Plan a bespoke luxury bag programme around three fixed numbers: sampling takes 6-10 working days (12-15 for complex constructions) and is charged per sample round; the minimum order quantity is 500 pieces per style and colourway, with structured small-batch pilots available below that; and bulk production runs 35-50 days after sample approval, shipped FOB Xiamen against T/T terms of 30% deposit and 70% before shipment. Everything else on this page — sample cost, unit price, cash-flow timing, inspection gates — follows from how those three numbers are handled. Brands that treat sampling as a formality pay for it twice, once in revision rounds and again in bulk defects. Brands that treat it as the specification stage pay once.
Programme parameters at a glance
| Parameter | Commitment |
|---|---|
| Minimum order quantity | 500 pieces per style / colourway |
| Sampling lead time | 6–10 working days (12–15 days for complex constructions) |
| Bulk production lead time | 35–50 days after sample approval |
| Inspection standard | AQL 2.5 (ISO 2859-1), single sampling, general level II |
| Incoterms | FOB Xiamen — EXW, CIF and DDP available on request |
| Payment terms | T/T 30% deposit / 70% before shipment; L/C at sight for container loads |
| Verified production floor space | 4,950 m² (SGS-verified) |
| Team | 137 staff across 7 production lines |
| Equipment | 149 machines including computerised saddle-stitch and edge-painting units |
| Monthly capacity | 200,000 pieces |
| Entity | Founded 2014; principal has worked in bag development since 2004 |
The figures on this page come from one operating model rather than from averages across the trade. Development and production run on our SGS-verified production floor in Quanzhou, Fujian — 4,950 m², 137 staff, 7 lines, 149 machines, 200,000 pieces per month — with a single programme coordinator accountable from first sketch to final carton. The entity was founded in 2014 and its principal has been in the trade since 2004, which matters here mainly because most of the sequencing below was learned by getting the order of operations wrong first.
A note on how to read the numbers. Durations are working days, not calendar days, and they assume the buyer's decisions arrive when they are promised. Costs are described as structures and relationships rather than as price lists, because a sampling fee for a framed structured tote with a custom lock and a sampling fee for a soft zip pouch have almost nothing in common. Where a figure is given as a range, the low end assumes a complete tech pack and stock hardware; the high end assumes custom tooling, complex construction and at least one revision round.
What MOQ, Sampling and Lead Time Really Mean
MOQ, sampling and lead time are not three separate commercial terms that happen to appear on the same quotation. They are one system. Sampling fixes the specification, the specification fixes the bill of materials, the bill of materials fixes the quantity at which each component can be bought economically, and that quantity fixes both the unit price and the number of days the line must run. Move any one of them and the other two move with it — which is why a buyer who negotiates the MOQ down without touching the specification is usually surprised by the price that comes back, and a buyer who compresses sampling usually finds the time again inside bulk production.
Two of those definitions cause most of the confusion in buyer conversations. The first is MOQ, which buyers read as a negotiating position when it is closer to an accounting result. The second is lead time, which buyers read as a promise about a finish date when it is really a statement about what has to be true before the clock starts. A 35-50 day bulk window does not begin when you send the deposit; it begins when the deposit has cleared, the PPC is sealed, and the leather is physically in the building.
Establish four numbers before requesting any quotation. Without them, every price you receive is a guess dressed as a proposal, and every subsequent conversation becomes a renegotiation.
- Quantity per style and per colourway, not the collection total. Twenty styles at 125 pieces and five styles at 500 pieces are the same volume on a spreadsheet and completely different programmes on a floor.
- The number of sample rounds you can fund, and the calendar you can absorb if one fails. Most first programmes need a proto, one revision and a PPC.
- The date goods must be on the water, working backwards through inspection, packing, production and material intake — not the date you would like them in the warehouse.
- A unit price ceiling stated at FOB Xiamen, so that freight, insurance and duty do not distort the comparison between two quotations.
