The order volume is non-linearly related to the discount rate, the figures show that when the order volume increases from 100 pairs to 500 pairs, the unit price can be reduced from 8.5 to 6.3 (26% discount), and when the order volume reaches 1,000 pairs, ladder discounts are offered by some manufacturers (e.g., 500-999 pairs with a 15% discount, 1,000+ pairs with a 35% discount). As an example, for a Shenzhen jewelry factory, in the quotation of customized sterling silver earrings (1.2g/ piece), the material cost of 500 pairs of orders was discounted from 45% to 38% (silver bulk purchase price 5.2/ g →4.4/ g), and the efficiency improvement of laser engraving reduced 21% labor cost (from 1.2/ pair →0.95/ pair).
Production process optimization has resulted in cost saving, and the recyclability of the mold of resin drop earrings can reach as much as 93% for orders exceeding 500 pairs (merely 78% for 100-pair orders), while the production cost per pair has been reduced from 3.7 to 2.4. In the plating process, gold consumption in the 18-karat gold plating for batch orders was reduced by 12% (as the cell load rate was increased from 65% to 90%), and the gold plating cost of 1,000 pairs of earrings was reduced from 420 to 320. A case of a Yiwu manufacturer shows that the machine utilization rate of 500 pairs of stainless steel laser wholesale custom earrings has been increased from 55% to 85%, and the unit energy consumption has been reduced by 19% (laser power is 6kW, and time consumption is from 0.8 to 0.65 hours/pair).
Logistic costs fall significantly with size, with air freight charges of 0.85/ pair (total weight 25kg) for 500 pairs of earrings, while 1,000 pairs can bring sea freight concessions (0.35/ pair), a 59% discount. Pre-payment scheme affects discount: Pre-payment of 30% will receive an additional 3% discount (9,700 for 10,000 orders), but extending the account period to 45 days will reduce the discount level by 1.5%. It is documented in the 2023 industry report that for each 200 pairs of bespoke earring orders, the gradient of the average unit price decline curve ΔP/Q is -0.017 (R²=0.89), which is to say, the scale effect plateaus at 800 pairs (discount rate rise <1%).
Risk hedging needs to be considered: the defect rate can rise to 2.5% for orders exceeding 1,000 pairs (1.2% for orders of 100 pairs), basically due to the decrease in inspection time (from 3 minutes/pair to 1.5 minutes/pair). The cycle time in the high season fluctuates considerably, the average order delay in December is 22% (compared with 8% in the low season), and the proportion of expedited charges can be as high as 15% of the total cost. In a cross-border e-commerce case, 500 pairs of gold-plated earrings with inconsistent plating thickness (design 0.5μm, actual 0.3-0.7μm) caused a 7% return rate and a remedial cost of $12/ pair.
There are significant differences in marketing tactics: pre-paid full-payment clients can receive priority change of design blueprints (between 3 and 5 changes), and bespoke pattern complexity (e.g., microset 10 zircons vs single-color enamel) can generate unit price differences of up to 4.2/ pair. The intelligent quotation system (e.g., a manufacturer’s AI model in Hangzhou) can reduce the pricing deviation from ±815/ surcharge.