Frequently asked questions

No! No minimums!

When I started MicroPatches, I noticed that many custom product companies required large minimum orders, often around 50 pieces or more, and some charged mold fees that could easily add another $200 to $300 before production even started.

That creates a major barrier for smaller agencies, fire departments, military units, specialty teams, schools, clubs, small businesses, and customers who only need a few custom items instead of a large bulk order.

MicroPatches was built to remove those barriers. You can order one item or a larger quantity, and because our process does not require a mold, there are no mold fees.

One note on numbers so nothing here reads mixed up: if you see “50” on our pricing page, that is a volume discount tier, not a minimum. Order 50 or more of the same item and the price per piece goes down. You can still order just one.

Any of them!

MicroPatches makes MicroKeychains, MicroMagnets, MicroPins, MicroCharms, Flexible Patches, Flexible Badges, and challenge coins.

Most designs in our shop are ready to ship today as a MicroKeychain, MicroMagnet, MicroPin or MicroCharm — just pick the product type on the listing before you add it to your cart. We also stock a small run of our own morale patches.

Custom Flexible Patches, Flexible Badges and challenge coins are custom order only right now. If you don't see your agency, unit or design in the shop, every product type is available by custom order. As MicroPatches continues to expand, more designs and product types will be added directly to the website.

A Flexible Badge is a flexible replica of your actual badge — the same material and finish as our Flexible Patches, cut to your badge shape and friendly to hook-and-loop.

The difference is what we are copying, not what the finished piece feels like. If you send us the metal badge off a uniform — a breast badge, shield, star, hat badge or rank insignia — that is a Flexible Badge, even though it comes back soft with Velcro on the back. If you send us something embroidered or sewn — a shoulder patch, unit patch, morale patch or logo — that is a Flexible Patch. Both cost the same, so there is nothing to gain either way; we just need to know which one we are recreating.

Flexible Badges come in three sizes: Small at 55 mm (2.2 in), Medium at 65 mm (2.6 in), or a Replica — a 1:1 recreation at your badge’s own dimensions.

To make one we need three things:

1. A clear photo of the badge. Lay it flat, shoot straight down from directly overhead, even light, no glare on the metal. Fill the frame with the badge.

2. Your badge number. Type it out exactly as it appears, including any leading zeros. We set the number from your typed text rather than reading it off the photo, so it always comes out sharp.

3. The badge dimensions. Height and width in inches or millimetres, measured at the widest points. These are required for every Replica, which is built 1:1 from your measurements and has no standard size to fall back on. Small and Medium are scaled to a set size, so dimensions are helpful but not required.

Flexible Badges are custom order only and priced by size and quantity, on the same scale as our Flexible Patches: Small $12.99, Medium $14.99 and Replica $24.99 for 1–9 pieces, with the price per piece dropping at 10, 25, 50 and 100 pieces of the same design, and 250 or more custom quoted. The full table is on the custom orders page. Want your badge design on a keychain, magnet, pin, charm, or coin instead? We can do that too, priced the same as our standard pricing for that product.

Yes. The same badge artwork goes on a MicroKeychain, MicroMagnet, MicroPin, MicroCharm or challenge coin.

Custom badge artwork is a custom order on every product type, including the ones we normally keep in stock. One badge design covers all of them, so the $25 design fee is still charged only once no matter how many product types you order it on.

Yes. We charge a one time flat $25 design fee per unique custom design on every product except challenge coins.

Challenge coins are the one exception. A coin has two faces, so both the front and back are designed, and they carry a $35 design fee instead of $25. Rather than charging double at $50, we reduced it to $35 to keep it affordable for everyone.

This fee covers the time needed to review your artwork or reference image, make any necessary adjustments, prepare the design for production, create the custom product file, provide a proof, and make sure the final product is ready to be made correctly.

It also serves as the deposit for your order.

Ordering 25 or more pieces of the same design? The design fee is waived entirely. Reach out before you pay and we will set the order up with the fee removed. The one exception is challenge coins: the $35 coin design fee covers both faces and is never waived, at any quantity.

