Sourcing Guide
How to Choose a Sports Sunglasses Supplier: A Buyer’s Checklist
Ready-to-ship stock ships from low minimums — 1–2 pcs depending on the model, and mixed batches are accepted. Adding your logo to a stock colourway starts at 50 pcs per colour. An ODM colour outside the stock range starts at 300 pcs per colour, with up to two colours per order. Custom production runs around 40 days after artwork and sample approval.
Ready-to-ship stock ships from low minimums — 1–2 pcs depending on the model, and mixed batches are accepted. Adding your logo to a stock colourway starts at 50 pcs per colour. An ODM colour outside the stock range starts at 300 pcs per colour, with up to two colours per order. Custom production runs around 40 days after artwork and sample approval.
1. Get the MOQ structure in writing, in layers
Ready-to-ship stock ships from low minimums — 1–2 pcs depending on the model, and mixed batches are accepted. Adding your logo to a stock colourway starts at 50 pcs per colour. An ODM colour outside the stock range starts at 300 pcs per colour, with up to two colours per order. Custom production runs around 40 days after artwork and sample approval.
- Stock MOQ — the smallest order you can place from existing inventory. Ours is low minimums, in a single colour.
- Ready-to-ship stock ships from low minimums — 1–2 pcs depending on the model, and mixed batches are accepted. Adding your logo to a stock colourway starts at 50 pcs per colour. An ODM colour outside the stock range starts at 300 pcs per colour, with up to two colours per order. Custom production runs around 40 days after artwork and sample approval.
- Packaging MOQ — usually quoted separately, because it depends on material, print process and structure.
2. Sample before you scale — and write the specification down
Ask for a stock sample first (3–5 days in our case) to judge the actual product, then a custom sample that matches the colour, logo and lens you intend to sell. When you approve it, attach a written specification: model code, frame material, lens material and category, colour code, packaging, and the sample’s serial or photo. Without that, the bulk run is judged against memory.
3. Ask which standards, and for which models
This is where cheap suppliers fall down. The question is not “are you CE certified” but “which certificate covers this model, and can I see it before I order”. The documents that matter for most markets:
| Market | What buyers usually need | What we can send |
|---|---|---|
| EU | CE under PPE Regulation (EU) 2016/425, tested to EN ISO 12312-1 | Certificate of Conformity to EN ISO 12312-1:2022 naming the covered models, plus third-party test reports |
| USA | Impact resistance under FDA 21 CFR 801.410, factory FDA registration | Impact-resistance documentation and factory registration details |
| USA (safety use) | ANSI Z80.3 for sunglasses; ANSI/ISEA Z87.1 for safety eyewear | Lens test reports to ANSI Z80.3:2018 |
| Australia / New Zealand | AS/NZS 1067.1 lens categories | Lens test reports to AS/NZS 1067.1:2016 |
| Germany, France | Packaging EPR registration before goods are sold | Registrations held for both markets — see certifications |
Two follow-up questions worth asking: does the certificate name the model codes you are buying, and will you send the documents with the order, not on request after a customs question.
4. Lead time: separate stock from custom
Stock orders and custom orders run on completely different clocks, so ask for both. Stock samples typically dispatch in 3–5 days; custom production is around 40 days after artwork and sample approval. Suppliers who quote “7–25 days” for a custom run are usually quoting a stock order with a printed logo.
5. Agree on inspection and payment in the quotation
Decide before the deposit: in-house inspection with pre-shipment photos, or a third-party inspection (SGS, BV, TÜV) that you book and pay for. And make sure payment terms, Incoterms and the shipping port are written into the proforma invoice rather than agreed in chat.
6. Test the supplier’s product decisions, not just the price
A few product questions separate a supplier who understands sports eyewear from one who resells whatever is in the warehouse:
- Which models accept an optical inner frame for prescription wearers? (In our range: KC01-01, KC01-02, KC02-03, KC06-13A, KC07-15K, KC08-16K and the semi-rimless KD02-02.)
- Which frames can be made in floating material? (Ours: the KA, KB and KM series only — cycling and semi-rimless frames cannot.)
- What are the lens material options per model: TAC, PC 1.8, PC polarized, nylon polarized?
- Can they match a Pantone reference on frame, temple, nose pad and lens coating?
7. Start small, then commit
Ready-to-ship stock ships from low minimums — 1–2 pcs depending on the model, and mixed batches are accepted. Adding your logo to a stock colourway starts at 50 pcs per colour. An ODM colour outside the stock range starts at 300 pcs per colour, with up to two colours per order. Custom production runs around 40 days after artwork and sample approval.
Get the documents and the catalog first
Ready-to-ship stock ships from low minimums — 1–2 pcs depending on the model, and mixed batches are accepted. Adding your logo to a stock colourway starts at 50 pcs per colour. An ODM colour outside the stock range starts at 300 pcs per colour, with up to two colours per order. Custom production runs around 40 days after artwork and sample approval.
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Want a Supplier Who Answers These Questions?
Ready-to-ship stock ships from low minimums — 1–2 pcs depending on the model, and mixed batches are accepted. Adding your logo to a stock colourway starts at 50 pcs per colour. An ODM colour outside the stock range starts at 300 pcs per colour, with up to two colours per order. Custom production runs around 40 days after artwork and sample approval.