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A minimum order quantity (MOQ) is the smallest order a brand will accept from a retailer, set in units per style or as a total order value. It makes sure every order covers what it costs you to produce, pack and ship it.
In wholesale fashion, MOQ usually means a per-style minimum, such as 12 units of a sweater across sizes, or an order minimum, such as $1,500.00 for a store's first order. Both stop orders that cost more to fulfil than they earn.
Factories set MOQs for brands too, per fabric or colourway. This page is about the minimums a brand sets for the retailers that buy from it.
Start from what an order costs you to fulfil and what a store needs to sell the style well. A per-style minimum should cover at least one full size run, so the store can offer every size.
Then check the value: at $45.00 wholesale, a 12-unit minimum is a $540.00 commitment per style, which has to fit a small store's budget across your whole collection.
Use units when production or packing works per style, and order value when your costs are per shipment. Some brands use both: a unit minimum on each style and a value minimum on the whole order.
A value minimum lets a buyer spread a budget across more styles: at $45.00 per unit, a minimum of $1,500.00 takes 34 units, in whatever mix of styles the buyer chooses.
Set minimums in whole case packs, or buyers will be pushed past them anyway. A 12-unit minimum with packs of 4 is exactly 3 packs, while a 10-unit minimum with the same packs forces the buyer up to 12 units. Read more about case packs.
An opening order is a store's first order with your brand, and a reorder is any order after it. Brands can set a higher minimum for opening orders, so the first delivery fills a rail, and a lower one for reorders, so stores can top up the sizes that sell.
In ModaFlow.ai you can set a minimum in units, in order value or both, on your brand, a collection, a lookbook or a single style. When a buyer orders from your buyer portal or a shoppable lookbook, ModaFlow applies the strictest minimum that covers the order and shows the buyer what is missing.
An order below the minimum can't be submitted, so you never have to go back to a buyer to ask for more. Use the wholesale price calculator to see what a minimum is worth at your prices.
Updated October 6, 2026
Work out the wholesale price, MSRP and both margins for your own styles.
What doubling the wholesale price means for you and for the retailer.
How case packs are priced and how they change a buyer's order.
ModaFlow.ai keeps each style's wholesale price, MSRP, case pack and minimum together and shows them on your line sheets, lookbooks and buyer portal. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial.