Why a custom mahjong set starts at 200
— and what changes it
The most common first question is "can I order 50?". The honest answer is: sometimes, and here is what the minimum is actually paying for, so you can judge whether your project fits it.
Minimums by product
| Product | MOQ | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Printed mahjong set (160 tiles) | 200 sets | Engraving set-up, 160 tile moulds, full-set inspection |
| Printed playing mat | 100 pcs | One print run; 50 pcs per design accepted |
| Acrylic or wooden pushers | 100 sets | Four pushers to a set, cut and polished as a batch |
| Faux suede / velvet bag | 100 pcs per colour | Cutting and sewing per colour |
| PVC window carry case | 300 pcs | Pattern and cutter per size |
| Magnetic lid gift box | 200 pcs | Print plate and die per size |
| Canvas mat bag | 100 pcs per colour | No tooling — the lowest minimum we run |
What the 200 sets pay for
Before the first saleable tile exists, several costs are already spent: the engraving set-up for a face design, the print plate, the inspection jig for a full 160-tile set, and the time to inspect it. Those are close to fixed. Spread over 200 sets they are tolerable; spread over 50 they dominate the unit price.
This is also why a smaller order is not cheaper per piece. If someone quotes you 50 sets at a lower unit price than 200, one of the two has something missing — usually the inspection.
When a lower run is possible
- Stock moulds. If your face design fits an existing tile body and the artwork is a single engraved colour, a smaller batch is a question of machine time rather than tooling.
- A paid sample batch. Ten to twenty sets for photography, trade shows or a buyer's approval, charged at sample rates rather than bulk rates.
- Mixing a colour range. Bags run 100 pcs per colour, so 300 pcs across three colours is one order, not three minimums.
What 200 sets actually is
It is a real product launch, not a test: roughly four to six export cartons depending on whether racks and a case travel with the tiles, and enough stock for a first season in a small retail network or a direct-to-consumer store. Below that, most buyers are better served by buying an existing set and printing the packaging.
Tell us the number you can actually commit to
If it is 120 or 400, say so. We will tell you whether it works, what it changes in the price, and whether a staged first order makes more sense than one big one.