For many buyers—especially brand founders or first-time eyewear importers—one of the biggest surprises is this:

“Why do I have to order 500 or even 3000 pieces just to get my sunglasses made?”

At first glance, it may seem excessive. After all, can’t a factory just produce 100 units of your design, print your logo, and ship them out? In the world of fast fashion and small-batch clothing, that sounds reasonable. But in sports eyewear manufacturing, things work differently—because the products are built differently.

Sunglasses aren’t stitched or cut—they’re injected, molded, dyed, polished, assembled, and coated through high-precision, volume-driven processes. Behind each stylish frame lies a system of engineering decisions and industrial realities that most buyers never see.

In this guide, we’ll take you behind the scenes of the manufacturing floor and show you exactly why high MOQs exist—not as arbitrary roadblocks, but as a result of mold cost, production flow, customization complexity, and material optimization. And more importantly, we’ll share how smart buyers—just like you—can still start lean and scale up strategically.

Table of Contents

1. What Are Injection Molds and Why Do They Raise MOQs in Sports Eyewear?

2. Why Can’t Eyewear Factories Produce Small Batches Like Apparel Manufacturers?

3. How Do Customizations Like Logo, Lens Coating, or Frame Color Impact MOQ?

4. What’s the Difference Between Ready Stock and Custom Sports Eyewear in MOQ?

5. Can a New Brand Start Without Paying Mold Cost or Meeting High MOQ?

1. What Are Injection Molds and Why Do They Raise MOQs in Sports Eyewear?

Most buyers only see the finished product: a stylish sport sunglasses frame with smooth curves and perfect symmetry. But behind every frame lies a metal giant—the injection mold. And that’s where the MOQ story begins.

In eyewear manufacturing, especially for sport models, each frame shape needs its own custom injection mold, carved from steel or aluminum with high precision. This isn’t a simple tool. It’s a fully engineered production asset, designed to withstand hundreds of thousands of cycles under intense heat and pressure.

Now here’s the reality most people don’t see: a single mold can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000, depending on how many cavities it includes, how complex the design is, and what level of finish the brand expects. That cost doesn’t disappear—it’s just waiting to be paid off. So unless a brand is ordering at least 500 to 1,000 units, the per-unit mold cost becomes too high to justify.

Think about it like this: if you paid $6,000 for a mold and only produced 300 units, you’re adding $20 per pair before even touching materials, coating, or packaging. For a factory—and for you as a buyer—that’s not sustainable.

And it’s not just about money. Changing a mold on a production line isn’t as simple as plugging in a USB drive. It means:

• Re-calibrating machines
• Pre-heating molds to exact temperatures
• Testing flow consistency with new resin
• Running tolerance checks to avoid deformation

This process can take 4–6 hours or more, during which the entire production line sits idle. That’s why manufacturers reserve new mold production for serious batch volumes—it’s not just efficiency, it’s industrial logic.

So next time you wonder why a supplier insists on a high MOQ for a new frame design, remember: they’re not being inflexible—they’re protecting your unit economics. Because in the world of plastic injection, every mold is a marriage between volume and value.

2. Why Can’t Eyewear Factories Produce Small Batches Like Apparel Manufacturers?

It’s a question we hear a lot—especially from startup brands:
“If clothing factories can do 100 pieces per style, why can’t sunglasses factories do the same?”

The answer lies in the nature of industrial-grade processes. Sports eyewear isn’t sewn—it’s injected, coated, cured, and assembled using a tightly sequenced flow of machines, temperature-controlled environments, and cycle-calibrated equipment. Everything is built for volume, consistency, and precision.

When an eyewear factory sets up a new production run, it’s not just about pressing a button. Let’s say you want to switch from Frame A to Frame B, or from black to navy blue. Here’s what actually happens behind the scenes:

• The injection machine must be shut down for mold changeover.
• The mold itself has to be heated up again, often to over 200°C, to match the new resin requirements.
• Colorant ratios must be adjusted and test-injected to prevent streaks or bubbles.
• Flow speed, pressure, and cooling cycles must be tuned specifically for the new frame thickness and design.

All of this takes time and trained labor. And during this setup window—often 4 to 8 hours—the machine isn’t making product, but it’s still consuming power, resin, and wages.

Now imagine doing that… just to produce 100 pieces?

