HomeResourcesGuidesHow to Order Blank T-Shirts in Bulk
How to Order Blank T-Shirts in Bulk
Ordering blanks in bulk is mostly a planning problem. The catalogue part is easy. What separates a smooth order from an expensive one is the size spread, the dye lot, and how much slack you leave before your deadline.
This is the process, in the order you will actually hit it.
Work out your size spread before your total
The most common bulk mistake is ordering a round number and splitting it evenly. Real groups are not evenly distributed, and you end up with a stack of XS nobody wants and a shortage of XL.
For a general adult audience, a spread weighted toward the middle sizes is closer to reality than an even split. For a known group, ask. For a retail run, look at what sold last time rather than guessing.
Order the middle sizes deep and the ends shallow. Leftover mediums sell. Leftover 3XL sits.
Order every unit of one colour at once
Cotton is dyed in lots, and two lots of the same colour from the same mill can differ enough to see when the shirts are side by side. Nobody notices a slight variance across a season. Everybody notices it in a team photo.
If you need 200 black shirts, order 200 black shirts in one go. Topping up later risks a visible mismatch, and no supplier can promise a lot match on a reorder.
This is also the argument for ordering a few extra. Spoilage in printing is real, and the replacement has to come from the same lot.
Add spoilage before you add profit
Decorating destroys some shirts. A misaligned screen, a scorched transfer, a bad stitch-out. Printers typically plan for a small percentage of loss on a run and more on anything with tight registration or multiple placements.
Build that into the order. Ordering exactly 100 shirts for 100 people means the ninety-ninth mistake becomes a second order, a second lot, and a second shipping charge.
Understand what drives the price
Blank pricing is not arbitrary, and knowing the levers means you can hit a budget without simply buying the cheapest thing on the page.
- Fabric and yarn
- Open-end yarn is cheaper and coarser; ring-spun is smoother and takes fine print detail better. That single choice moves the price more than anything else.
- Weight
- Heavier fabric costs more per shirt. It also drapes and lasts differently, so it is a real decision rather than only a cost one.
- Colour
- White is almost always the cheapest. Heathers and specialty dyes cost more because of the blending and dyeing involved.
- Size
- Extended sizes usually carry an upcharge. It applies per shirt, so a wide spread changes your average cost.
Leave more lead time than you think
The blanks arriving is not the deadline. The blanks arriving, being counted, being decorated, drying or curing, being folded and boxed, and then shipping to you is the deadline.
Count backwards from the date you need them in hand, and add a buffer for the one thing that always goes wrong: a size out of stock at the warehouse, a colour discontinued, a delivery that misses a day.
Check the blank before the whole run goes through it
Order a sample of the exact style and colour before committing to hundreds. Wash it. Print one if you can.
A shirt that shrinks a full size, or whose neck relaxes after one wash, is a problem you want to discover on one unit rather than on two hundred.
Common questions
Is there a minimum order for blanks?
Not here — we sell single units through to full cases. Minimums are common at traditional distributors that only serve trade accounts, which is what pushes a lot of small shops toward buying retail at a markup.
How many extras should I order?
Enough to cover decorating spoilage plus a couple of spares. The exact figure depends on your print method and how complex the artwork is — a simple one-colour screen print wastes far less than a tight four-colour registration.
Can I mix sizes and colours in one order?
Yes. Mixing is normal and expected. The thing to avoid is splitting one colour across two separate orders, because of dye lots.
What if a size sells out mid-order?
Substituting a different style for the missing sizes rarely works — fit and fabric will not match, and it shows. Either wait for the restock or change the whole run to a style with full availability.
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More guides
- Bulk T-Shirts: Choosing the Right Style for a Volume OrderWhich blank t-shirt style to buy in volume, and why the cheapest line is sometimes right and sometimes the reason a run fails.
- Cheap Blank T-Shirts: What You Actually Pay Per ShirtWhere the low prices on blank t-shirts come from, which savings are real, and the four costs that quietly undo them.
- How to Print Your Own T-Shirts: Five Methods ComparedScreen printing, DTG, DTF, heat transfer vinyl and sublimation — what each costs, what each is good at, and which blank each one needs.
- From Design to Shirt: The Best Way to Get Your Artwork PrintedHow to take a design from an idea to a printed shirt — file formats, colour, placement, and the decisions that decide whether it looks right.
- Company T-Shirts: A Practical Buyer's GuideOrdering branded shirts for a team: sizing everyone fairly, getting brand colours right, and what to do about the people who never reply.