The six parts of a hoodie that move the price
Fabric structure and weight. Fleece versus loopback versus French terry, and 320 versus 400gsm. This is the largest single line, and it is the one most often left vague in a quote.
Rib specification. 2x2 with elastane costs more than 1x1 without, and it is the part a customer notices when it fails.
Hood construction. Single layer versus two-panel and lined. Cheap on paper, visible in wear.
Seam type. Overlock versus flatlock, and whether the pocket is bar-tacked.
Dye lot. Stock colour versus a custom bath, and whether the lot is held across the run.
Packed dimensions. Not a garment cost, but it decides the freight, and on a heavy hoodie freight can exceed the fabric cost per unit.
Why the parcel matters as much as the garment
A hoodie is a volumetric product. Two garments of the same weight can ship at different costs because one compresses into the carton and the other does not. A quote in FOB terms says nothing about this, and the landed cost is where the surprise lives.
Ask for the packed carton dimensions per size run, not just the carton quantity. Once you have that, freight is arithmetic rather than a guess.
What a comparable quote has to state
Unit price at your exact quantity, with the quantity tier written down. A range is not a price.
The fabric structure and weight by name, plus whether a substitute is allowed.
Rib and hood specification.
Packed carton dimensions and carton quantity.
The production window, stated as a range with the assumptions behind it.
What happens if the batch is wrong: who pays, and how long the remake takes.
The MOQ arithmetic buyers usually miss
Minimum order is per style and colour, not per order. Two colours of one style means two minimums. That is not a sales tactic; a dye bath and a cutting ticket belong to one colourway.
Extended sizes and custom dye lots carry their own minimums on top. If a first order is small, the practical answer is stock colours and a standard size run, with the custom run on the second order once the style has sold.