Sampling Stages: Proto, PPC, Top of Production
Sampling is usually described as one step with one price. In practice it is a sequence of gates, each answering a different question, each carrying a different cost, and each with a different consequence if it is skipped. The pattern is consistent across categories: a proto answers whether the design works, a pre-production sample answers whether the design can be made repeatedly, and a top-of-production sample answers whether the line is currently making it correctly.
| Sample stage | Question it answers | Built with | Typical duration | Commercial status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proto / development sample | Does the pattern produce the intended shape, proportions and construction? | Available or substitute materials, provisional hardware | 6-10 working days from a complete tech pack | Charged as a sampling fee; usually revised at least once |
| Material and hardware confirmation | Are the specified leather, lining, thread and hardware actually available, and do they behave together? | Bulk-intended materials and finishes | 3-7 days, run in parallel with the proto | Normally bundled into the sampling fee |
| PPC / pre-production sample | Will the approved design, in bulk materials, survive the line? | Bulk materials, bulk hardware, bulk tooling | 5-8 days after proto sign-off and material availability | Charged; becomes the sealed reference for bulk and inspection |
| Sales / press sample | Does the finished piece photograph and sell as intended? | Final production specification | 2-4 days from the same build as the PPC | Charged per unit; usually ordered in multiples for showrooms and press |
| Top of production (TOP) | Is the running line producing units that match the sealed PPC? | Actual bulk line, at production speed | Pulled on day 1-2 of bulk assembly | Included in bulk; no separate fee |
| Shipment and retention samples | What was actually shipped, and what will future reorders be matched against? | Final bulk lot | Held from the inspected lot | Included; retained for reorder reference and dispute resolution |
The gate that gets skipped most often is the PPC. A buyer approves a proto that was built in substitute materials, then expects bulk to look like it, and discovers that the bulk leather behaves differently under the needle, or that the specified zip is 3 mm shorter than the provisional one and the pattern no longer closes cleanly. The proto is a drawing you can hold. It is not a production reference.
The TOP sample is the cheapest insurance in the whole programme and the one most often waived for schedule reasons. It is pulled early from the running line precisely because the first units of a run are where setup errors appear: wrong thread, wrong stitch density, a hardware setting that has drifted, an edge finish applied too thinly. Finding that on day two costs a rework instruction. Finding it at inspection costs the schedule. Finding it after the goods land costs the relationship.
Sales and press samples deserve a separate decision. They are usually ordered from the same build as the PPC because that is the only build made to final specification, and ordering them later means either a fourth round or units pulled from bulk that you would rather have shipped. Decide the quantity you need for showrooms, press and e-commerce photography before the PPC build, not after.
What Sampling Costs and Why
A sample costs several multiples of the bulk unit price, and buyers whose experience is in finished-goods purchasing find this genuinely surprising. The reason is arithmetic rather than policy: a bulk price amortises pattern making, setup, tooling and material buy-in across 500 units, while a sample amortises the same fixed costs across one. There is no version of this in which a single hand-built unit approaches a bulk unit cost, and a supplier who quotes a sample at close to bulk price has simply moved the cost elsewhere in the relationship.
| Cost component | What it covers | Effect on the sampling fee |
|---|---|---|
| Pattern making and digitising | Translating drawings into panels, drafting the cutting pattern, grading where sizes apply | Fixed, charged once per style; often the largest single line on a first proto |
| Material procurement | Leather, lining, interlining, thread and packing bought at supplier minimums | Charged at buy-in cost, not at the amortised bulk rate — one hide costs far more per bag than one five-hundredth of a hide order |
| Hardware and tooling | Zips, locks, feet, magnetic closures, logo plates, and any custom die or mould | Stock fittings are inexpensive; a custom mould carries a one-off tooling charge independent of quantity |
| Skilled labour | A senior technician building one unit start to finish rather than a line performing one operation each | Two to five times the labour cost of a bulk unit, rising with construction complexity |
| Finishing and edge work | Edge painting, creasing, burnishing, hardware setting and final cleaning done to final standard | Charged in full; there is no volume to spread it across |
| Freight, duty and handling | Express courier from Quanzhou plus any duty on the declared sample value | Variable by destination; budget a fixed allowance per round rather than discovering it per shipment |
| Revision rounds | Each additional proto or PPC rebuild repeating labour and sometimes material | The most controllable cost in the programme, and the one most often wasted |
Two structural points follow from that table. First, the fee is dominated by fixed costs, which means the second sample of the same style is materially cheaper than the first and the third is cheaper still — the pattern already exists. Second, the fee is dominated by decisions the buyer makes, not by decisions the production team makes. A complete tech pack, a locked hardware schedule and a consolidated revision mark-up will reduce a sampling invoice more effectively than any negotiation about the fee itself.
