# A custom soft plastic is four decisions

> Mould, material package, color standard and pack format. MOQ across six sampled listings runs 50 to 1,000 pieces, and the reason is which of the four changes.

Source: https://luressource.com/sourcing-playbook/soft-plastic-four-decisions/

Direct answer. A custom soft plastic is four separate decisions rather than one - the mould, the material package, the color standard and the pack format - and a factory can only quote once all four are settled. MOQ across our six sampled listings runs from 50 pieces to 1,000, a 20x spread inside one sub-category, and most of that spread comes from which of the four is being changed. A stock mould and a new mould are also two different lead times, which is why this record states which case applies instead of publishing one number. Key facts. 1) A custom soft plastic is four decisions: mould, material package, color standard and pack format. 2) Our six-listing sample spans US$0.20 to US$3.85 per piece, and MOQ runs 50 to 1,000 pieces. 3) The cheapest listing is a luminous sabiki shrimp bait at US$0.20-0.23 per piece at MOQ 1,000; the dearest is a 3D-printed PVC flying-fish bait at US$3.75-3.85 at MOQ 100. 4) color is a changeover cost rather than a tooling cost, but a logo is a second process step. 5) A stock mould and a new mould carry different lead times, so the record states which case applies. Frequently asked questions. Q: Why is a soft plastic not one decision? A: Because the mould, the material package, the color standard and the pack format are settled separately and each moves the price and the MOQ on its own. A buyer who asks for a quote on a soft plastic without naming all four will receive a quote for whichever combination the factory holds, which may not be the product they had in mind. Q: Why does the MOQ spread so much? A: Our six sampled listings run from 50 to 1,000 pieces. The 1,000-piece floor belongs to a luminous sabiki shrimp bait at US$0.20-0.23 per piece, and the 100-piece floor belongs to a 3D-printed PVC bait at US$3.75-3.85. The low-cost, high-volume end and the high-cost, low-volume end are different processes, not different negotiations. Q: Where does color fit? A: color is a changeover cost rather than a tooling cost, so adding a colorway to an existing mould is comparatively cheap. That is the opposite of a hard lure, where the behaviour is committed when the tool is cut. What is not cheap is a logo, because applying artwork is a second process step and only some bait forms can carry it. Q: Why does the record not publish one lead time? A: Because a stock mould and a new mould are two different cases with two different lead times. Publishing a single number would be wrong for one of them, and a buyer planning a launch around the wrong number is worse off than a buyer who was told to ask. Q: What should a soft plastic order state? A: The four decisions plus the bait dimensions: mould source, material package, color standard with a reference, pack format and count, and the length and profile. Add whether the bait carries a printed or 3D element, because that changes the process rather than the finish. Sources (3). 1) The six-listing soft lure sample behind every figure on this page — /opportunities/soft-lure-suppliers-china/ 2) How the four decisions map onto a first order — /sourcing-playbook/first-order-from-china-step-by-step/ 3) Our rule for separating a claim from its evidence — /opportunities/editorial-rules/ Soft plastics are the type where the mould is the cheapest decision and the other three are where the order actually goes wrong. Four decisions, settled separately A custom soft plastic involves the mould, the material package, the color standard and the pack format. Each is quoted on its own, each moves the MOQ on its own, and none of them implies the others. Buyers tend to treat the mould as the whole decision because it is the biggest single line. In practice the material package decides how the bait behaves and how long it lasts, the color standard decides whether two production runs match, and the pack format decides whether the price you are quoted is comparable to the price you were quoted last time. What the MOQ spread means Our soft-lure sample holds six listings spanning US$0.20 to US$3.85 per piece, with MOQ running from 50 pieces to 1,000. That is a 20x spread inside a single sub-category, and it is worth reading carefully because it is not a negotiation range. The 1,000-piece floor belongs to a luminous sabiki shrimp bait at US$0.20 to US$0.23 per piece. The 100-piece floor belongs to a 3D-printed PVC flying-fish bait at US$3.75 to US$3.85. The cheap end is a high-volume moulding; the expensive end is a different process with a different tooling and a different unit cost. Treating the two as the same product at different price points is the mistake the spread invites. Four forms that share one process. What separates them in an order is the mould, the material package, the color standard and the pack format. color is cheap, a logo is not color is a changeover cost rather than a tooling cost, which means adding a colorway to a mould you already own is comparatively inexpensive. That is the structural advantage soft plastics have over hard lures, where the behaviour is committed when the tool is cut. A logo is a different matter. Applying artwork is a second process step, and only some bait forms can carry it without one. A buyer planning a logo on a bait should establish that before the mould, not after. Lead time is two answers, not one A stock mould and a new mould carry different lead times. Our record states which case applies rather than publishing a single figure, because a single figure would be wrong for one of the two and a buyer planning a launch around it would be worse off than one who was simply told to ask. What the order has to state Mould source. Stock or new tooling, and who owns the tool. Material package. The plastic and any additive, stated, because it decides both action and durability. color standard. With a reference the factory can match against, not a name. Pack format and count. The denominator that makes two quotations comparable. Dimensions. Length and profile, plus whether the bait carries a printed or 3D-formed element. Send a specification See the soft lure record