Can You Do Less Than the Minimum Order? (A Love Letter to Everyone Who Asks)

We get this email roughly four times a day. Sometimes five. Once, memorably, six times before lunch. It arrives in many forms — polite, hopeful, occasionally threatening — but the core question is always the same:

"Hi, I see the minimum order is 50 units. Can you do 12?"

And look, we get it. We really do. You don't need 50 branded bags. You need 12. You've done the maths, you've counted your staff, and 12 is the number. Fifty pens would mean 38 homeless pens rattling around in a drawer for the next three years, slowly losing their caps and their will to live.

We sympathise. Genuinely. But the answer is still no.

Why the Minimum Exists (It's Not Because We Enjoy Saying No)

Believe it or not, we don't set minimum order quantities to be difficult. There's no secret room at Promo Punks HQ where we sit around a table cackling about how we can inconvenience small businesses. The minimums exist because of how the printing and manufacturing process actually works.

Setting up a print run involves calibrating machines, mixing specific ink colours, creating screens or plates, and running test prints to get the alignment right. That setup process costs the same whether we're printing 10 units or 500. On a 500-unit order, that setup cost gets spread thin — maybe 30 cents per item. On a 12-unit order? You're looking at $8-10 per item just for setup, before the actual product cost even enters the picture.

We could technically do it. We could charge you $15 for a pen that normally costs $3. But then you'd email us again, this time to say "Why is this so expensive?" and we'd be right back where we started.

The Five Stages of MOQ Grief

Over the years, we've observed a remarkably consistent emotional journey in customers discovering that minimum order quantities are, in fact, minimum.

Stage 1: Denial. "Surely that doesn't apply to me. I'll just ask nicely." You send the email. You add a smiley face. You mention you're a small business, hoping this will unlock a secret discount tier that exists only for people who ask politely enough.

Stage 2: Bargaining. "What if I order 30 instead of 50? What about 25? Okay, 20 — final offer." Each follow-up email shaves off another 5 units, like you're negotiating a hostage situation where the hostages are branded coffee mugs.

Stage 3: Creative Problem-Solving. "What if I order 50 but you only print 12 and send me the other 38 blank?" We've genuinely received this one. Multiple times. The answer, regrettably, is that the printing machine doesn't know how to count to 12 and then take a smoko break.

Stage 4: The Friend Card. "I'll definitely be ordering more in future. Consider this a trial run." We love optimism. We respect ambition. We've also heard this exact sentence approximately 2,000 times, and the reorder rate from "trial run" customers is roughly the same as the chance of it snowing in Darwin.

Stage 5: Acceptance. "Fine. I'll take the 50." And then, three months later: "Actually, can I get another 50? Turns out everyone wanted one." This is the ending we live for.

But Seriously — What If You Genuinely Only Need a Few?

We're taking the mickey, but the underlying question is fair. Not every business needs 50 of something. So here are some genuinely useful options if you're working with smaller numbers:

Pick products with lower minimums. Not everything starts at 50. Some of our keyrings, lanyards, and stationery items have minimums as low as 25 units. The simpler the printing process, the lower the minimum tends to be.

Think ahead. You need 12 now, but will you need more in six months? Ordering 50 at once and storing the extras is almost always cheaper than placing two separate orders of 25. The per-unit cost drops, you skip the second setup fee, and future-you will appreciate past-you's foresight.

Combine with a colleague or partner business. If you and a mate both need the same product with the same design, pooling your quantities can get you over the MOQ together. Keep in mind the minimum applies per design — you can't mix two different logos into one run. But if you're both happy with the same print, splitting a larger order means a better per-unit price for everyone.

Need just one or two items with no minimum at all? Check out Promo Punks Print on Demand. Over 250 products, no MOQ, order as many or as few as you like. It's perfect for one-off custom items, samples, or when you genuinely just need a single hoodie for your dog.

Choose versatile designs. Instead of printing "Sarah's Accounting — Est. 2024" on 50 pens, go with something broader that works across situations. Your logo and website is usually enough. Versatile branding means you'll actually use all 50 instead of binning 38 after your one event.

The Requests Hall of Fame

We keep these anonymously, of course. But after years in the promotional products game, certain enquiries have earned a special place in our hearts:

• "Can I get 1 custom hoodie? It's for my dog." — We respect the commitment to brand consistency across species, but no.
• "The MOQ says 100. I need 99. Surely that's close enough?" — It is. That's why 99 would also meet the minimum of 100... wait.
• "I need 3 power banks by Friday. I'll pay whatever it takes." — The setup alone takes longer than Friday. Unless you've invented time travel, in which case, we should talk about a bulk order for your launch event.
• "What if I leave a really good Google review?" — Tempting. Genuinely tempting. Still no.

We're Not the Villain Here

The MOQ isn't a gatekeeping exercise. It's the reality of how physical products get branded. Every supplier in the promotional products industry has them — some are just less upfront about it (and then surprise you with "setup fees" that quietly achieve the same thing).

We'd rather be honest about it. The minimum is the minimum. It's there so we can offer you good quality at a fair price, without cutting corners on the printing, the materials, or the finished product. When you hit the MOQ, you're getting properly set-up production at a price that makes sense for both of us.

And if you genuinely can't meet the minimum right now? That's fine. Bookmark us. We'll be here when your team grows, your event gets bigger, or you finally accept that yes, you do need 50 pens — and actually, make it 100.

Ready to Order the Actual Minimum?

Browse our best-selling promotional products and check the MOQ on anything that catches your eye. If the number works for you, brilliant — get in touch and we'll sort out a mockup. If the number doesn't work for you, please refer to Stage 5 above and give it a few weeks. You'll come around.

We promise the 50th pen is just as good as the first one.