What to have ready
A bulk quote is built from specifics: the exact garment, the decoration, the quantity, and where and when the order needs to arrive. Gather these nine items before you ask, and one request is usually enough.
- Product. The style you want — a link, a style name and number, or a plain description (t-shirt, hoodie, polo). If you are not sure, describe how the items will be used and we can suggest options.
- Colors. The garment color or colors to quote.
- Size breakdown. How many of each size, for each color — not just "mostly adult mediums and larges."
- Total quantity. The overall count across all sizes and colors.
- Artwork. A vectorized .ai, .eps, or .pdf file, or a high-resolution .png. If your logo needs vectorizing or design help, we can do that work; additional fees may apply, billed on time spent.
- Placement. Where the design goes — left chest, full front, full back, sleeve — and roughly how large it should print.
- In-hand date. The date the boxes must be in your hands, which is usually earlier than the event date itself.
- Delivery ZIP or pickup. The ZIP code the order ships to, or a note that you would prefer to pick it up.
- PO and tax-exempt needs. Whether you need a formal quote for a purchase order, and whether your organization will provide tax-exemption documentation.
Every line feeds the price: product and colors set garment cost and availability, the size breakdown and total set the per-piece math, artwork and placement determine the decoration setup (screen printing is available for bulk orders alongside our on-demand methods), and the ZIP code sets shipping. Final pricing — and whether your in-hand date is workable — is confirmed when we prepare the quote. You can start a request on the bulk order page.
The most common delay: "same as last time"
The request that stalls most often is "the same shirts as last time" with nothing to match it against. Garment styles and colors change over time, and artwork usually exists in more than one version, so "last time" has to be reconstructed by email before anyone can price it.
If you are reusing a prior order, include anything that identifies it exactly: the order number, the approximate order date, or a copy of the confirmation or invoice. With a solid reference, we can pull the exact garment, color, and approved artwork version and quote from there.
The same discipline applies to timing: give the in-hand date, not the event date. If the shirts are for a Saturday walk, you likely want them days earlier for sorting and distribution, and quoting against the true deadline avoids surprises later.
Bulk order or free online store?
Before requesting a quote, confirm a bulk order is the right shape. A bulk order fits when one payer buys one batch: your organization pays for the full run, collects everyone's sizes up front, and receives one shipment to hand out. If instead each supporter or member should choose their own size and pay for their own items, a free-to-start online store is usually the better fit — we build it with you, every item is printed on demand after someone orders it, and each order ships directly to its buyer, so no one has to collect sizes or money. The two can also be combined: some organizations run a year-round store and place a consolidated order for a specific event. See how it works for the store path.