Five habits contain sampling cost more reliably than anything else:
- Arrive with a complete tech pack. Every hour a technician spends inferring a dimension is billed, and every inference is a potential revision.
- Decide hardware before the first build. Changing a zip after the proto changes the pattern; changing a lock changes the reinforcement.
- Consolidate revisions. One mark-up with all changes beats three sequential mark-ups, each triggering a rebuild.
- Order sales samples from the PPC build, not as a separate round costing a separate fee.
- Ask in writing whether the sampling fee is credited against the first bulk order, and on what conditions — volume, timing, or both.
It is also worth being explicit about what a sample fee is not. It is not a deposit, it is not a tooling charge, and it does not automatically transfer if the design changes substantially after approval. Where a buyer wants a substantially different construction after the proto, the honest answer is that it is a second style with a second pattern, and treating it as a revision of the first is how programmes fall behind without anyone having made a wrong decision.
MOQ Explained: Why 500 Pieces Is the Standard Floor
An MOQ is not a negotiating position, however often it is treated as one. It is the quantity at which the fixed costs of making one style in one colourway stop dominating the unit price. Below that quantity the price does not fall gently; it rises steeply, because fixed costs are being divided by a smaller number while material is being bought at a worse rate. Understanding which costs are fixed is the whole of MOQ literacy.
| Cost driver | Why it sets a floor | At 100 pieces | At 500 pieces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Material buy-in minimums | Tanneries and mills sell by hide, roll and dye lot rather than by the bag | Per-unit material cost can run two to three times the bulk rate, and offcuts are pure waste | A full purchase is consumed by the order and priced at the volume rate |
| Line changeover and setup | A line must be re-set, re-threaded and re-tooled for every style | Setup is amortised over a few hours of running; operators never reach rhythm | Setup becomes a small fraction of a multi-day run |
| Hardware minimums | Zip and hardware suppliers impose their own MOQs, frequently 500-1,000 units per finish | Buying 1,000 fittings for 100 bags leaves dead stock priced into the job | Hardware is consumed by the run or deliberately carried into the next |
| Colourway and dye lot | Each colourway is a separate dye batch with its own minimum | Every colourway carries a full surcharge for the same bag | Dye-lot cost is spread and shade consistency is achievable within one batch |
| Operator learning curve | Operators need repetition to hold stitch density and edge standard consistently | Most of the lot is built while the line is still learning; defect rate rises | Steady-state output dominates and first-day units are a small share of the lot |
| Inspection and AQL cost | ISO 2859-1 sampling cost is largely fixed per lot regardless of size | Fixed inspection cost divided by 100 units | The same cost divided by 500 units |
The arithmetic is worth stating plainly. If setup, pattern making, tooling amortisation and inspection together represent a fixed block, then quoting 100 pieces means dividing that block by 100 instead of by 500, and the unit price rises accordingly — often by a percentage that startles buyers who expected a volume discount to work in the other direction. Meanwhile the material rate has moved against them for the same reason. Two effects compound, and the buyer concludes that the supplier is uninterested in small orders when in fact the supplier is quoting the actual cost.
One clarification that prevents a recurring dispute: MOQ is stated per style per colourway, not per order and not per collection. A tote in black, tan and ivory is three colourways and carries three MOQs if ordered separately, because each colourway is a separate dye lot and a separate cutting plan. This is also why consolidating colourways onto a shared body — discussed below — is the single most effective structural lever available to a buyer, as distinct from the least effective one, which is asking for a discount.
