Minimum order, first order and box multiples: the rules and why they exist

Written 23 September 2026 by the trade desk. About 1 minute to read.

Three rules decide what an order can look like. None of them is arbitrary, and each one is cheaper for you than the alternative.

The standard minimum: $300

Below about this figure the cost of picking, packing, documentation and freight outweighs the goods, and since freight is included in the box price, small orders would be carried by the larger ones. So an order is $300 of goods or more.

The first-order minimum: $100

A new account can place one order from $100 of goods, so a line can be tested before it is stocked in quantity. The standard minimum applies from the second order. If the first order is $100 of one line, that is one, two or three boxes depending on the strength.

One sealed box per line

The smallest quantity of any line is one box of ten vials, and boxes are not split. A box is sealed at fill with the batch number on it; opening one to sell five vials would break the seal, the batch record and the certificate's link to what you received.

Two worked examples

A first order of three boxes of tirzepatide 10 mg is well over $100 of goods and is accepted. A second order of one box of bacteriostatic water at under $10 is below the standard minimum and is not; add lines until the goods pass $300.

Volume beyond the list

There is no maximum. A quantity the shelf cannot cover is made to order in about two weeks, and a quantity beyond the price list is quoted rather than listed: raise it from your account under Quotes and RFQ.

Applies to

Tirzepatide among others. Every compound.

Read next