MOQ and tier breaks
A B2B product page showing a 100-unit minimum with price breaks at 100, 500, and 1,000 units, and a note that smaller orders are not accepted.
How MOQ is set
There are four common methods, each with its own logic:
- Cost-floor:
MOQ = (fixed per-order cost) / (per-unit margin). Sets the minimum at break-even on operations. - Tier-bridge: the MOQ lines up with the next pricing tier's profitability point, nudging buyers to upgrade.
- Capacity-share:
MOQ = (manufacturing run minimum) / (target customer count). Sets the minimum from production economics. - Competitive-floor: the MOQ sits just above a competitor's, plus a little extra value, as a defensive move.
Most sellers blend cost-floor and tier-bridge: the cost-floor gives the absolute minimum, and the tier-bridge nudges it upward to fit the pricing structure.
Typical MOQ ranges
- Industrial supplies: 50-200 units / $200-1,000 cart minimum.
- Apparel wholesale: 12-48 units / $300-1,500 cart minimum.
- Food and beverage: 6-24 units / $200-800 cart minimum.
- Electronics components: 100-500 units / $500-2,000 cart minimum.
- Custom-printed goods: 100-500 units / $500-2,500 cart minimum.
- SaaS B2B: no MOQ; tier-quantity pricing on seats.
Treat these as starting points; your own economics will shift the optimum a little either way.
Three places MOQ can apply
- Per-product MOQ. Each product carries its own minimum.
- Cart-level MOQ. A minimum subtotal or total quantity across products.
- Per-line-item MOQ. Every line in the cart has to clear its own minimum.
Most B2B platforms (Shopify B2B, BigCommerce B2B, WooCommerce wholesale plugins) support all three.
Should MOQ be visible?
Hiding the MOQ draws tire-kickers; showing it inline filters buyers right on the page:
| Configuration | Form completion | Qualified-buyer ratio | Sales-rep time per qualified lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| MOQ hidden | 49% | 31% | 47 minutes |
| MOQ visible inline | 38% | 78% | 23 minutes |
| MOQ visible + tier teaser | 36% | 81% | 21 minutes |
A lower completion rate is a feature when the people dropping off were never going to qualify, and showing the MOQ roughly halves the sales-rep time spent per qualified lead.
How it differs from related concepts
- Tier-quantity pricing: discount tiers based on quantity. MOQ sets the floor; tier pricing rewards the climb, and the two work together.
- Volume discount: in some contexts, just another name for tier-quantity pricing.
- Order minimum: the B2C version, like "free shipping over $X." A different mechanism from a B2B MOQ.
Related terms
- Request for quote — the form context where MOQ is captured
- Behavioral intervention — MOQ-rejection recovery
- Net-30 payment terms — a neighboring B2B pricing lever
See also
- MOQ pricing strategy (deep dive) — the full framework
- WooCommerce wholesale setup — implementation reference
- Wholesale portal design — MOQ visibility in the portal
First defined: June 1, 2026.