For buyers comparing quotations across suppliers, insist that MOQ and price are quoted on the same basis. A 500-piece MOQ quoted with a per-unit surcharge, a split tooling charge and hardware dead stock priced into the job is not cheaper than a 500-piece MOQ at the standard rate — it is the same cost distributed differently, with less inventory risk on one side and more unit cost on the other. Which of those you prefer is a genuine commercial decision; discovering it after the deposit is not.
Realistic Timelines: 6-10 Day Sampling, 35-50 Day Bulk
Lead time is the number most often quoted least carefully. A sampling window and a bulk window are not additive in the way buyers assume, because parts of them overlap — material sourcing runs in parallel with the proto, for instance — while other parts are strictly sequential and cannot be compressed at all. The table below sets out the full sequence with cumulative elapsed working days, on the assumption that buyer decisions arrive when promised.
| Phase | Working days | Cumulative | Gate or critical dependency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brief, tech pack and specification sign-off | 2-4 | 2-4 | Buyer supplies drawings, dimensions, bill of materials and tolerances |
| Material and hardware sourcing | 3-7 | 5-11 | Tannery and hardware availability; custom hardware adds 10-20 days |
| Proto build | 6-10 (12-15 complex) | 11-21 | Standard build window from a complete tech pack |
| Proto review and revision | 3-5 | 14-26 | Buyer decision speed; the most compressible interval and the most often wasted |
| PPC / pre-production sample | 5-8 | 19-34 | Bulk materials must be physically in hand first |
| PPC approval and deposit clearance | 1-3 | 20-37 | Sealed reference signed and T/T deposit cleared |
| Bulk material intake and inspection | 7-12 | 27-49 | Leather inspection, shade sorting, hardware count against the BOM |
| Cutting and preparation | 3-5 | 30-54 | Panel count, grain direction, matching panels for patterned hides |
| Line assembly | 15-22 | 45-76 | Seven lines; operator assignment and daily output tracking against plan |
| Finishing, hardware setting, final cleaning | 4-7 | 49-83 | Edge work, creasing, hardware, thread trim, final press |
| AQL 2.5 inspection (ISO 2859-1) | 1-2 | 50-85 | Single sampling, general level II; add time if the lot fails and is reworked |
| Packing and export documentation | 2-4 | 52-89 | Carton specification, labelling, polybag and tissue, export documents |
| Sea freight transit | Variable | Add 25-40 days to most Western ports | Booked after cargo readiness; not part of production lead time |
Read cumulatively, that table is the honest shape of a first programme: roughly three to five weeks of development and seven to eleven weeks of production before cargo is ready, plus transit. A repeat order with an existing sealed sample and an established material pipeline sits at the short end of every range, which is why reorder lead times are materially shorter than first-order lead times even though the physical work is identical.
The five causes of slippage, in the order in which they actually occur:
- Custom hardware tooling, which runs in parallel with nothing and typically adds 10-20 days to sourcing.
- Late material decisions — revising the leather specification after the proto restarts sourcing rather than continuing it.
- Buyer revision cycles measured in weeks, which consume more calendar time than any production stage.
- Under-specified tech packs, which convert a build window into a clarification exchange.
- Public holidays in the production calendar, which are published and known in advance and should be in your plan from the first conversation.
Where AQL 2.5 Sits in the Timeline
Inspection is a gate, not a formality, and it needs a slot in the schedule rather than a hope. A lot that fails is reworked and re-inspected; if you did not allow for that, the failure lands directly on your shipping date. Under ISO 2859-1, single sampling at general level II, the sample size is derived from the lot size and separate thresholds are set for critical, major and minor defects — which is why two suppliers can both claim AQL 2.5 and deliver very different outcomes depending on how each classifies what it finds.
- Ask which defect classes are being counted. Shade variation within a natural hide is not the same finding as a failed stitch.
