A minimum order quantity is not a sales tactic; it is the point where a run's fixed cost is spread thinly enough for the per-vial figure to make sense. This guide works through the fixed and variable costs in a peptide run, shows why a custom sequence starts at 100 kits and a catalogue private label at 50, and lists what does and does not move the number.
Every manufacturing run has two kinds of cost. One kind is paid once per run whatever the quantity: planning the run, preparing the method, setting up the equipment, running the analytical checks, issuing the certificate. The other kind is paid per unit: resin and reagents per residue, vials and stoppers, label stock, carton space. Divide the first kind by the quantity, add the second, and you have the cost per vial. At small quantities the first kind dominates and the per-vial cost is high; as quantity rises it falls steeply at first and then flattens.
A minimum order quantity is the point on that curve where the factory judges the per-vial cost reasonable for both sides. Below it the buyer pays mostly for set-up and the factory ties up a line for little output; above it the number is stable enough to quote and to repeat. The minimum is therefore a statement about the run, not about the buyer, and it is why the same factory can have different minimums for different kinds of order.
On this desk there are three figures: a custom sequence starts at 100 kits, which is 1,000 vials; a catalogue compound under your label starts at 50 kits, 500 vials; and a sample of a catalogue compound is 1 kit, 10 vials. The rest of this guide explains each one from the run that produces it.
| Cost | Fixed per run | Variable per unit |
|---|---|---|
| Synthesis | Method preparation, resin loading set-up, first-residue checks | Reagents and resin per residue, scaled by mass |
| Purification | Method development on the crude, column equilibration | Solvent and run time per preparative run, scaled by mass |
| Analytical | HPLC and MS method set-up for the sequence | Small; one set of results per lot |
| Lyophilization and fill | Line set-up, cycle development for the fill | Vials, stoppers, seals, tray space |
| Labelling | Proof round, print set-up | Label stock per vial, cartons, inserts |
| Documents | Certificate template, lot file | None |
| Shipping | None | Carton, ice packs, courier by weight and destination |
Two features of the table explain most of what follows. First, for a custom sequence almost every row has a fixed component, and the first four rows have large ones, because the method does not exist until the sequence does. Second, for a catalogue compound the first three rows have already been paid for by the factory on an earlier lot; the fixed cost of your order is the fill, the proof and the paperwork. That is the whole reason the two minimums differ.
It helps to see what "set-up" means in practice, because buyers sometimes imagine the minimum is covering idle time. For a custom sequence the factory, before a single vial exists, must:
Steps one through five are the same for a run of a few vials and a run of a thousand; they are the fixed cost. Steps six and seven scale partly with quantity. A catalogue compound skips steps one to five on your order, because the factory ran them on its own lot, and your order starts at step six.
Put the set-up steps against the quantity and the custom minimum follows. One kit is 10 vials. At a handful of kits, the synthesis, purification and method work are divided over so few vials that the per-vial cost is many times what the same vial costs in a full run, and the factory ties up synthesis and preparative HPLC capacity for a lot that barely fills a tray. At 100 kits, 1,000 vials, the set-up is spread thinly enough that the per-vial figure is stable, the fill run fills the line properly, and the lot is large enough to be worth characterizing and documenting as a production lot rather than a laboratory preparation.
That is also why this desk does not offer milligram-scale custom synthesis. A milligram service is a different product: a laboratory preparation priced per milligram, usually with a purity grade rather than a lot certificate, and without the fill, labelling and document set that a production lot carries. Peptimake's deliverable is a documented lot in sealed vials; the minimum is where that deliverable makes sense.
The arithmetic in words: if the fixed set-up were spread over ten vials, each vial would carry a tenth of the set-up. Spread over a thousand vials, each carries a thousandth. The variable cost per vial barely changes between those two cases. The minimum is the smallest quantity at which the fixed share is no longer the dominant term.
Custom sequence
For a catalogue compound the synthesis, purification and analytical set-up were paid by the factory on its own lot; the public COA library at peptioem.com/coa is the record of those lots. Your private-label order adds a fill run at your chosen fill if one is not on hand, a proof round and a print set-up for your artwork, the kitting, and the certificate for the lot. Those are smaller fixed costs, so the point where they spread thinly enough comes sooner: 50 kits, 500 vials.
