It is the first question in almost every enquiry we
get, and it deserves a straight answer: the expensive part of a private label launch is not the product.
It is one number you control — how many pieces you order first.
The four lines on the invoice
Whatever you launch, the cost arrives in four places, and only one of them scales with your ambition:
- The sample. A one-off, predictable, and it buys certainty rather than volume.
- The first production order. The only line that gets big, and the only one that is
your decision rather than ours. - Packaging and labels. Small per unit, but where first-time buyers get surprised —
usually by artwork and barcode work, not by the material. - Freight and duties. Determined by volume, weight and destination — and quoted with
the terms written out in plain language, never left to assumption.
Where the money actually goes: your order quantity
Here is the decision that matters. Unit price falls as quantity rises, so the instinct is to order big
and “get the good price”. That instinct is what turns a small launch into an expensive lesson.
A first order exists to answer one question: does this product sell for you? You do not need 2,000 pieces
to answer it. On the models we stock, the minimum order is 200 pieces per model — enough
for a real production run, small enough that a wrong guess is annoying rather than damaging. Once one model
is selling, the next order is a decision you make with data instead of hope, and the pricing improves
because you are ordering volume you can justify.
If you are launching a range rather than a product, the same logic applies one level up: one SKU first,
then the rest. Six models exist in the collection, but nobody has to start with six.
What the sample fee is really for
Sample fee is US$25–40 per model, prepared in 5 days, and it is credited back in full
against your first production order. It is not a profit line — it covers material, labour and the courier
for a one-off piece.
What it actually buys is the thing that protects the rest of your money: the piece you approve becomes
the inspection reference for the bulk run. Every later conversation about the bulk order —
colour, stitching, dimensions — is measured against the sample in your hand rather than a catalogue photo,
which is the only version of that argument you can win as a buyer.
Packaging and labels: the quiet line item
On a first order, most of the packaging cost sits in the setup rather than the material. Three choices
keep it small without making the product look cheap:
- One size, one colour, one language on the first run — variants multiply artwork cost fast.
- A printed label on a plain bag costs a fraction of a printed retail box, and looks considered if the
label is well set. - Barcodes and hangtag copy are easier to fix before the print file is signed than after. Send the
retail channel’s requirements with your artwork, not after.
What we need to give you a real number
Pricing is quoted per model and per quantity, with the Incoterms stated in plain language on the
quotation — FOB by default, and if you want DDP the current duty rate is verified before it appears on the
quote rather than estimated. So the useful thing to tell us is not “how much is a pad”, but:
- Which market and which sales channel you sell into
- Which model you are considering — or the problem you want the product to solve
- Your first order quantity, or your target retail price if you have one
With those three answers, the reply is specific: what the model costs at your quantity, what the sample
options are, and — if the numbers do not work — which of the six models we would start with instead.