- Confirm the sealed reference sample being used, and hold a duplicate on your side.
- Schedule inspection before packing is completed, so a failed lot can be reworked while the line is still standing.
- Request the inspection report before releasing the balance payment, not after.
- For programmes with regulatory exposure, confirm whether REACH, CPSIA or OEKO-TEX documentation is required and build the testing window into the schedule rather than appending it.
Payment Terms and Cash-Flow Planning
Payment structure is where commercial intent meets production reality. The 30/70 split exists because the deposit is what releases materials: leather is not bought speculatively for an unconfirmed order, and a supplier who funds your material pipeline without a deposit is extending credit, which will be priced somewhere eventually. Understanding that mechanism makes the terms feel less arbitrary and makes the negotiation more productive.
How a Bag FOB Price Is Built
Buyers negotiate unit price constantly and inspect its composition rarely. The proportions below are indicative ranges for a mid-complexity leather bag and vary with construction, material grade and hardware; their value is as a map of where leverage actually sits, not as a benchmark.
| Component | Indicative share of FOB price | Notes for buyers |
|---|---|---|
| Materials — leather, lining, interlining, thread | 45-60% | Dominated by leather grade and cutting yield; the largest single lever on price |
| Hardware | 10-20% | Stock fittings keep this low; custom tooling adds a one-off charge amortised across the order |
| Direct labour | 12-20% | Driven by stitch count, construction complexity and the number of finishing operations |
| Overhead and line allocation | 6-10% | Fixed cost of the floor divided by scheduled output; improves with volume and with stable scheduling |
| Tooling, dies and sampling amortisation | 2-6% | Visible as a separate line on small runs; effectively invisible at 500 pieces and above |
| Testing, compliance and certification | 1-4% | REACH, CPSIA, OEKO-TEX or LWG-related documentation where the market or the brand requires it |
| Packing and export preparation | 2-4% | Cartons, polybags, tissue, labelling, palletisation and documentation |
| Margin | The balance | Request a component breakdown rather than a single number if you intend to renegotiate |
The practical conclusion is that price is mostly material, and material is mostly yield. A design that cuts efficiently from a hide costs less than a design that does not, at identical leather grade and identical quality. That is a specification decision made weeks before anyone discusses price, and it is the reason the most useful cost conversation happens at the tech pack stage rather than at the quotation stage.
T/T 30/70 Explained
| Milestone | Share | Trigger | What the buyer should receive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit | 30% | On order confirmation, before bulk materials are purchased | Proforma invoice, confirmed specification, sealed PPC reference and a reserved production slot |
| Balance | 70% | After inspection passes and before cargo is released for loading | AQL 2.5 inspection report, packing list, photographic evidence of the sealed lot, and booking confirmation |
| Sampling fee | 100% of sampling | Before the proto build begins | Sample invoice and a stated credit policy against the first bulk order |
| Tooling charge | 100% of tooling | Before a custom die or mould is cut | Tooling invoice and written confirmation that the tool is reserved to your programme |
Cash flow, not price, is where first collections fail. The deposit and the sampling fee are both due before anything ships, and revenue arrives after transit, customs clearance and your own channel cycle. A brand that models its cash requirement as the order value has under-budgeted by roughly a quarter of the year.
- Model the deposit and the sampling fee together. Both fall before revenue, and the sampling fee is frequently forgotten entirely.
- Add 25-40 days of sea transit plus customs clearance before any revenue is realised.
- Hold a contingency of 5-10% of order value for rework, re-inspection, freight rate movement and duty variation.
- Ask whether the balance can be released against a passed inspection report rather than against a fixed calendar date.
- Confirm HS classification and duty rate before fixing a landed-cost model, particularly if this is your first import into the market.
How to Reduce MOQ Without Killing Quality
There is a legitimate version of this request and an illegitimate one. The legitimate version changes the product so that fixed costs genuinely fall: fewer setups, fewer dye lots, fewer hardware minimums. The illegitimate version asks for the same product in a smaller quantity at the same price, which is arithmetically impossible and, when a supplier agrees to it anyway, is usually being paid for somewhere you will not like — in material substitution, in inspection depth, or in queue position. The tactics below are all of the first kind.