From a factory’s perspective, that’s not just inefficient—it’s financially painful. Labor costs don’t shrink with quantity. And worse, small batches mean more stops, more calibration errors, and more rejected parts. That’s why the unit cost of small-batch eyewear can be 2–3 times higher than standard MOQ runs.

Apparel is different. Changing a T-shirt color often means switching fabric rolls or ink cartridges. But eyewear? It’s an engineering process with micro-tolerances. The material isn’t flexible—it’s thermoplastic precision, designed to hug a lens without cracking or shifting.

So no—eyewear factories aren’t being rigid. They’re being realistic. Their machines are built to serve brands who understand: in eyewear, scale isn’t a bonus—it’s built into the system.

3. How Do Customizations Like Logo, Lens Coating, or Frame Color Impact MOQ?

Custom means exclusive. And in manufacturing, exclusive means separate, dedicated, and often… costly.

Every time a customer asks for a logo printed, a new lens tint applied, or a frame sprayed in a signature color, they’re not just changing appearance—they’re changing the entire production flow.

Let’s take a closer look.

🔹 Logo Printing Isn’t Just Clicking “Print”

A factory can’t “just put your logo” on a frame. It needs:

• A custom printing plate (pad print or silk screen)
• Alignment fixtures to hold the frame perfectly in place
• Precise ink mix, drying time, and surface treatment (so it doesn’t fade or peel)

Each logo process has a setup fee, and printing only 50 or 100 units doesn’t justify that investment. The labor and material loss during test alignment is the same whether you’re doing 50 units or 5,000.

🔹 Lens Coating Is a Batch-Based Science

Want anti-blue light? Mirror coating? Polarized lenses with a flash tint? These aren’t applied one by one—they’re done in chambers, trays, or roll batches.

For example:

• Vacuum coating (used for mirrored lenses) requires full loading of the chamber
• Polarized film bonding needs heat-lamination tools adjusted to exact frame curvature
• Each lens type must be matched to the frame mold to ensure fit after coating

Doing this for a small batch is almost impossible—most coating machines have a minimum batch capacity of 300–500 lenses per tint per curve.

🔹 Color Customization = Chemical Commitment

Spraying or dyeing a frame in a custom color requires:

• Precise pigment matching (which usually takes 2–3 trials)
• Dedicated spray booths (to avoid contamination)
• Post-color baking and inspection

Even worse? Once the paint or dye is mixed, it has a limited pot life—you can’t store it indefinitely. That means if you only produce 100 pieces, most of your color material (and labor) goes to waste.

So, What’s the MOQ Impact?

Every one of these steps involves fixed costs, skilled setup, and volume-based tools. That’s why for custom sport eyewear, factories typically require:

• 500–1,000 units MOQ per color for custom frame spraying
• 300+ units MOQ per lens type for polarized or mirror coatings
• 200+ units per logo setup to offset printing prep costs

But it’s not just about “quantity.” It’s about process alignment. Factories are optimizing for smooth, uninterrupted runs—not one-off experiments. That’s why they encourage buyers to either stick to ready specs, or consolidate customization across shared molds.

Customization is powerful—it makes a product yours. But behind the branding is a production reality: the more unique your product becomes, the more volume it takes to make it viable.

4. What’s the Difference Between Ready Stock and Custom Sports Eyewear in MOQ?

When it comes to eyewear procurement, not all orders are built the same. Some are molded. Some are assembled. And some—are simply pulled off the shelf.

That’s the core difference between ready stock and custom production in the sports eyewear world. And it affects not only your MOQ, but your entire sourcing strategy.

🔹 Ready Stock: Low MOQ, Fast Turnaround, Fixed Specs

Ready stock products are factory-made, pre-produced, and often sitting in inventory, either as finished goods or semi-finished frames waiting for lens installation or logo printing.

Here’s what you get:

• MOQ as low as 30–100 pieces per color
• 2–4 week lead time, depending on logo or packaging customization
• Limited frame/lens combinations, but often with trendy, validated styles

For new brands, seasonal promotions, or quick wholesale turnaround, ready stock is a low-risk, high-speed entry point. You save on mold fees, setup time, and development headaches.

But of course—flexibility has its limits. You can’t change the frame design. You might be limited to a few standard lens options. And if it’s a popular model, you might not be the only brand selling it.

