Last updated on August 1, 2026
Minimum order quantity has always been the first thing asked by our new clients, especially for start-up sock business.
Honestly speaking, as a socks manufacturing factory, MeetSocks have been long producing socks in big quantities, we now produces 30,000 pairs of socks everyday and 85% of them are for big-scale customers (mainly importers at European and American countries). However in recent years we see the trend that custom sock business are growing rapidly around the world, with niches like custom yoga grip socks gaining traction, while young entreprenuers are struggling at finding a sock factory with low MOQs.
MeetSocks see the potential in such small but beautiful business and want to help by offering premium quality socks and satisfying communicating service.
Our minimumm order quantites for different sock yarn:
Why 100 Pairs Is Now Possible (The Flexible Production Line Story)
Back in 2016, when we first published our MOQ policy, the numbers looked very different: 1,000 pairs per model for cotton blends, 3,000 pairs for wool and bamboo. Those weren’t arbitrary gates to keep small brands out — they reflected how a traditional sock factory actually runs. Every yarn change, every color change, every needle adjustment costs machine time and material. When you’re knitting 30,000 pairs a day for big importers, stopping the line to set up a 50-pair order is like parking a freight train to let a bicycle cross — technically possible, economically absurd.
Then 2020 happened. Not just the pandemic — for us, it was the year we commissioned a dedicated flexible production line specifically engineered for small-batch custom sock orders. Think of it as a second kitchen in a restaurant: the main line keeps pumping out the 30,000-pair highway orders, while the flexible line handles the custom stuff without derailing anyone’s schedule.
The secret sauce isn’t magic machinery — it’s inventory. We stock 2,000+ yarn specifications across every material we offer, which means when your 100-pair order comes in, we’re not waiting three weeks for a yarn supplier to ship a cone of combed cotton in your specific Pantone. The yarn is already on the shelf. The machine gets set up, the yarn gets loaded, and your socks get knitted — no procurement delay, no minimum yarn purchase, no wasted setup material.
Here’s the math that makes it work: in a traditional setup, changing colors wastes roughly 30–50 pairs worth of yarn just clearing the previous color from the feed tubes. If you’re running 1,000 pairs, that’s a 3–5% loss — annoying but survivable. If you’re running 100 pairs, that’s a 30–50% loss — suddenly you’re knitting two socks to throw one away. Our flexible line cuts that waste to under 10 pairs through a combination of shorter feed paths, quick-change yarn carriers, and the fact that we’re not switching between radically different materials every time. It’s the difference between a chef who preps mise en place and one who runs to the grocery store mid-service.
So when we say 100 pairs per model, it’s not a marketing teaser — it’s a real production capacity backed by real infrastructure.
Our Yarn Library: 2,000+ Colors Ready to Knit
Let’s talk about what’s actually on those shelves, because “2,000+ yarn specifications” is the kind of number that sounds impressive until you ask what it means.
Here’s what it means: across our yarn room, we keep ready-stock cones in the following materials:
- Combed cotton (the workhorse — soft, strong, and what most premium socks are made of)
- High-grade cotton (longer fibers, smoother surface, for brands that want to flex on quality)
- Bamboo fiber (silky hand feel, naturally moisture-wicking, the sustainability crowd loves it)
- Polyester (durability champ, holds color vibrantly, budget-friendly)
- Spandex (the stretch — usually blended at 2–5% to keep socks from sagging like a disappointed accordion)
- Nylon (reinforcement, usually in heel and toe where the friction lives)
- Wool (merino and blends — for when you need socks that work as hard as your boots)
- Coolmax (moisture-management fiber for athletic and performance socks)
And here’s the part that matters for your 100-pair order: each of those materials comes in multiple yarn counts — the thickness of the strand. Yarn count is measured in “s” (21s, 32s, 40s), and the higher the number, the finer the yarn. Think of it like pasta:
- 21s = fettuccine — thick, chunky, perfect for winter weight socks
- 32s = spaghetti — the everyday medium, what most commercial socks use
- 40s = angel hair — fine, dressy, the sock equivalent of a thin silk tie
Because we stock all three counts across all major materials in dozens of colors each, your design doesn’t trigger a special yarn order. No yarn order means no yarn MOQ from our supplier. No yarn MOQ means we can knit 100 pairs instead of 1,000. It’s not a discount — it’s a completely different supply chain model.
