A brand planning a range usually budgets one mold per model. That budget is wrong in both directions. A single outline can carry 27 sellable items on two molds. The cost that grows with the count sits nowhere near the press.
For a brand, this decides how many items a first order can hold. For a factory, it decides how many files and how much stock the same drawing generates.
The Perseus range runs 15 product pages, 27 variants and nine price steps
A product feed read on 24 October 2026 lists 15 pages in the Perseus collection. Those pages hold 27 buyable variants. The listed prices settle into nine steps, from USD 79.95 at the bottom to USD 349.95 at the top.
The top step sits 4.4 times above the bottom one, and no outline change explains that gap. Every price below carries the read date, because the brand can move one without touching the shape.
Listed price, read 24 October 2026 | What sits on the step | Pages on it |
USD 79.95 | Entry build, one construction | Astral |
USD 99.95 | One print line and one name-only model | Heat Vision, Da Hammer |
USD 119.95 | The second print line | Double Vision |
USD 149.95 | The pro build, plain and signed on one step | Pro IV 14 mm and 16 mm, Ben Johns Pro IV 14 mm and 16 mm |
USD 159.95 | One step above the pro build | CFS |
USD 179.95 | A newer stack on one model | POWER FX |
USD 199.95 | A newer construction in two thicknesses | 3S Dual 14 mm and 16 mm |
USD 299.95 | The player line, one page listed twice | Pro V |
USD 349.95 | A collaboration on a short run | Steve Aoki limited |
Four switches explain the 4.4 times gap, and only one of them is a mold
The first switch is core thickness. A 14 mm build and a 16 mm build share an outline and differ in the core. Each one carries its own price step.
The second is the stack behind the face. A recreational build and a professional build sit on different layers. The layers set the step more than the outline does.
The third is the name on the model. A signed version and a plain version of one build can sit on the same step. The feed shows exactly that for one 16 mm pair.
The fourth is the run size. A limited run with its own artwork sits at the highest step in the range. Its unit cost has little to do with the outline.
Only thickness and stack reach the press. The other two switches move paper, stock and price.
Only thickness and outline add a mold, and each one adds it once
A mold follows the outline and the core thickness. A second thickness on the same outline needs a second tool. A color, print or name change leaves the tool where it is.
A brand that plans nine steps on one outline therefore plans two tools. The steps follow the stack and the finish rather than the shape. That gap lets a range grow without a tooling bill.
The mold carries one cost that the count hides. It sits in who holds the drawing after the first run.
A new model name opens a certification file even when the mold stays
A test house reads a model name rather than an outline. A signed version under a new name is a new file. The part can come off the same tool on the same day.
A color variant usually keeps the model name. The feed shows three colors under one page and one model name, and that structure keeps the file count down.
The clause that moves a model into a second file sits in how a new model name starts a new file. The document list for a first order sits in which certificate covers which market.
A color variant adds stock and a carton plate, with no tooling
Three colors on one page means three item numbers, three cartons and one tool. The face print needs a new plate or a new print file, and the plate is the cheap part.
The stock carries the bigger bill. Each variant carries its own minimum, and our minimum sits at 200 pcs. Three colors on one model means 600 pcs before the first carton leaves.
A factory holding the same 225 g target across three colors runs three setup rounds. Where the 200 unit minimum bites covers what that does to a first order.
A signature version changes the model name and the channel
One 16 mm pair in the feed shows the plain version and the signed version on one step. Both list at USD 149.95 on the read date, and the parts and certification fields match. A name on the face adds nothing to the price.
The change sits outside the part. The signed version carries a search visibility tag that the plain version lacks. Retail search returns one of them, and the business channel returns both. The same habit sits one layer up in how a brand hides the factory name.
The brand pays for that arrangement in licensing, packaging and channel control. Those three arrive on the invoice as services rather than as parts.
The limited run costs the most per unit and the least per mold
The highest step in the range carries a collaboration name and a run size far below the standard line. It sits at USD 349.95. That step shares its outline with the USD 79.95 entry build, a little under a quarter of its price.
