It's important to start this article by clarifying what wholesale means. Wholesalers sell products to individuals or businesses who are not the end-user. That is the case with many of our customers! Another important detail is that wholesalers sell in bulk at a low rate. Design A Shirt does offer just that! The higher quantity you order, the less the cost per item. If you’re in the beginning stages of a new business, you may not be ready to order in bulk, and that’s ok! We're here to help you re-evaluate your approach and strategize your purchase when your purpose is to resell for a profit.
If you are looking to purchase t-shirts, jackets, vest, polos, or other apparel, at a lower rate in an effort to boost profitability on resale, here are some tips to consider when ordering through our company:
1) Order in bulk- our price breaks are as follows: 12, 36, 72, 124, 300, 600, and 1,200 pieces. We understand it's unrealistic for most people to order thousands of items at a time. We have competitive pricing at attainable quantities for that reason! Aim to order at least 72 or 124 pieces per design to lower your cost per t-shirt and you'll be in good shape to set your resell price. The same graphic can be printed on multiple shirt colors and/or products and pricing would be based on the total quantity of items. This works in your favor! If you need 150 t-shirts and 150 sweatshirts with the same design, the item cost would be the 300 piece price point. If you have multiple designs, the piece price is determined per art setup. If you're hoping to print 50 t-shirts of the 6 designs you have created, you would not get the 300 piece price point. This is simply because the production process is exclusive per design.
2) Limit the amount of ink colors in your design- the print method we use on bulk runs is called screen print. The amount of ink colors in your design does affect the cost. This is something you will need to consider when creating your graphics. There are still endless creative solutions when limiting the number of ink colors in your design. We recommend sticking between 1-4 colors in your artwork to keep pricing at a reasonable rate. If screen printing isn't the way you planned on going, we offer bulk pricing for embroidery as well! Please review our embroidery details here.
3) Print on a single placement of the garment- printing on both sides of the garment does drive up the cost since it's essentially doubling the setup, labor, materials, and time to print the order. Based on our experience with resale customers, printing your artwork on a single placement (such as the front or back only) is encouraged.
4) Purchase a garment that people are excited to wear- to put it bluntly, it's disappointing to see a creative graphic on a cheap/scratchy t-shirt that people aren't going to wear over and over. This is where you don't want to cut corners when it comes to cost. Hit a higher price break and pay a little more for a nicer fabric. Here are a few of our recommendations:
Bella Canvas Unisex Jersey Crew
Next Level Unisex CVC Crew
Bella Canvas Unisex Triblend Crew
Don't let artwork hold you back. We offer free expert design through our T-Shirt Concierge Service. Click below to get started.
5) Plan ahead- our standard turnaround of 10 calendar days offers free shipping. If you are planning to sell t-shirts at an event, give yourself at least two weeks for some cushion. We do have expedited options available (5 business days and 3 business days) but those include rush production fees that will cut into your profit. Need to know pricing beforehand? Click below to get a quote.
If you need a custom quote or a decoration request, contact us below. We can assist with special decoration methods like embroidery, screen print, digital, transfers and more. This also includes specialty inks and products you may not find on our site. Reach out to us below and we'll help you place your wholesale order.