- Consolidate colourways onto a shared base. One body construction in several colours means the line setup and the pattern are paid for once; only the cutting lot changes.
- Use stock hardware. A custom zip pull or lock inherits that supplier's minimum, frequently 1,000 units per finish, and there is no way around it below a certain spend.
- Standardise linings and interlinings across the collection so they can be bought in one lot rather than one per style.
- Reduce SKU count and increase depth per SKU. Five styles at 500 pieces is a healthier programme than twenty styles at 125, on cost, quality and schedule alike.
- Run a structured small-batch pilot rather than forcing a full-specification micro run; see the small-batch programme for how that is structured.
- Simplify construction where it is invisible. Fewer panels, fewer seam types and fewer finishing operations reduce labour and defect rate simultaneously.
- Accept a shared dye lot across styles in the same colour family, which removes one of the more stubborn per-colourway minimums.
- Stage deliveries rather than splitting quantities. One production run with two shipment dates keeps the MOQ intact while easing warehouse pressure.
| Tactic | MOQ impact | Unit cost impact | Quality risk | Works best when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shared base across colourways | Per-colourway MOQ can fall materially | Slightly higher leather cost from smaller cutting lots | Low — construction is unchanged | The design is genuinely one body in several colours |
| Stock hardware | Removes the hardware-imposed floor entirely | Lower, and removes tooling amortisation | Low to moderate — the fitting is less distinctive | The hardware is not the brand signature |
| Standardised linings | Removes lining mill minimums | Neutral to slightly lower | None visible to the customer | Linings are not a differentiator in your market |
| Fewer SKUs, deeper per SKU | MOQ met on every style | Lower per unit at 500 than at 125 | None | The range is still being validated |
| Small-batch pilot | Purpose-built route below 500 | Higher per unit, by design and by disclosure | Low if the specification is unchanged | You are testing demand or fit before committing |
| Simplified construction | Often the largest single lever | Lower labour and a lower defect rate | Only where the simplification is not visible | The detail is in materials rather than seam count |
| Shared dye lot | Removes per-colourway dye minimums | Neutral | Moderate — shade matching across styles needs care | Colours sit in the same family |
| Staged deliveries | No change to MOQ | Neutral, plus storage savings on your side | Slight risk of shade drift if shipments cross dye lots | One dye lot can cover both shipments |
The trade-off to refuse is any reduction bought by removing inspection. A smaller run makes statistical inspection more valuable, not less: defect rates are highest early in a run, and a 150-piece lot contains proportionally more early-run units than a 500-piece lot. AQL 2.5 under ISO 2859-1 is a floor, and brands with tighter internal tolerances should specify them in writing rather than hoping a standard threshold will deliver a house standard.
Best Sampling Strategy by Brand Situation
There is no single correct sampling route, only a correct route for a given set of constraints. The pattern that predicts success is not budget size but specification discipline: the programmes that run smoothly are the ones where the buyer decided what the product was before asking what it cost. The table below maps common situations to the route that tends to work, and to the mistake most often made in each.
| Brand situation | Recommended sampling route | MOQ approach | Watch-outs |
|---|---|---|---|
| First collection, no production history | Proto, one revision, then PPC; sales samples ordered from the PPC build | One or two styles at 500 rather than six styles below the floor | Resist redesigning during sampling; every change restarts the clock and the pattern |
| Established brand extending into bags | Proto from an existing tech pack or reference unit; PPC sealed early | 500 per colourway; consolidate hardware with existing ranges | Your existing QC language may not transfer — bag defects differ from garment defects |
| Private label refresh of an existing style | Match sample against a reference unit; PPC only | 500, or consolidate the colourway into an existing run | Insist on a physical reference from previous production, not a photograph |
| Corporate gifting programme | Proto with logo application confirmed; sales sample for stakeholder approval | 500, with branding applied inside the same run | Confirm logo method and placement before the build; repositioning after the proto is expensive |
| E-commerce brand testing demand | Small-batch pilot, evaluate, then reorder | Pilot below 500, then commit to the production run | Treat the pilot as market research and price it accordingly; do not compare pilot cost to bulk cost |
| Luxury house with in-house atelier standards | Proto against a supplied reference; extended PPC with material certificates | 500 minimum, with written tolerances tighter than AQL 2.5 | Specify tolerances in writing; a general inspection standard is a floor, not a house standard |
Three habits hold across every row of that table, and they cost nothing.
