Question

Why does bulk custom apparel pricing drop so much at higher quantities?

Answer 1

Bulk custom apparel becomes much cheaper per item mainly because production costs are spread across more pieces. Suppliers can buy fabric and printing materials in larger quantities, set up machines once for a large order, and reduce packaging and handling costs per garment.

For example, producing 10 custom T-shirts may require almost the same setup work as producing 100, so the setup cost per shirt falls significantly as the order quantity increases. Larger orders also give suppliers better purchasing power, which can further reduce material and labor costs.

Answer 2

Bulk custom apparel pricing drops at higher quantities because production, printing, and setup costs are spread across more items.
Larger orders also allow suppliers to purchase materials in bulk, reducing the cost per garment.

Answer 3

1. Setup costs are divided
   Screen preparation, embroidery digitization, artwork setup, machine preparation, and sampling can be largely fixed costs. Whether you produce 25 or 250 shirts, much of that setup happens only once. Ordering more means each shirt carries a smaller share of those costs.
2. Lower garment/material costs
   Suppliers purchasing hundreds or thousands of blank garments can often obtain better wholesale rates than when purchasing small quantities. Larger manufacturing runs can also improve cutting and production efficiency.
3. More efficient production
   Once machines are configured, producing the same design repeatedly is faster and more efficient than constantly switching between small orders. This is particularly important for screen printing.
4. Printing costs fall per piece
   With screen printing, each color generally requires its own screen and setup. Those costs are spread over the entire order, so a 1,000-piece order can have a much lower setup cost per shirt than a 50-piece order.
5. Bulk shipping and packaging efficiencies
   Packing and shipping a large consolidated order can be more economical per item than processing many small shipments.

Simple example

Suppose a printer has a ₹2,000 fixed setup cost:

• 50 shirts → ₹40 setup cost per shirt
• 100 shirts → ₹20 per shirt
• 500 shirts → ₹4 per shirt
• 1,000 shirts → ₹2 per shirt