Dollhouse MOQ, Samples and Lead Times: A Buyer's Working Guide

Three numbers that decide whether an order is worth placing

MOQ, sampling and lead time are asked about in that order and belong in the opposite one. A buyer who fixes the shelf date first can work out whether the sample and the production slot fit; a buyer who orders first and finds the date at the end is the buyer who pays for air freight.

In this catalogue MOQ ranges from 1 pcs to 1,000 pcs per model, production runs 25-45 days after sign-off, and sampling takes 7-15 days for a model in a stocked finish. This guide sets out what sits behind those numbers and how to plan an order around them.

What the MOQ actually looks like

MOQ here is per model and per finish, and the distribution across the 130 published models is the useful part of the answer:

MOQ band	Models	What it means for the buyer
10 pcs or fewer	52	a first order, a test order, a single shop, a nursery
11-100 pcs	17	a small chain or a distributor's trial run
101-500 pcs	44	a normal container line-building quantity
above 500 pcs	17	the large band and the high-volume tabletop models

The minimum moves up when the order stops being a stocked model: a new colour needs a paint batch, a printed carton needs a print run, and a structural change needs a drawing and a first build. A buyer planning a private label should assume a higher minimum than the stocked figure and ask for both.

The minimum applies per model, not per order. A mixed container can clear several model minimums at once, which is how a range of eight to fifteen models is built from a first order. A total of 500 pcs spread across fifteen models does not tell a supplier anything, because no single model has cleared its own minimum.

Sampling before the quantity

A sample is the cheapest part of the order and the one that decides the rest of it. The route here is one sample per structure rather than one for the whole shortlist, because the structure, not the colourway, is what a sample proves.

Sample type	Lead time	What it proves
Stocked model, stocked finish	7-15 days	the structure, the finish in the hand, the assembly sequence
New colour or printed carton	20-30 days	the above, plus the paint batch and the print proof
Changed structure or development	on quotation	a drawing, a first build and a fit check before the run

Build the sample when it arrives rather than looking at it in the box: the assembly experience is what the customer will have. Check the floor height against the doll you intend to sell with it, open and close every working part ten times, and look at the edges and the inside of the carton. The signed sample, the finish reference and the carton artwork proof become the specification for the run.

Where the 25-45 days goes

Production is 25-45 days after sample sign-off and deposit, and the band is wide because it covers a 25 cm tabletop cottage and a 133 cm three-storey house with a lift and a garage in the same catalogue.

Stage	Typical duration	What moves it
Panels and machining	5-10 days	panel count, working parts, a new structure
Painting and printing	5-12 days	number of painted parts, printed walls, a new colour
Sub-assembly and packing	5-10 days	pre-fitted parts, fittings bag complexity, carton printing
Inspection and loading	3-5 days	carton check, labels, loading plan

Add four to six weeks of sea freight from Ningbo or Shanghai to a UK or EU port, plus port handling at both ends. A new model from shortlist to shelf is typically three to four months: sampling in month one, production in months two and three, freight in months three and four.

The production calendar

Chinese New Year is the fixed point in the year, and it is the largest single risk in the calendar. In 2027 it falls on 6 February, and the workshops close for roughly two to three weeks around it, with a slower restart as staff return.

Target	Sign-off	Production window	Ships	On shelf
Gift quarter	June to early July	July to September	September	late October
Spring range	November to December	December to February	February to March	April
Mid-year replenishment	February to March	March to May	May	July

A January order runs into the Chinese New Year closure rather than through it. The practical rule is to sign off before the end of December for anything that has to ship in the first quarter, and to treat May to July as the reliable window for development work, because the workshops have capacity then.

What moves a date, and what does not

Moves it: a new colour, a printed carton, a structural change after sign-off, a national holiday, port congestion, and a late artwork proof.

Does not move it: a large quantity of a stocked model with panels already in stock, or a reorder of the same finish inside the same batch window.

Two habits protect a date. First, ask for the completion date and the inspection date in writing at order placement: a date given at quotation stage is a planning date, and the date at order is the production slot. Second, treat a reorder as a fresh production decision if the finish or the carton changes, because a reorder that looks identical to the buyer can be a new paint batch to the workshop.

If a date cannot be met, the useful answer is no before the deposit rather than a late yes after it. Ask early enough that a no is still useful.

What to do next

Send the shelf or delivery date, the model list and the quantity per model, and we will return the production slot, the MOQ per model and the shipping window. The MOQ and lead times page holds the reference figures, the samples page sets out the sampling route, and the quotation form starts the confirmed reply. For the freight side of the same plan, read packing and container loading.