- Approve in writing, against a physical sample, with a date. An approval that exists only in a message thread will be re-argued at inspection.
- Fund one more sample round than you think you need. The contingency is cheaper unused than the delay is when it is needed.
- Hold a sealed reference on your side as well. One with the production team, one with you; disputes are resolved against the physical unit.
- Book inspection before packing finishes, so that a failed lot can be reworked while the line is still standing.
For buyers who want the underlying process detail — how a tech pack becomes a cutting plan, what happens at each station, and where defects are actually introduced — the companion page on the leather bag manufacturing process walks the same programme stage by stage from the factory side. The two pages are designed to be read together: this one covers the commercial calendar, that one covers the physical sequence.
Sampling is not an expense you minimise. It is the cheapest place in the entire programme to be wrong, and the most expensive place to be in a hurry.
Plan your sampling and MOQ against real numbers
Send drawings, a reference unit or an existing tech pack and the programme team will confirm feasibility, complete the specification and return a quotation you can plan against: sampling 6-10 working days, bulk 35-50 days after approval, MOQ 500 per style and colourway, inspected to AQL 2.5 (ISO 2859-1), shipped FOB Xiamen on T/T 30/70. Email service@junyuanbags.com, message WhatsApp +86 177 5002 0688, or start from the contact page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good MOQ for bags?
For a bespoke leather bag programme, 500 pieces per style and colourway is the standard commercial floor and the figure most established production partners work to. It is set by fixed costs — line setup, pattern making, material buy-in minimums and hardware supplier minimums — rather than by policy. Below roughly 200 pieces, unit cost rises steeply because those fixed costs are divided across fewer units while materials are bought at a worse rate. Structured small-batch pilots exist below 500 for demand testing.
How much does bag sampling cost?
A sampling fee is several multiples of the bulk unit price, because a bulk price amortises pattern making, setup and material buy-in across 500 units while a sample amortises them across one. The fee is dominated by fixed elements: pattern making, skilled technician labour, material bought at supplier minimums, and any custom tooling. The second and third samples of the same style cost materially less than the first, because the pattern already exists.
How long does bag sampling take?
Sampling takes 6-10 working days from a complete tech pack and available materials, extending to 12-15 working days for complex constructions such as framed, structured or heavily hardware-dependent designs. That window covers the proto build only. Review and revision adds 3-5 days, and a pre-production confirmation sample adds a further 5-8 days once bulk materials are in hand. Buyer decision speed, not build speed, is the largest variable in practice.
What is a pre-production sample and why does it matter?
A pre-production sample, often abbreviated to PPC, is the build made with the intended bulk materials, hardware and finishing rather than substitutes. It matters because it is the only sample that proves the approved design can survive the line. Once signed off it is sealed, dated and held on both sides, becoming the physical reference against which bulk is inspected under AQL 2.5 (ISO 2859-1). Approving a proto instead leaves bulk adequacy as a matter of opinion.
Can I reduce the bag MOQ below 500 pieces?
Yes, but only by changing something real. Consolidating colourways onto a shared base, using stock hardware instead of custom fittings, standardising linings across the collection, simplifying invisible construction and sharing a dye lot all reduce genuine fixed costs. A structured small-batch pilot programme is the purpose-built route below 500. What does not work is requesting the same specification in a smaller quantity at the same price, which is arithmetically impossible.
Does a lower MOQ mean lower quality?