Its cost sits in the artwork, the packaging and the small batch. The tool is already there. The mold line on that quote reads the same as the line for a standard model.
A limited run carries a data risk as well. Two variants of one collaboration color sit in the feed with two spellings of the same word. Each spelling carries its own item number.
First order cash follows the SKU count rather than the mold count
A first time buyer gets this wrong. You pay for the tool once. The stock bill arrives with every item number you list.
A brand planning six items on two tools writes a stock order of 1,200 pcs at our minimum. A signed version in both thicknesses lifts the count to 1,600 pcs with no new tool.
Build | Items | Molds | Files | First order |
One outline, one thickness | 1 | 1 | 1 | 200 pcs |
One outline, two thicknesses | 2 | 2 | 2 | 400 pcs |
Three colors on each thickness | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1,200 pcs |
A signed version in both thicknesses | 8 | 2 | 4 | 1,600 pcs |
A limited collaboration | 9 | 2 | 5 | 1,800 pcs |
The last row carries nine items on the same two tools as the second row. The mold count stayed at two while stock went up nine times.
The press line runs the same hours whatever the item count. The warehouse absorbs the difference.
Two data errors inside one range show where SKU control breaks
The first is the spelling split above. The second is a product on two pages with the same three variants and two item number sets.
Neither error touches the paddle, and both touch the order, the carton and the warranty claim. A warehouse picks by item number rather than by outline.
A range this size needs one owner for the item list. Our incoming check reads the item number before it reads the model name for that reason.
A rival can copy the spec sheet and cannot copy the run
Every figure a rival needs sits on a public page: outline, core thickness, face type, grip length and weight band.
The first thing that stays is the spread. A 225 g target held at plus or minus 2 g is one product. The same target held at plus or minus 5 g is another, and the spec sheet prints one number for both.
The second thing that stays is history. A model that lost its approval once leaves a record. The changes that keep that record clean sit in how a model changes without a new plate.
The third is the item list itself. A plant that ships 27 variants without a spelling split has done work no page shows.
The SKU tree belongs on the table before the first sample
Draw the tree first: outline, thickness, color, name, run size. Each branch carries a different cost, and only two branches reach the tool. The tool itself carries one clause the tree cannot show, and who ends up holding the drawing covers it.
Then price the branches that miss the tool. Stock and files are the lines that grow, and you can cut both before the sample rather than after.
We decline to quote a range from an outline alone. A brand that asks for nine steps without a tree gets an estimate that moves twice before the carton ships.
The outline we cut at 16.38 in keeps 2.54 mm under the size limit. The shape we cut at 16.38 in shows what that margin leaves for a second thickness.
The desk that sizes a first run reads the tree before it reads the price. It replies within 24 hours.
FAQ
How many SKUs does one paddle shape become?
A range can carry 27 variants on one outline, as the Perseus feed shows. The count comes from thickness, color and the name on the model rather than from the shape.
Does every new color need a new mold?
No. A color variant reuses the tool and adds a print plate or a print file. The stock commitment is the real cost, because each variant carries its own minimum.
Does a signature version need its own certification?
It needs its own file when the model name changes. The part can come off the same tool, and the test house still reads a name rather than an outline.
How many molds does a range with nine price steps need?
Two, when every step shares one outline and splits by core thickness. A second outline adds a third tool.
Why do two versions of one paddle cost different amounts?
The step follows the stack, the run size and the name rather than the outline. A limited run at USD 349.95 and an entry build at USD 79.95 can share one tool and sit at opposite ends of a nine step range.
What is the smallest first order for three colors?
600 pcs at our minimum of 200 pcs per variant. The tooling bill does not change with the color count.
Can a brand copy a competitor’s paddle from the spec sheet?
It can copy the outline and the material list. It cannot copy the batch spread, the approval history or the item list discipline, and those three decide what your customer receives.
What should a brand bring to a first factory meeting?
One tree: outline, thickness, color, name and run size per branch. A factory that quotes without the tree is quoting the cheapest branch and hoping the rest follows.