1 Dozen vs 2 Dozen vs 20-Pair: Which Wholesale Packing Actually Makes Sense for Your Shop?

If you're new to buying footwear wholesale, the packing terminology can be confusing the first time you see it. "1 Dozen 1 Colour," "2 Dozen Mixed Colour," "20 Pair" — what do these actually mean for what shows up at your shop, and which one should you actually order?

We get asked about this often enough that it's worth writing down properly. Here's how it actually works.

The basic idea: footwear is sold by the carton, not the pair

Wholesale footwear doesn't get sold one pair at a time the way retail does. It's packed and sold in cartons - sealed boxes containing a fixed number of pairs. The packing type just describes how many pairs are in that carton, and whether they're all one colour or a mix.

1 Dozen, 1 Colour

This is the simplest option: one carton, 12 pairs, all the same colour and size range. If you order "1 Dozen 1 Colour" in Black, every pair in that box is Black, in the sizes listed for that model (typically a spread like 41-45).

Best for: shops that already know a specific colour sells well for them, or that want to stock deep in one colourway rather than spreading thin across several.

2 Dozen, Mixed Colour

A larger carton - 24 pairs - but instead of one colour, it's a mix. The exact colour breakdown varies by model (we list this clearly on each product), but the idea is you get variety in a single carton instead of committing to just one colourway.

Best for: shops that want to test a model across a few different colours at once, without ordering multiple separate cartons.

20-Pair, Mixed Colour

Similar concept to 2 Dozen Mixed, but a smaller carton size - 20 pairs instead of 24 - still mixed across colours. This sits as a middle option: more variety than a single-colour dozen, but a smaller total commitment than a full 2-dozen mixed carton.

Best for: shops wanting colour variety but not ready to commit to a 24-pair carton yet.

One thing that trips people up: the pairs-per-carton number can vary slightly

Here's something worth knowing that isn't obvious from the packing name alone: the exact number of pairs in a carton can occasionally differ from the "standard" count implied by its name - a "1 Dozen" carton might sometimes have 10 or 11 pairs instead of exactly 12, depending on the specific batch.

This isn't a mistake or something to worry about - it happens naturally with certain models and colours. That's exactly why, on every product listing, we show the actual pairs-per-carton number whenever it's different from the standard count - so you always know precisely what you're ordering, not just an assumed figure.

So which one should you actually pick?

A simple way to think about it:

• Know exactly what colour sells for you? Go with 1 Dozen 1 Colour and stock it properly.
• Testing a new model, unsure which colour will move? A mixed carton (2 Dozen or 20-Pair) spreads that risk across a few colours in one order.
• Smaller shop, want to try a model without a big commitment? Our minimum order is just 5 cartons total across your order - not 5 of each packing type - so you can genuinely start small and see what sells before going bigger.

If you're ever unsure which packing makes sense for a specific model, that's exactly the kind of question we're happy to answer directly - message us on WhatsApp with the model name and we'll walk you through it.