Not inherently, but it raises risk. Defect rates are highest early in a run, and a 150-piece lot contains proportionally more early-run units than a 500-piece lot, so statistical inspection becomes more valuable rather than less. Quality is protected by holding the specification unchanged, keeping AQL 2.5 inspection under ISO 2859-1, and sealing a pre-production reference. It is damaged by removing inspection or substituting materials to hit a price point at reduced volume.
What does FOB price mean for bags?
FOB, or free on board, means the quoted unit price covers all costs up to goods loaded on board at the named port — Xiamen, in our case. It excludes international freight, insurance and import duty, which together can exceed the difference between two competing unit prices. Comparing quotations on any basis other than a single named port is therefore not a real comparison. EXW, CIF and DDP are available on request where a buyer prefers a different allocation of risk and cost.
Why is bulk lead time 35 to 50 days?
Because the largest block is material intake, not sewing. After sample approval and deposit clearance, bulk materials must be received, inspected and shade-sorted (7-12 days), cut with correct grain direction (3-5 days), assembled on the line (15-22 days), finished and cleaned (4-7 days), inspected to AQL 2.5 (1-2 days) and packed for export (2-4 days). The range reflects construction complexity and material availability. Repeat orders with an existing sealed sample sit at the short end.
What is AQL 2.5 and how is it applied to bags?
AQL 2.5 is the acceptable quality limit used for bag inspection under ISO 2859-1, applied here as single sampling at general level II. Sample size is derived from lot size, and separate thresholds are set for critical, major and minor defects. Two suppliers can both claim AQL 2.5 and deliver different outcomes depending on how each classifies findings, so ask which defect classes are being counted and request the report before releasing the balance payment.
What payment terms are standard for bag production?
T/T 30/70 is standard: a 30% telegraphic transfer deposit on order confirmation, which releases bulk materials, and the 70% balance once inspection has passed and before cargo is released for loading. Sampling fees and tooling charges are normally settled in full before the respective work begins. The deposit exists because leather is not bought speculatively for an unconfirmed order; a supplier funding your material pipeline without one is extending credit that will be priced somewhere.
How should I plan cash flow for a first bag order?
Model the sampling fee and the 30% deposit as simultaneous pre-revenue outflows, then add the 70% balance before shipment, 25-40 days of sea transit, customs clearance and your own channel cycle before any revenue arrives. Hold a contingency of 5-10% of order value for rework, re-inspection, freight movement and duty variation. Confirm HS classification and duty rate before fixing a landed-cost model, particularly on a first import.
How many sample rounds should I budget for?
Budget three for a first programme: a proto, one revision, and a pre-production confirmation sample. Programmes with a complete tech pack, locked hardware and a clear reference unit frequently finish in two. Fund one more round than you expect to need — the unused contingency is far cheaper than the delay it prevents. Order sales and press samples from the pre-production build rather than as a separate fourth round.
Is the sampling fee deducted from the bulk order?
Policies vary, so ask in writing before the first build and get the conditions stated: some programmes credit the sampling fee against the first bulk order, others credit it only above a threshold volume or within a defined period, and some do not credit it at all. Treat any credit as conditional rather than assumed. Tooling charges are usually separate, since a custom die or mould is a physical asset reserved to your programme.
What is a top of production sample and do I need one?
A top of production sample, or TOP, is pulled from the running line on the first or second day of bulk assembly and checked against the sealed pre-production sample. It catches setup errors — wrong thread, drifted stitch density, a hardware setting out of position, edge finish applied too thinly — while the line is still standing. It carries no separate fee and is the cheapest insurance available in a programme; waiving it for schedule reasons usually costs more time than it saves.
What happens if the pre-production sample is rejected?
The sample is rebuilt once the cause is identified, which is why rejection should always be documented against specific findings rather than a general sense that it is not right. If the cause is a specification gap, the tech pack is corrected first; if it is a material behaviour, the material or the construction is adjusted. Each rebuild repeats labour and sometimes material, so consolidate all changes into one mark-up. Bulk scheduling pauses until a revised sample is sealed.