How do I split a first order across styles, sizes and plating colours?

ZKZ Editorial TeamMain answer · Product & gemmology desk

Spread your budget across fewer styles in a wider mix of sizes and colours, concentrate on the options you are most confident about, and use the first order to learn what sells. Do not try to stock every combination. Every extra style, size or plating colour adds cost and stock risk, so make each one earn its place.

Think in three levels

1. Styles. Choose a small number of core styles, perhaps a few that are very likely to sell, and one or two that are experiments. Each style may have its own minimum order.
2. Sizes. Order the middle of your size range more heavily, and leave the ends to made-to-order or to a later batch. For rings, plain styles that can be resized are safer to stock than styles with stones set all the way round.
3. Plating or colours. Rhodium-plated white is the common default for silver. Offer gold-tone or other colours only for styles with the best chance of selling, because each colour is a separate batch of stock.

Uncertain We do not give percentages for the split, because they depend on your market, your price point and your sales channel. Use your own data if you have any, and ask the factory what they see from other customers.

A simple method

• List each style and mark it as "core", "test" or "maybe".
• Give "core" styles the biggest share of the budget, and the widest size and colour range.
• Give "test" styles a smaller quantity in the most likely size and colour.
• Leave "maybe" styles for the next order.
• Keep a part of the budget in reserve for reorders of the winners.

Questions for the factory

1. What is the minimum per style, per size and per colour?
2. Can several sizes or colours be combined under one minimum?
3. What is the lead time for a reorder?
4. Is there a lower minimum for samples or pre-orders?
5. What happens to unsold stock, and can plating be redone in another colour later?

Reduce risk

Our advice Sell pre-orders or take deposits where you can, test photographs and listings before production, and keep one set of samples for photography and fit checks. Record sales and returns by style, size and colour, so the next order is based on facts.

It depends There is no right split. A very small brand might prefer a single style in several colours, while a larger one might want a broader range with fewer pieces in each.

Related reading: Custom Jewelry MOQ and What Changes the Cost · Jewelry Plating Specification for Custom Orders

Sources

No external standard governs this question, so this answer is editorial advice from the ZKZ team and is labelled that way.

Fact = stated by the cited source. Our advice = editorial recommendation. Uncertain / it depends = limits of what can be said in general.