Is the minimum order fee the same for every part?

No — it scales roughly with how much engineering review and setup your specific part needs. A standard compression spring in a stocked material is toward the low end; an unusual design in an exotic alloy is higher, for the same reason a large order of that same part would cost more per piece.

If I order 5 pieces now and 500 later, do I pay the fee twice?

The 5-piece order pays it once as a standalone job. If you tell us upfront that the 5 pieces are a prototype ahead of a 500-piece production order, we quote the whole relationship together, and the fee typically applies only to the prototype stage — say so in your RFQ.

Does the minimum fee apply to a repeat order of the exact same part?

Usually yes, at a reduced rate, since a repeat order skips first-article engineering review but still needs setup and paperwork. If you expect regular small reorders, ask about a standing arrangement rather than quoting each one from scratch.

Minimum Order Fee vs. MOQ: Why "No MOQ" Doesn't Mean "No Charge"

We say no MOQ and mean it — five pieces, five hundred, we'll quote it. But five pieces still needs a drawing review, machine setup, a quality check, and export paperwork, and none of that gets cheaper because the run is small. A minimum order fee is how we price that honestly instead of either turning tiny orders away or quietly losing money on them.

What the fee actually covers

Engineering review — checking your drawing or sample is manufacturable before anything is cut
Machine setup — programming and first-article adjustment, the same work whether the run is 5 pieces or 5,000
Documentation and export paperwork — inspection report, certificate of origin if needed, customs paperwork
Packing and handling — a five-piece box takes nearly as long to prepare correctly as a fifty-piece one

None of this scales down with quantity. On a large order these costs disappear into the per-piece price; on a small one they would either dominate an honest per-piece price or get absorbed quietly — which is how suppliers end up disliking small orders and treating them as an afterthought.

Why we'd rather charge it than refuse the order

The alternative to a minimum fee isn't a cheaper small order — it's usually a "no." A flat fee lets us say yes to a genuine five-piece prototype run without pricing it as if it were five thousand, and without losing money on it either. It's the mechanism that makes no-MOQ sourcing sustainable rather than a marketing line we'd quietly walk back on your actual RFQ.

Who this affects, and who it doesn't

It matters most below roughly 50–100 pieces, where the fixed cost is a large share of the order. Above that range, it's usually already folded into a competitive per-piece price.
It's separate from tooling costs. If your part needs a die or hard tooling, that's quoted on top, once — and unlike the minimum order fee, it's a cost you keep the benefit of on every future order of the same part.
It's a one-time charge per order, not per piece. A repeat order of the same small quantity pays it again, because the setup and paperwork happen again — but a supplier scorecard or blanket agreement can sometimes restructure this for a known repeat volume; ask if you expect to reorder.

What we won't do

We won't quote you a suspiciously low per-piece price on a five-piece order and then explain the real number in a follow-up email. The fee is quoted up front, as its own line, so you're comparing our real number to anyone else's real number — not to a number that was never going to hold.

What to send us

Tell us your quantity honestly in the RFQ — including if it's a one-time prototype batch versus the start of a repeat relationship. Both get quoted fairly; they just get quoted differently.