Minimum order quantities, explained.
A minimum is the smallest run a supplier will set up for. Much of the industry starts at 24, 48 or 50 pieces, and ours is 15 because the production is our own. This guide explains why the number exists and why it lands where it does, then shows what 15 pieces buys a six-person booth team.
If you've been told that 50 is the floor for a team of six, this page is the explanation you didn't get. A minimum comes from a real cost, and that cost depends on who runs the machines.
Why minimums exist
Every decorated garment carries two kinds of work. One is the garment itself, which scales with the count, and the other is the setup for the design, which doesn't.
- Embroidery starts with digitizing, where a designer turns the logo into stitch instructions, thickens thin lines and sets lettering to at least 5 mm. That happens once per design, whether the run is 15 pieces or 500.
- Screen printing needs a screen made for every ink color, then registered on the press so the colors line up. A two-color design means two screens, and that's the same work for a dozen tees as for a thousand.
- DTF print has the lightest setup, but a run still means pulling garments by size, setting the press and checking the first piece before the rest follow.
- The run itself is efficient only once it's going. Changing thread colors, swapping screens and loading a new garment size all take longer than decorating the next piece in a batch.
A supplier spreads that fixed work across the pieces in the order. Under some count the setup costs more than the garments are worth, and that count is the minimum. That much is fair, and what differs from one supplier to the next is who sets the count.
Where 24, 48 and 50 come from
Most companies selling custom apparel don't decorate it. They take the order, buy blank garments, and send them to a contract decorator who runs the embroidery or the press. The contractor has its own floor, often a dozen or two per design because that's how the trade counts. Then the reseller adds a margin of safety on top, so the number you hear is 24, 48 or 50.
None of that is dishonest, and it follows from a business that doesn't own the machines. It does mean the minimum you're quoted was set by someone you'll never talk to, for reasons that have nothing to do with your team.
Why our minimum is 15
We run our own production, and the digitizing, the screens and the presses are ours. The floor sits where a run is worth setting up for us, which is 15 pieces, and no contractor's dozen with a margin is built into it.
It's also the number that fits the teams we're built for. A booth staff is four to ten people, a leadership offsite is a dozen and a field crew is eight. Those teams have been told 50 for years and have either overbought or gone without, and a 15-piece floor ends that.
You can order from 15 pieces, and if you need fewer, tell us what you have in mind.
What do 15 pieces buy a six-person booth team?
Take six people working a two-day show. One top per person per show day comes to 12, and three spares bring the order to 15. Our booth apparel guide argues for two tops a day, because halls are cold at 8 a.m. and warm by 2 p.m. On that count the same team needs 24 tops before spares.
| Line | Count | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Six people × one top × two days | 12 | One fresh top per show day, per person. |
| Spares in M, L and XL | 3 | The coffee spill, the late addition, the exec who decides to work the booth. |
| Total | 15 | One order and one design, with nobody buying 50 to get 15. |
At list, 15 piqué polos with one DTF print are $20.18 each, or $302.70 with the design included, and fifteen printed tees at $17.02 come to $255.30. If you'd rather embroider the polos, we'll price that in one business day. At 15 pieces the shipping cost is on the quote. The polo runs true, and anyone between sizes should size down. Every product price is on the pricing page, and the booth-team version of this math, with a layer and a cap added, is on booth teams.
How to ask for fewer than 15
Send the headcount and the pieces you want. "Ten people, polos and caps, for a show in November" is a complete brief, and it gets a straight answer within one business day. Asking costs a ten-person team less than buying 15 of something it doesn't need to reach a number.
A small request is easier to say yes to when it's one garment rather than four, one design rather than a set of variants, and sizes that cluster. The design is included either way, and you can still order a paid sample set before the run, which takes about two weeks. The small orders page covers what a first order under 15 can look like.
Reorders and the second order
Once a design exists, we hold the artwork and your size list from one order to the next, and the setup that justified the first minimum has already been done. To reorder, tell us the number and approve it. Production takes three weeks from that approval, and shipping within the US takes two more.
Because every later order picks from what's on file, the first order is worth planning as a collection rather than a single tee. A polo, a tee and a cap designed together in the Design Studio give a small team a wardrobe to reorder from.
Related reading.
- Trade Show Booth Apparel: Timeline and Quantities
- How Long Custom Corporate Apparel Takes
- Corporate Apparel Pricing Guide
Questions we get.
What is a minimum order quantity for custom apparel?
It's the smallest number of pieces a supplier will decorate as one order. It exists because every design carries setup work that costs the same whether it's spread across 15 pieces or 500, and below the minimum that setup outweighs the garments.
Why do most suppliers start at 24, 48 or 50 pieces?
Because most don't decorate in-house. They buy the run from a contractor who prices in dozens or round numbers, then add their own floor on top. The number you're quoted is the contractor's minimum with a margin around it.
What is AffirmGear's minimum?
From 15 pieces. We run our own production, so we set the floor where a run is worth setting up for us rather than inheriting someone else's dozen. If you need fewer than 15, tell us what you have in mind.
Can I order fewer than 15?
Tell us what you have in mind and we'll say whether we can do it. Send the headcount and the pieces you want, and you'll hear what works within one business day. Smaller runs are decided case by case, and asking costs nothing next to buying 50 shirts for six people.