Private Label Handbag Questions, Answered With the Numbers Behind Them

How This FAQ Is Organised

Six groups cover the ground: quantity and price, sampling, lead time, inspection, materials and compliance, and shipping. Each answer carries the number behind it, and where an answer depends on your brief, the page names the document that decides it. The model behind them is on the about us page.

MOQ, Price Bands and What Moves the Unit Cost

MOQ is 500 pcs per style / colourway — per colourway, not per order. Two colourways of one tote is 1,000 pcs; three silhouettes in two colourways is 3,000 pcs. The floor comes from four upstream minimums: the hide lot, the hardware lot, the plating bath and the line changeover.

Is the minimum ever negotiable?

Rarely, and never for free. A silhouette already running on the line, in a material matching an open lot, can sometimes be squeezed — but tooling and changeover then divide by 300 instead of 500. The tier-by-tier comparison and the floor explained cover the arithmetic.

Sampling, Prototypes and Development Rounds

Sampling takes 6-10 working days for standard constructions and 12-15 for framed, hand-woven, stacked or bonded work, where part of the sequence is done by hand. The clock starts when the specification and the material are signed off, not when the first email arrives.

• Prototype. The first physical build, which proves the construction is buildable rather than photogenic.
• Pre-production sample. Built on the line from bulk material and hardware; approve this one before the deposit moves.
• Golden sample. The sealed reference a later claim is measured against.

How many sample rounds should a first programme budget?

Two rounds for a modified private label style, three for a full custom build. Each round costs calendar time as much as money, because a second round after material release can push the slot. How many rounds a custom build needs and what follows approval explain the sequence.

Lead Time, Capacity and Slot Booking

Bulk is 35-50 days from material release to packed cartons, but it is one stage of a longer route. Sampling, review, inspection and export handling sit outside that window, so the planning number for a first programme is about 55-80 days from signed brief to the water.

Can a slot be held before the deposit?

No. Capacity is 7 production lines at about 200,000 pcs per month and is sold by booking; material is bought against your order, which is what the deposit releases. See monthly output and allocation and the stage-by-stage breakdown.

Inspection, Defects and Claims

Inspection is a measurement, not an opinion. AQL 2.5 under ISO 2859-1 fixes how many cartons open, how many units are pulled from a lot of a given size, and the accept and reject counts. A 500-piece lot is code H: 50 units pulled, accept 3 and reject 4 for majors.

What happens when a lot fails?

The lot is not released and the balance does not fall due. Defects are reworked or the operation is re-run; where that cannot fit your date, the choice is a partial shipment of conforming cartons or a re-run in the next slot. See the claim process and acceptable defect limits.

An independent inspector is optional rather than automatic: in-house inspection at AQL 2.5 is included, and SGS can be appointed where a buyer or marketplace needs a third-party report, adding 1-2 days and a man-day fee. The level itself is compared in AQL 2.5 against 4.0, and the quality control reference sets out the sampling rule.

Materials, Hardware and Compliance Documents

Four material families cover most programmes: full-grain leather, top-grain leather, PU-coated material and canvas. Which regulations apply is a function of your market rather than of the line, so the pack is assembled per destination. Compliance is evidence — a report names laboratory, method, sample and date.

Can I supply my own material or hardware?

Yes. Send the component or its specification and it is tested against the build before booking. Custom zip pullers, logo plates and closures each need their own mould and plating specification, amortised over your quantity. See REACH and Proposition 65 basics and the material reference.

Shipping, Trade Terms and Export Paperwork

FOB Xiamen is the default term, with CIF to your port and DDP to your door quoted on request. Under FOB the goods are delivered on board, and freight, insurance, customs entry and duty are yours. What arrives at handover is a document set worth knowing before you book a vessel.

• Commercial invoice and packing list. Quantities per carton and per SKU, matching the carton marks.
• Bill of lading and certificate of origin. Issued by your forwarder, and by us where a preference claim needs one.
• Inspection release. The AQL 2.5 report that lets the balance payment fall due.

Can cartons go straight to a fulfilment warehouse?

Yes, where the packing specification is agreed before the run. Carton weight limits, poly-bagging, labelling and barcode symbology are cheaper to build into the run than to fix at a warehouse. Check landed cost and duty and tariffs first.

Tooling Ownership, Amortisation and Who Holds It

Tooling is the set of physical assets cut for one specification: the cutting die, the logo plate, the zip-puller mould and the embossing block. Each is paid once and divided across the units in the run, so the same plate costs roughly four times less per piece at 2,000 pcs than at 500 pcs. Ownership sits with your brand, because the assets are cut to your artwork and can be collected or transferred on written request.

• Cutting die. Cut to your pattern; usually the largest tooling line on a leather style.
• Logo plate and embossing block. Cut to your artwork in brass or magnesium, then held for reorders.
• Zip-puller mould. Priced per cavity, so a two-cavity mould roughly doubles that line.

Protecting a Design Before the First Sample Is Cut

Intellectual property is cheaper to protect before the specification leaves your desk than after the first sample is photographed. File the word mark and the logo in the markets you intend to sell in, keep the specification under a short mutual non-disclosure agreement, and date-stamp the design file. None of those registers protects a silhouette that was never filed, so the paperwork precedes the sample.

• Register first. A trade mark application filed before sampling costs far less than an opposition filed after launch.
• Sign before sharing. One page of mutual non-disclosure covers the specification, the pattern and the artwork.
• Separate the hardware. A custom logo plate is the component most often copied; keep its drawing under the same agreement.

When a Bulk Lot Fails: Rework, Re-run and Claim Windows

A failed lot is a document event rather than a phone call. The inspection report classes every finding as critical, major or minor, names the cartons affected and records the counts reached at AQL 2.5 under ISO 2859-1. Rework is booked where the defect is local and repairable; a re-run is booked where the fault sits in the material or a repeated operation. A partial release of conforming cartons is possible, but only after the price and the balance are re-agreed in writing.

Reorder Pricing: What Changes and What Stays Put

A reorder is cheaper to make and rarely quoted at the same number. Development, tooling and sampling do not repeat, which removes the three lines that make a first order expensive. What moves is material bought at the price of the week it is booked, plating that follows metal markets, and freight that follows season. Reorder within about six months and the band usually holds; beyond that, re-quote.

The Standards Bodies Behind the Paperwork

Four acronyms appear on almost every handbag file, and each belongs to a named body. ICC issues the Incoterms rules that decide where cost and risk transfer, which is what FOB Xiamen means on an invoice. ASTM International writes the test methods used for hardware corrosion, coating adhesion and strap strength. OEHHA maintains the Proposition 65 list behind the California review of hardware, trim and dye, while the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission enforces CPSIA limits and tracking labels on children's items.

• ICC, Incoterms rules. Govern who books freight, who insures and where risk passes from seller to buyer.
• ASTM International, test methods. Govern hardware corrosion, coating adhesion and strap strength testing.
• OEHHA, Proposition 65. Governs the California chemical list that hardware, trim and dye are screened against.
• Textile Exchange, Global Recycled Standard. Governs recycled-content claims and the transaction certificates behind them.

Asking a Question This Page Does Not Answer

Send the silhouettes, the material direction, the quantity per colourway, the target retail price and an honest launch date, and the answer comes back in the first reply. Reach a private label coordinator at service@junyuanbags.com or on WhatsApp at +86 177 5002 0688. The sourcing guide and the process page cover the ground before a quotation.

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