5 Money-Saving Tips for Ordering Custom Apparel

Are you looking for ways to reduce costs and get the most value from your custom apparel orders?

Then these five must-know tips will ensure you get the best bang for your buck by simply…

1. Choosing cost-effective blanks
2. Keeping an eye out for special offers and discount codes
3. Opting for smaller designs
4. Saving on embroidery, printing and digitizing fees
5. Taking advantage of freebies

So, let’s start from the beginning of the process: choosing cost-effective blanks.

1. Choosing cost-effective blanks

There are so many different brands, materials, and styles of blanks to choose from when you’re placing your order. Since they all vary widely in price, this is often the best place to start saving big. Being strategic and selecting lower-cost blank garments can greatly help to lower the overall cost of your custom apparel order.

For example, at Garmeo, you can embroider lower-cost items such as blank caps that cost as little as $12 or print your designs on t-shirts that cost as little as $10!

Click here to learn more about ordering custom apparel from Garmeo!

Other items, like hoodies or button-down shirts, can cost more to customize due to the size, material and the original cost of the blank garment.

For example, to make a profit, custom apparel companies will always charge customers a small markup based on the price at which they purchased their blank garments.

Quality button-down shirts and hoodies are always more expensive than t-shirts, so they will likely have a higher markup.

So, start with lower-cost options to see what you’re looking for before considering higher-cost items.

2. Keeping an eye out for special offers and discount codes

One way to set yourself apart as a savvy consumer is to always look for special savings events and limited-time offers.

Special offers and discount codes can spell huge savings when ordering custom apparel, which can be the difference between keeping costs low and going over budget.

Keep an eye out for sales and promo codes throughout the year. Note that many promotions occur during national holidays, so be sure to mark your calendars and check your inbox during these times, so you don’t miss out!

Some promotions will offer a discount when you purchase a certain number of items.

For example, in the past Garmeo has offered deals where customers can buy two custom garments and get one free, $10 off when you buy two or more items, and $25 off when you spend $250 or more.

Other sales or codes will offer you a perk or benefit in lieu of a specific savings amount.

Garmeo also offers free shipping on orders of 12 or more, which is a huge bonus for anyone looking to save on overall costs.

Click here to save on free shipping with an order of 12 or more garments from Garmeo.

So stay alert, stay on top of your calendar, and save big!

3. Opting for smaller designs

When it comes to saving money on custom apparel, one factor you might not think about right away is the size of your design.

With printed apparel, your design can vary in size without affecting the total price. For example, Garmeo charges a flat $5.00 printing fee that’s included in your overall price no matter the size, garment type, or design placement.

For embroidery designs, however, the bigger the design, the higher the cost to have it embroidered.

Embroidery requires a special machine that stitches out each color in your design. So, the more stitches there are, the longer the machine will take to embroider it. Some embroidery designs can take hours to complete on a single garment, so embroidery tends to carry a higher customization fee.

Also, embroidery thread is more expensive than printer inks, which adds to the overall costs of customization.

While embroidery can cost a bit more than printed designs, it’s important to note that embroidery is permanent and your design will last forever. And although high-quality printed designs are very durable, some tend to fade over time.

So, if you’re interested in an embroidered design but want to keep costs low, be aware of the size of your design, keeping it on the smaller side. If you’re looking for inexpensive custom apparel but still want a larger design, printing may be a better option for you.

4. Saving on embroidery, printing and digitizing fees

Creating high-quality custom garments requires ink, toner, thread, and embroidery backing. On top of these things, it also requires the time and resources to set up or recreate the design for embroidery or printing in specialized software, get the sample approved, and ship the final product to the customer.

But the good news is, there are loads of ways to save on these fees when ordering custom apparel – here are some examples from Garmeo:

Purchasing 12 items or more and the digitizing fee is waived

At Garmeo, if you choose to embroider a design on 12 garments or more, the digitizing fee for your design(s) is waived completely. This is important because digitizing can often increase your custom apparel’s price significantly, especially if you have different designs.

Digitizing is the process of converting a design into a file format that an embroidery machine can read. Many embroidery shops will actually send their designs to professional digitizers since it’s a time-intensive process.

This fee can cost between $25-$75, so waiving this fee can result in some major savings.

Choosing a service that doesn’t charge artwork approval fees

Unlike other companies that charge you hefty fees for artwork approval, Garmeo puts your needs and budget first by not charging for this service.

This is important because artwork approval can cost up to $125 per project and cut into your overall budget.

At Garmeo, we never charge approval fees, ensuring you’re 100% satisfied with your artwork before fulfilling your order.

Avoiding sample approval fees

Many companies will also charge you up to $50 to send a sample for approval.

We waive this fee at Garmeo and email you a free sample of your print or embroidery design for your approval before proceeding with your order.

5. Take advantage of freebies

You’d be surprised at how many free custom apparel resources are available when you start looking for them.

You’ll find things like ready-to-print custom designs, design templates, and so much more available for free!

Be sure to download these free resources whenever they’re available, so you can benefit from them immediately.

For example, Garmeo offers a FREE 12-pack of high-quality, full-color designs for you to easily download and use to customize your T-shirts.

Having access to resources like designs and templates can help you avoid pricey fees for freelance designers and save you money on subscription fees to design libraries.

This is especially useful if you’re starting your own clothing brand and are looking for free, unique designs to market your business.

Click here to take advantage of Garmeo’s FREE 12-pack of print-ready designs for T-Shirts.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve shown that you can save money on your custom apparel by choosing cost-effective blank garments and being mindful of your design size for embroidery.

You can also watch for special offers and discount codes available throughout the year and look for companies that waive fees for services like digitizing, artwork approval, and samples.

Lastly, make sure to take advantage of any free resources you come across, like unique artwork and design templates that will save you money on things like digitizer or designer fees.

These tips will help you score maximum savings on your custom apparel while getting the most value out of your order every time.

Besides these five money-saving tips, let us know in the comments if there are any others we might’ve missed.