Pink Patch design fees are waived too, as part of our Pink Patch Project commitment. That waiver covers the patches themselves — a pink badge is welcome, but the badge design fee still applies.

And once a design has been created, it is done. If you order a design we have already made — even one that started as someone else's custom request — or reorder your own with no changes, there is no design fee, because the work already exists. Requesting changes to an existing design is billed separately, based on how much is changing — see the next question.

Many traditional custom product companies charge setup fees, mold fees, or tooling fees before production even starts. Those fees can often range from $200 to $300 or more, depending on the product and manufacturer. MicroPatches does not require a mold for production, so instead of charging a large mold or tooling fee, we keep it simple with a flat $25 design fee per unique custom design ($35 for challenge coins).

Once the design is completed and approved, the remaining balance is based on the product type, quantity, and any custom details included in the order.

It depends on how much is changing.

Minor change — $5. Swapping a name, number, or other text on a design we've already built — like putting a colleague's badge number on a badge we already made for you — or a small tweak like a minor color adjustment, is a minor change. We charge a flat $5 minor change fee instead of the full design fee, since most of the design work already exists.

Major change — $25 or more. Substantially modifying a design — adding new elements, a major color overhaul, or restructuring the layout — or recreating a patch or badge from scratch, is treated as a new design and billed at the full $25 design fee, or $35 for a challenge coin (or more, for a full from-scratch recreation).

Not sure which one your request is? Send us the details and we'll tell you before anything is charged, and this applies across every product we make — patches, badges, and coins alike.

No. The design fee is not charged per item, and not per product type.

The $25 design fee ($35 for challenge coins) is charged once per unique custom design. Example: you order 10 MicroKeychains and 5 MicroPins of your department patch. That is one design, so you pay one $25 fee — not one per piece, and not one per product type. Send a second, different patch and that is a second design, so a second $25 fee applies.

And at 25 or more pieces of the same design, the fee disappears completely — on every product except challenge coins, whose $35 design fee is never waived.

This is why the custom order page has no quantity selector — you are paying the design fee one time, not per piece. Tell us how many pieces you need after checkout and we invoice that separately.

All MicroPatches products are made in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

Our products are designed, 3D printed, UV printed, finished, packed, and shipped from our workshop. Keeping production in the United States helps us maintain quality control, avoid overseas manufacturing delays, and provide faster turnaround times for custom orders.

Turnaround time depends on the product, design complexity, order size, and current order volume.

Because MicroPatches makes products in house in Phoenix, Arizona, many orders can be completed much faster than traditional overseas manufacturing. Custom orders currently average about 1 week from design approval to completion, but this is subject to change depending on workload and the details of the order.

Shipping time is separate. Custom orders ship free from Phoenix, Arizona once they are completed. Ready-to-ship shop items (MicroKeychains, MicroMagnets, MicroPins and MicroCharms from the shop) are not free shipping — standard shipping is calculated at checkout based on your order and address.

A more accurate timeline will be provided once your custom request is reviewed.

Ready to ship items can be ordered directly through the storefront.

For a custom order you can pay the one time design fee online ($25, or $35 for challenge coins) to get started. We then email you to collect your artwork and confirm the product type, quantity, pricing and turnaround, and the remaining balance is invoiced through Shopify's secure checkout.

If you would rather get a quote before paying anything, or you are ordering 25 or more pieces and the fee is waived (challenge coins excluded), send us the details first and we will get back to you.

MicroPatches will not make licensed sports or entertainment designs without authorization, federal seals or agency designs without permission, patches or logos where ownership cannot be verified, or anything offensive, hateful, or disrespectful toward those who serve.

If you are unsure whether your design can be made, submit the request and ask first.

Badges are treated the same way. We recreate a badge for the person it belongs to, or for an authorized representative of the agency it belongs to. If you are asking about a badge that is not yours, tell us the context up front and we will let you know whether we can make it.