| Material | Yarn Counts in Stock | Colors Ready | Typical Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combed Cotton | 21s, 32s, 40s | 180+ | Everyday, dress, premium casual |
| High-Grade Cotton | 32s, 40s | 120+ | Premium brands, gift socks |
| Bamboo Fiber | 32s, 40s | 90+ | Eco brands, silky dress socks |
| Polyester | 21s, 32s | 150+ | Athletic, budget, vibrant prints |
| Wool (Merino blends) | 21s, 32s | 60+ | Winter, outdoor, hiking |
| Coolmax | 32s | 40+ | Running, cycling, performance |
Numbers are approximate and rotate as colors go in and out of stock — but the library is always deep enough to support 100-pair MOQ on standard designs.
[BIG CHANGE on custom sock minimum ordering quantity]
We now only start form 100 pairs per model (each sock design and size is taken as a model). Thanks to our flexible production line we have made it much easier for small order of custom colored socks! For small brands, gifts, team-building, brand-awareness, give-away, etc. Don’t forget to plan your custom sock packaging to elevate your brand presentation.
Updated on 2020.09.09
Yarn MOQs (in pairs) Yarn MOQs (in pairs)
Regular Cotton 1,000 Wool 3,000
Combed Cotton 1,000 Bamboo 3,000
Merceized Cotton 3,000 Polyester 1,000
Note that the MOQs are for each design, which means that if you have 10 designs, the MOQs will be 10*1,000=10,000 pairs in total.
Sampling Service: See Your Socks Before You Commit
Here’s a question we get every single week: “Can I see a sample before I place the full order?”
Yes — and honestly, you should. Ordering 100 pairs (or 1,000) of custom socks sight-unseen is like buying a house from a blurry photo. The sample is the open house.
Our sampling service works like this:
- Sampling fee: $50 per model (one design = one model, regardless of size)
- You get 2–3 pairs of samples, knitted specifically to your design file
- Each sample pair arrives labeled with its composition, needle count, and knitting technique — so when you compare two yarn options, you know exactly what you’re holding
- Typical turnaround: 5–7 days from design confirmation to sample shipped
The $50 isn’t a profit center for us — it barely covers the machine setup time and yarn. Think of it as a seriousness filter: it separates brands that are ready to move from brands that are still brainstorming. And yes, the sampling fee is fully deducted from your bulk order when you proceed. So effectively, if you move forward, the sample was free.
What we send you is not a factory stock sock in “similar” colors. It’s your actual design, knitted on the actual machine, with the actual yarn you’ll get in production. The sample is the truth.
Special Techniques: When 100 Pairs Isn’t Enough
100 pairs per model is our standard MOQ for knitted custom socks — meaning your logo, pattern, or design is built into the sock structure itself during knitting. But some brands want techniques that go on top of the knitted sock, and those require a different setup.
Here’s the honest breakdown:
| Technique | MOQ (pairs/model) | Why It’s Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Jacquard Knitting | 100 | Design is knit into the sock — no extra post-processing |
| Grip Dots (Silicone Printing) | 300–500 | Silicone printing requires a separate jig setup; each size needs its own mold |
| Embroidery Logo | 300–500 | Embroidery heads must be programmed and tested; setup waste is significant per design |
| Sublimation Print | 500+ | Heat press setup, sublimation paper, and color calibration all scale poorly at low volume |
The exact MOQ for special techniques depends on your design complexity and material composition — a single small grip dot on the sole is different from a full-sole grip pattern. Send us your design and we’ll give you a straight answer, not a sales pitch.