Why not lower still? Because the fill and the label are still runs. A fill run has a cycle and a tray; a print run has a set-up and a minimum stock; both have a certificate and a lot file at the end. Below 50 kits the per-vial figure starts to be dominated by those again, and the lot becomes too small to carry its own documentation sensibly. Above it the figure is stable, and the standard lead-time tiers of 3–7, 10–14 and 14–18 days apply depending on whether a lot is on hand at the fill, the quantity and the labelling scope.
Catalogue private label
A sample exists to let the buyer inspect a lot and its paperwork before committing to a production order, and it is only possible for catalogue compounds, because the lot already exists. One kit, 10 vials with a neutral label, is enough to look at the vial and the seal, read the certificate against the public record of the product, and send vials to an independent laboratory. It carries almost no set-up, because nothing is synthesized or printed for it, which is why it can sit below the production minimum.
There is no sample tier for a custom sequence. The synthesis set-up is the production run; a "sample" of a custom sequence would be the full fixed cost for a few vials, which is exactly the situation the minimum exists to avoid. A buyer who wants to see the factory's work before a custom order can order a sample kit of a catalogue compound, which shows the vial, the label and the certificate format that the custom lot will share.
The minimum applies per line, where a line is one compound or sequence at one fill. Two fills of the same compound are two fill runs, two labels and two certificates, so each carries its own minimum. Two compounds are two lines for the same reason. Buyers who want a range should plan the range as lines, each at or above the minimum, and expect multi-line orders to fall in the 14–18 day tier.
Bulk lyophilized powder of catalogue compounds is a separate format with its own starting point: from 5 g, shipped cold chain, with the batch certificate of the lot it comes from. It skips the fill run and the label, which is why its minimum is expressed in grams rather than kits. Bulk format for a custom sequence is confirmed case by case at RFQ.
The same reasoning lets you read any supplier's minimum. Ask what the deliverable is and what set-up it carries. A minimum of a milligram is a laboratory preparation priced per milligram; ask whether it comes with a lot certificate, an MS identity result and a fill, because usually it does not, and the comparison with a documented lot is not like for like. A private-label minimum stated in units or vials should come with a fill and a compound; a minimum without them is a marketing figure. And a very low minimum on a custom sequence should prompt the question of where the set-up cost went: into the per-unit price, into the purity basis, or into a document set that is thinner than it looks.
On this desk the figures are the run's figures: 100 kits for custom, 50 kits for catalogue private label, 1 kit for a sample, bulk powder from 5 g. They are stated once, used everywhere on the site, and confirmed in writing on each quote.
Scope statement
Pepti does not present itself as a cGMP drug-substance (API) manufacturer or CDMO and does not publish a GMP certificate or DMF. Peptides on this site are supplied for research use by qualified B2B buyers. For research use only. Not for human or veterinary use.
Because synthesis, purification, analytical and fill set-up are paid once per run whatever the quantity. At 100 kits, 1,000 vials, that fixed cost is spread thinly enough for the per-vial figure to be stable and for the lot to be worth documenting as a production lot. Below that the buyer pays mostly for set-up.
The synthesis and purification of a catalogue compound were paid by the factory on its own lot. Your order's set-up is the fill run, the proof, the print and the certificate, which are smaller, so the point where they spread thinly enough comes at 50 kits, 500 vials.
No. The synthesis set-up is the production run, so a custom "sample" would carry the full fixed cost for a few vials. A 1-kit sample of a catalogue compound shows the vial, label and certificate format the custom lot will share.
Per line: one compound or sequence at one fill. Two fills or two compounds are two lines, each at or above its minimum, because each is its own fill run, label and certificate.
No, because the first lot still carries the first set-up. What helps is sizing one lot for the programme rather than ordering several lots at the minimum; say what the programme needs at the RFQ and the quote shows both.
From 5 g per catalogue compound, shipped cold chain, with the batch certificate of the lot. Bulk format for a custom sequence is confirmed case by case.
Open WhatsApp with a pre-filled Pepti-RFQ message, or email the same details. A quote needs the compound or sequence, fill per vial, vial count, labelling and the document set you require.