Most first orders fail for a reason that has nothing to do with the factory: too much capital committed to a style nobody has bought yet. There is a cheaper way to find out.
Neither route needs you to open new tooling before you know the answer.
in-stock inventory confirmed on inquiry. Take a small quantity, list it, see the sell-through, then reorder. No tooling, no minimum build.
Run a limited quantity of your own style before committing to full volume. Trial orders are evaluated case by case — send the target quantity and we confirm feasibility, tooling implications and lead time before you commit.
Once a style proves itself, move it to a full programme with your own last and tooling, at a unit cost that reflects the volume.
If a supplier gives you an MOQ number in the first email, before seeing your design, that number is a placeholder. It will move once the tooling, the material set and the line assignment are known.
At Steed Sports, the published MOQ starts at 600 pairs per color (mixed sizes) for styles we already run; custom styles start at 1,200 pairs per color. For new tooling it depends on style complexity, the material set, and line assignment — a simple canvas shoe and a carbon-plate performance runner do not carry the same number.
Send us your target quantity and your target market and we come back with a concrete unit price rather than a range. If the honest answer is that your quantity only works through ready stock, we will say so.
If you do not have a tech pack yet, send a reference shoe, a price target and the market you are selling into. That is enough to start.
Initial sample timing confirmed per style. Revision and material-sourcing time confirmed per style. Sample cost is refunded against the bulk order.
Prove the style with a trial run or with ready-stock availability confirmed on inquiry.
Move the winners to a full programme — lead time confirmed after sample approval.
A first-email MOQ is almost always a placeholder. The real number moves with tooling, the material set and which line the style can run on. We confirm one figure per style after we see your target quantity and market.
If the honest route is ready stock or a trial run, we will say so. If the quantity only works after you open tooling, we will say that too. That is how you avoid buying a container of a style nobody has ordered yet.
Send your target quantity and market. We will tell you honestly whether it works as a trial run, as ready stock, or not yet.