Minimum order quantity for custom figures: understanding MOQ

“Can we make 50?” It is a question we hear often. The answer depends on the technique, the budget and what your figures are for. Behind it lies a key manufacturing notion: the MOQ, or minimum order quantity.

What is the MOQ of a custom figure?

The MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) is the minimum number of pieces a manufacturer agrees to produce in one go. It is not a whim: every run ties up moulds, machines to set up, paint masks, staff and inspections. These costs are the same for 100 or 1,000 pieces. Below a certain volume, they are simply no longer covered.

Why does the minimum change with the technique?

Technique	Why this minimum	Indicative MOQ
Resin (silicone mould)	Cheap mould, manual production	Around fifty pieces (a technique we do not offer)
Rotocast vinyl	Metal moulds to pay off, rotocasting set-up	300 pieces
Injected PVC	Very expensive steel moulds, very fast production	1,000 pieces

The more expensive the tooling, the more pieces it takes to pay it off, and the higher the minimum. Conversely, the higher the minimum, the lower the unit price can go. The techniques are detailed in our guide vinyl vs PVC vs resin figures.

How does quantity change the price?

The unit price follows a downward curve: very high for a few dozen pieces, it falls quickly as quantity grows, then levels off. In practice:

Quantity bracket	Technique often suited	Relative unit price
A few dozen	Resin	Very high
A few hundred	Resin or vinyl	High
A few thousand	Vinyl or PVC	Medium
Tens of thousands	Injected PVC	Low

At Popterror Studio, our minimums are 300 pieces in vinyl and 1,000 pieces in PVC, and projects start from €10,000. To see the effect of quantity on your project, play with the quantity bracket in our custom figure cost estimator.

How do you choose the right quantity?

Start from your sales channels, not from the factory. How many figures can you really sell or hand out in the next twelve months? Through which channels: online shop, partner stores, events, customer gifts?

Think about storage. Thousands of boxed figures mean pallets to store, insure and ship.

Think about scarcity. For a collector’s edition, a limited quantity is part of the value. Our Series 2 EQSO art toys are limited to 300 pieces per model: an announced and respected number that creates desire.

Keep room for what comes next. A reasonable first run lets you test the market; since the moulds already exist, a reorder then costs much less.

How can you produce less than the minimum?

• Change technique: resin allows very small runs without a steel mould.
• Spread it over several colourways: one mould, several colours, and the minimum is reached across the set.
• Accept a higher unit price: some factories produce below their minimum for a surcharge.
• Share with other projects: rarer, but possible with a partner who produces regularly.

How did we choose our own quantities?

For our art toys, we applied these principles to ourselves.

• Series 1: three 12.5 cm vinyl figures, launched after a Kickstarter campaign in February 2024, for a total of 500 pieces. The campaign gave us a precise idea of demand before producing.
• Series 2: Dark Light, Xtra Red and Purple Fire, limited to 300 pieces each. A deliberately small quantity that is part of the value of each piece.
• EQSO The Crew blind box: a different logic, designed around displays of six boxes with no duplicates, with a secret figure at 1 chance in 100.

In all three cases, the quantity was set from what we could sell, not from the factory’s minimum.

Should you plan for a reorder?

Once the moulds are made, producing again costs much less than the first time: the tooling is already paid for. That is a good argument for starting with a reasonable quantity, then running another batch if demand follows. Be careful with editions announced as limited, though: a reorder must stay consistent with what you promised your customers. The lead time and minimum of a reorder depend on the project and are set out in the quote.

The special case of the blind box

A blind box multiplies the models: six characters and a secret figure in the case of our EQSO The Crew blind box. If the minimum applies per model, the total quantity climbs fast. You also have to plan how models are distributed across boxes and displays, and how rare the secret figure is. Everything is explained in our guide on how to make a blind box and on our custom blind box page.

Unsure about the right quantity for your project? It is one of the first questions we work through together in our custom figure manufacturing service. Find all our services on the page custom figure design and production for brands.