeat. Air freight cuts the last leg to a week at roughly ₹85–₹120 per garment.
The calendar nobody warns you about
- Diwali (October/November): factories across North India slow for 7–10 days. Book August production for October delivery.
- Monsoon (July–September): hand-block printing and natural dyeing slow because fabric will not dry. Screen and digital print are unaffected.
- European August: your approvals stop. Get fit comments signed off in July.
- Chinese New Year: irrelevant to us — a reason several buyers moved programmes to India.
Payment terms for a first order
30% with the purchase order, 70% against shipping documents; or an LC at sight for larger orders. For domestic Indian brands, 50% advance and 50% before dispatch. We invoice in INR or USD.
One honest warning
Your first order will not be your cheapest. Sampling, block development and lab dips are front-loaded costs that disappear on the repeat. Plan for two seasons with a factory, not one — that is where the margin lives, for both of us.
Ready to brief us?
Send your tech pack, a sketch or even a photo of a garment you love through the enquiry form — or WhatsApp it to our merchandising desk in Noida. You will have a line-by-line costing within 48 hours and a first sample in 7–10 working days.