🔹 Custom Production: High MOQ, Full Control, Long-Term Value

If you’re looking to create something unique—your own frame shape, exclusive lens color, or brand-etched logo on every temple—then custom production is your path. But it comes with responsibility.

Custom means:

• 500–1,000+ MOQ per model per color (sometimes more if mold investment is high)
• Lead times of 45–75 days, depending on tooling and finish complexity
• Full control over design, finish, coating, packaging

Yes, the MOQ is higher—but so is the brand equity. A custom mold locks in your identity. Your sunglasses can’t be easily copied or matched. And you own the tooling, which means exclusive access and long-term leverage.

🔍 So, What Should You Choose?

• If you’re testing a new product, trying to enter a market fast, or need multiple SKUs in low volume, ready stock gives you agility without risk.
• If you already have a clear design vision, a strong brand story, and a long-term sales plan, custom production lets you own your product from the inside out.

Some of the best-performing brands in the industry start with ready stock—and evolve into custom as they grow.

Factories like Eyewearglobo support both models. We offer stocked, proven styles with low MOQs and also help serious buyers transition into custom molds once demand justifies it.

This isn’t about choosing one forever. It’s about choosing the right strategy for where you are in your business journey—and where you want to go.

5. Can a New Brand Start Without Paying Mold Cost or Meeting High MOQ?

Absolutely—and in fact, many successful eyewear brands started small, smart, and strategically.

You don’t need to invest in custom molds or commit to 1,000-unit runs right from day one. What you do need is clarity: on what your brand stands for, who your first customers are, and how to launch without burning capital on inventory you can’t move.

Here are real, proven ways to break into the sports eyewear market without mold fees or massive MOQs:

🔹 1. Use Existing Molds with a Custom Finish

Most established factories—like Eyewearbeyond—have a catalog of ready-made frames with proven fit, functionality, and market feedback. These molds are already built and maintained. What you can do is:

• Add your logo (via pad printing, laser, or UV)
• Change the lens color to match your brand palette
• Use custom packaging (boxes, cloths, cases)

You’re not paying for the mold—you’re customizing what matters to your audience. MOQ for this model often starts at 100–200 pcs per style.

🔹 2. Modular Customization: Mix-and-Match Innovation

Instead of reinventing the whole product, mix the parts:

• Use a shared frame but offer 3–5 lens tints
• Stick to one mold, but vary temple colors or logo placements

This way, you keep MOQ manageable (per color/lens instead of per mold) but give your customers choice. It’s the smartest way to test demand without high tooling or warehousing costs.

🔹 3. Join a “Semi-Custom” OEM Program

Some factories offer OEM programs where they:

• Share the mold among multiple brands
• Let you lock in one or two SKUs as “exclusives” for your region
• Offer a discounted mold fee in exchange for 1,000 units over time (not all at once)

This “shared ownership” model reduces risk and gets you access to more premium designs—even as a newcomer.

🔹 4. Start with Ready Stock to Validate Your Market

This is by far the fastest and safest way to start.

Pick 2–3 models from a ready stock catalog, add your logo, create beautiful product photography, and launch. MOQ could be as low as 30 pcs per SKU, and the lead time? Often 2–3 weeks.

Once you’ve sold through 500 units and understood your best-sellers, you’ll have data—real customer data—to justify investing in molds or deeper customization.

Starting small isn’t a weakness—it’s a strategy. In eyewear, where design meets manufacturing complexity, learning the system before owning it can save you tens of thousands in mistakes.

At Eyewearbeyond, we’ve helped dozens of independent brands go from first 100-unit run to full custom collections. You don’t have to scale all at once—but you do need to start right.

Final Thoughts: MOQ Isn’t a Barrier—It’s a Manufacturing Truth

When you understand the real mechanics behind eyewear manufacturing—mold investment, machine calibration, coating processes, and batch efficiency—MOQs stop feeling like a wall. Instead, they become what they truly are: a reflection of how precision products are made at scale.

For buyers, especially new or growing brands, it’s not about fighting MOQ—it’s about navigating it wisely.

Start with ready stock. Customize through existing molds. Scale into full control when the time—and the market—is right.

At Eyewearbeyond, we believe in long-term partnerships. Whether you’re launching your first product line or optimizing your tenth, we’re here not just to produce eyewear—but to build solutions with you.