Buying sneakers by the lot: a carton planning guide

Start from the list, not from a catalog

The first skill in lot buying is reading the list the way the warehouse wrote it. The partner's list carries every model on hand with three facts per line: the colors available, the size run packed in each carton, and the carton count currently in stock. A line that reads well looks like this: a cushioned runner in four core colors, EU 40-45, a run stepping 1-2-3-3-2-1 across the six size steps, with enough cartons to cover a season. A line to treat carefully is one with a single color in low carton counts - it may be gone by the time your program confirms. The list changes as cartons ship, which is why the desk confirms your exact program in writing against the list of that week, and why the site only shows sample lots instead of a fixed catalog.

Plan breadth first, depth second

The most common first-order mistake is going deep too early: twenty cartons of one style because the photo looked right. Lot buying rewards the opposite. Because mixed models are allowed within a carton, a first order of six cartons can carry six different styles - a cushioned runner, a court low, a leather casual, a chunky build, a trail-style shoe, a sandal. That spread answers questions a single deep position cannot: which silhouettes move in your channel, at which price points, and in which sizes. Sell-through data from a broad small order is worth more than margin earned on one guess.

Depth comes on the reorder. Once a style proves itself, the second order goes deep on the winning models and colors, and the sell-through record becomes the brief for an OEM conversion with your own labels the following season. Buyers who follow that arc - broad stock test, deep reorder, OEM conversion - rarely get stuck with boxes. Read how the two routes hand off in the OEM guide.

Mix cartons deliberately

Mixing is allowed, but it should be planned, not random. Three patterns cover most first orders:

1. The spread. One carton each across several styles in your core size range. Use it to test silhouettes when you know nothing yet.
2. The pyramid. Most cartons on one or two proven styles, one carton each on two or three candidates. Use it once you have sell-through data and want to defend the winner while still testing.
3. The size ladder. Same style, cartons that together cover the full EU 36-45 span, useful for uniform or family-footwear programs where every size must be on the shelf.

State your mix when you send the request form; the desk confirms the exact carton plan, per-carton size runs and the carton count on hand in the written program sheet. If you are unsure which pattern fits your channel, say so - proposing the mix is part of the desk's job, and it is easier to adjust a plan in writing than a pallet at the dock.

Sizes: buy the way your customers buy

The size run inside each carton is fixed by the warehouse - typically stepping 1-2-3-3-2-1 across the six size steps - so depth at the edges comes from carton count, not from special-casing single pairs. That makes your size strategy a carton-count decision. If your market skews to mid sizes, a few cartons of the same style cover it; if you serve wide spans (families, uniform programs, outlet channels), the ladder pattern above is the honest way to cover both ends. For converting EU runs to what your customers ask for, use the desk's size chart, and read the sizing notes for kids' runs at 36-41 before ordering children's styles.

Colors: core first, novelty through OEM

The stock list lives in black, white, greys and browns because that is what moves in volume from a warehouse. Treat that as a feature: core colors are the easiest way to keep shelves full and the safest way to test a channel. When your data shows a color story your customers want - a seasonal pastel, a print, a two-tone - that is an OEM conversation, where color depth is planned into the dye lots instead of found on a shelf. The private label page covers what branding looks like when a proven stock style converts.

The checks before dispatch

Stock moves fast, so the desk runs the checks in the same week as the program:

• Line check. Every model, color and size run on your program sheet is verified against the live list that week, and the carton count on hand is confirmed in writing.
• Original-design check. The desk confirms your styles are original generic designs from the partner's range - one sentence on the sheet that keeps a fast order from becoming a customs problem later.
• Packing and marking. Neutral packing by default; specific carton marking for a marketplace warehouse or distributor is settled before sealing.
• Dispatch date. Picking starts on confirmation and stock typically dispatches within days; the date is part of the written program sheet.

Photos of picked cartons are available on request, and inspection against the confirmed list follows the desk's standard process - see quality control. When the cartons are sealed, the last planning step is freight: carton dimensions and weights come from the program sheet, and the shipping guide covers what your forwarder will ask for.

A worked first order

To make the arithmetic concrete, consider a first order built for an online seller with a general-audience store: one carton each of a cushioned runner, a court low and a leather casual in EU 40-45, one carton of a chunky build and one of a trail-style shoe in EU 36-41, plus one sandal carton for warm months. Six cartons, 72 pairs, five style families, both size spans - enough to learn what sells without betting the quarter on any single model. The reorder, placed on sell-through data two to four weeks later, goes deep on the winners. That is the lot buying arc in one paragraph, and it starts with the live list from the request form.