If you need both grip dots AND embroidery on the same sock, expect the higher MOQ to apply. We’ll always tell you the real number before you commit — no surprise upgrades mid-production.
Price vs. Quantity: The Volume Discount Reality
Let’s address the elephant in the room: ordering 100 pairs does not mean you get 1,000-pair pricing. That would be a nice fantasy, but socks obey the laws of manufacturing economics.
Here’s why your per-pair price drops as quantity goes up:
- Machine setup cost is fixed whether you knit 100 or 10,000 pairs. At 100 pairs, that setup cost is split 100 ways. At 10,000, it’s split 10,000 ways. Math wins.
- Yarn waste percentage decreases with volume. The first and last pairs of any run have higher waste — at 100 pairs, that’s a bigger slice of your pie.
- Labor efficiency: workers hit their rhythm on longer runs. A 100-pair run spends proportionally more time on setup, color changes, and quality checks.
- Packaging and logistics also benefit from scale — boxing, labeling, and palletizing 100 pairs costs nearly the same labor as 500.
Here’s a rough sense of how price scales (using 100-pair price as the 100% baseline):
| Order Quantity | Relative Per-Pair Price | What’s Happening |
|---|---|---|
| 100 pairs | 100% (baseline) | Flexible line, full setup cost absorbed across fewest units |
| 300 pairs | ~85–90% | Setup cost diluted; yarn waste ratio improving |
| 500 pairs | ~75–80% | Crossing into mid-volume efficiency; better labor throughput |
| 1,000 pairs | ~65–70% | Traditional MOQ tier; full production line economics kick in |
| 3,000+ pairs | ~55–60% | Bulk pricing; yarn procurement discounts; maximum efficiency |
These are illustrative ratios — actual pricing depends on yarn, design complexity, and technique. Request a quote for real numbers.
The takeaway: 100 pairs gets you in the door. 500 pairs gets you a real business conversation. 1,000+ pairs is where the unit economics start making retail margins comfortable. Choose the tier that matches your stage — and scale up when the market tells you to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why was your MOQ 1,000 pairs before?
Because that’s how traditional sock manufacturing works. Every color change, yarn change, and machine setup has a fixed cost in time and material. At 1,000 pairs, those fixed costs are manageable. At 100 pairs, they eat your margin alive — unless you restructure the production line, which is exactly what we did in 2020.
Q: Can I order fewer than 100 pairs?
For fully custom knitted socks, 100 pairs per model is our floor. Below that, the per-pair price becomes genuinely irrational. If you need fewer — say, 20 pairs for a one-off event — check our in-stock socks or consider print-on-demand alternatives. Different product, different economics.
Q: Is the $50 sampling fee refundable?
It’s not refundable as cash, but it’s fully credited toward your bulk order. Place the 100-pair order after sampling, and we deduct $50 from your invoice. So if you proceed, the sample was effectively free. If you don’t proceed, you paid $50 for 2–3 pairs of custom-knit socks and a clear answer about your design — which, honestly, is a pretty good deal.
Q: What if I need grip dots AND embroidery on the same sock?
Then the higher MOQ (300–500 pairs) applies, because both techniques need their own setup. We’ll look at your design and tell you the real number before you commit — no surprises.
Q: Does the MOQ include different sizes?
No. Each size counts as a separate model because each size requires its own machine cylinder and setup. So if you want S/M/L in the same design, that’s 3 models × 100 pairs = 300 pairs minimum. Plan your size range before you order.
Q: How long does a 100-pair order take?
Typically 7–10 days for production after sample approval, plus shipping time. Faster than a 1,000-pair order, actually — the flexible line is built for speed on small runs. See our custom socks order details guide for the full timeline.
Read more about socks manfacturing and custom sock designs: