Good decisions.
Better merchandise.
A first merch order should give every piece a purpose. Decide who it is for, how it will be sold or distributed and the quantity you can use, then compare the complete cost. The useful number is the finished stock you will receive, not a headline price viewed without its specification.
This guide explains how to plan a focused range and use Project Print’s complete packs or configurable product pages. It includes practical pack-count examples, a stock worksheet and a final basket checklist. Start with a manageable plan, make the artwork and options clear, and keep the details that will help your next order.
Give every product a job in the launch
Describe the main reason for the order in one sentence. You might be preparing accessories for a first clothing drop, branded items for an event or embroidered headwear for a team. The purpose should guide the product choice. A sticker included with an online order has a different job from an accessory that needs to earn its own retail sale.
Choose a main item and decide which extras genuinely support it. If headwear is the main product, a matching sticker may help carry the identity through the parcel. If the order is for staff, the priority may be practical colour choices and a recognisable logo. You can plan a larger range later without committing to every idea in the first order.
Consider the actual recipient rather than buying a product simply because it can carry a logo. Will they wear it, keep it, attach it to something or hand it out? The answer affects the artwork, quantity and packaging you need. A clear role also makes it easier to explain the finished item in a product listing or launch post.
Browse the custom keyring range for accessory options, or start with a product you already know suits your audience. The keyring material comparison can help you narrow the accessory choice before adding it to the range. Keep a short list, with a reason beside each item. That gives the range a direction and keeps the initial commitment visible.
Separate sale stock from samples and team use
Write down how the finished pieces will be allocated. Sales, photography, team use, samples and giveaways all draw from the same order. Reserving some items is sensible, but those pieces should be included in the count before you calculate how much stock will be available for customers.
For garments or products with sizes, build the split from what you know about the intended wearers. An equal quantity in every size is a choice, not a neutral default. For products with colours, consider how many combinations you can meaningfully present and sell. A small order spread over many options can leave very little stock in each one.
Keep the physical count and the allocation together. If you receive 20 beanies and reserve four for your team and two for photography, you have 14 available for sale. Do not list all 20 as sale stock and remember the reserved items only after orders arrive. The same check applies to stickers intended for parcel inserts and event handouts.
Use separate columns for the total ordered and the use of that stock. A simple worksheet helps you check the sum and gives everyone working on the launch the same starting point. Update it if the order or the distribution plan changes.
Read the title and included pack specification
A complete-pack listing sells the stated group of finished pieces. On the complete pack of 50 die cut stickers, one pack contains 50 stickers. On the complete pack of 10 embroidered beanies, one pack contains ten BC045 beanies with the listed standard logo embroidery. Read the title together with the included specification, rather than treating “quantity” as the same thing on every page.
Check the artwork scope and the options covered by that pack. The sticker pack is based on one agreed design within its listed size specification. The beanie pack needs your requested colour counts, with available colours confirmed after ordering. Neither listing means that the gallery’s pictured designs or colours will automatically arrive as an assortment.
Gallery photographs illustrate the product and its possibilities. Your custom order is made with your own approved artwork. If a particular finish or configuration matters, confirm that it belongs to the listing you have selected. A photograph should help you understand the product, while the written specification defines what you are buying. For stickers, compare gloss vinyl and holographic finishes before deciding which listing fits the launch.
Count complete packs and finished pieces separately
Use two labels in your planning: the number of packs added to the basket and the physical pieces those packs contain. Multiplying the two gives the finished quantity. This is especially useful if someone else is helping with checkout or a social shop has brought you directly to a pack page.
| Listing | Basket quantity | Pieces in each pack | Finished pieces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Die cut stickers, pack of 50 | 1 | 50 stickers | 50 stickers |
| Die cut stickers, pack of 50 | 2 | 50 stickers | 100 stickers |
| Embroidered beanies, pack of 10 | 1 | 10 beanies | 10 beanies |
| Embroidered beanies, pack of 10 | 2 | 10 beanies | 20 beanies |
A basket quantity of one on these pack listings is a complete pack, not one sticker or one hat. Conversely, a configurable product page can use the selected quantity to describe actual pieces. Do not apply a pack multiplier to a quantity that already represents the physical count.
If the total does not match your stock plan, pause and check the route you are using. Correct the quantity before ordering. Buying several packs does not automatically apply the wider configurable product’s quantity pricing tiers; compare the two routes using the same intended physical quantity.
Use the configurable page for wider quantities and choices
The configurable die cut sticker options let you choose a physical sticker quantity from the options shown. Check the selected amount against the order summary. If it says 100 units, plan for 100 stickers; do not multiply that number by the 50-piece pack size from a different listing.
The budget embroidered beanie options use the quantities you allocate to the available colours to build the hat count. The current page allows a colour combination from ten hats in total. A pricing tier shown on the page is not the same as completing your colour allocation: you still need the actual numbers to add up to the intended order.
For example, six black beanies and four in another available colour total ten hats. Keep that split beside the approved logo and review it again in the selected summary. This is a count illustration, not a promise that every colour is available for every order.
Use the configurable route when its wider quantities or options suit the job, and the complete pack when its included specification matches what you need. Compare the actual selected total and artwork route for each. If neither route expresses the order clearly, send a brief instead of assembling a basket that leaves the important decisions unresolved.
Make the artwork and colour split explicit
Decide which design belongs to each product. “Use our logo” may be sufficient to start a conversation, but the agreed order needs an identified file and version. If the main logo and a compact emblem are both supplied, explain which one goes on the sticker and which one belongs on the beanie. Keep a reference image separate from the artwork intended for production.
For a pack order, follow the listing’s handover instructions. The sticker and budget beanie pack pages offer an artwork upload and an email handover with your order number after ordering. Include your requested options in that handover so the team can connect the brief to the correct purchase. Do not assume that a selection in another enquiry has automatically carried across.
Write colour quantities as a list with a total. If a colour is important to the launch, flag that before production is agreed and ask what is available. Treat alternatives as a decision to confirm, rather than giving an unclear instruction such as “any similar colour”. A small, deliberate range is easier to describe than an assortment you have not planned.
Keep one identity without forcing one layout onto every product
A consistent merch range does not require the exact same arrangement at every size. A full logo may suit a sticker, while a cuff needs a compact mark. A keyring’s outline may emphasise the emblem. Keep the identity recognisable by preserving agreed lettering, proportions and colour relationships, then adapt the layout for the product.
Review the smallest wording at the intended finished dimensions. A design filling a screen can conceal how little space a physical placement offers. A paper preview can help you judge hierarchy; it is not a production proof or a simulation of the material. Ask for the actual design to be checked against the chosen process.
Keep the artwork master and each product version together. Record deliberate changes, such as removing a secondary strapline or using a simpler outer shape. That makes the approval clearer and helps a later reorder preserve the right version rather than restarting from a compressed social image.
Compare the complete finished cost
Compare the same quantity and specification before comparing prices. Identify the product, dimensions, material, decoration, placements and included options. Add any quoted setup, requested extras, packaging, VAT and delivery on the same basis. A price for an undecorated garment does not describe the cost of the finished item.
Keep the complete order total visible beside any price per piece. Read whether the displayed figure includes or excludes VAT and check the delivery amount at checkout. If you are comparing a quote with a website selection, make sure both describe the same physical quantity and scope. Ask about any line you do not understand before using it in your budget.
For internal planning, divide the relevant finished order cost by the physical pieces it covers. Then keep sale-stock reservations separate. If some pieces are reserved for photography or giveaways, the number available for sale will be lower than the number produced. That is useful information when deciding how much the first run can commit.
A mixed order may include products with very different costs. Keep a line for each item instead of relying on one average across hats, stickers and keyrings. That makes it easier to see which product changes when you compare another quantity or configuration.
Choose a realistic total commitment
A lower price per piece can still mean more money committed and more stock to distribute. Start with the quantity your plan can use, then compare the relevant options. There is little value in buying an additional tier if the extra pieces do not have a realistic purpose.
Think about storage, dispatch and how you will present the range. A first launch needs enough room and time to receive the goods, check the allocation, photograph the finished items and prepare the listings. Keep those tasks in the plan alongside the production order. Do not let a price comparison decide the entire launch schedule.
If you are testing demand, define what you want to learn: which product people choose, which colour they prefer or how many accessories are included with another item. Keep the first range focused enough that the results are useful. The next order can then respond to actual use and sales, rather than simply repeating a larger count.
Plan the full set and make a final basket check
For a launch built around several products, check each item’s production guidance and artwork requirements. An arrival date for the whole set needs the slowest or least resolved part to be considered. Sending files is not the same as approving the product-specific proof, and a stated production range should be read with its starting condition.
Give the team the date you need the finished goods and explain whether all items must arrive together. If artwork, colour availability or a garment choice is still open, flag it. Keep the required arrival date distinct from a hoped-for release date until the plan has been reviewed.
- Does every basket line describe the intended product and finish?
- Are you counting complete packs or physical pieces correctly?
- Do colour and size allocations add up to the order?
- Is the selected amount consistent with your complete cost plan?
- Do you know how to send the correct artwork and order number?
- Have the important options and required arrival date been stated?
Use these checks before checkout and again when reviewing the order specification. A clear basket and brief reduce the chance of treating an assumption as an agreed option.
A fictional product and distribution worksheet
The example below shows a small accessory launch. It is a planning illustration, not a recommended buying ratio or a commercial quote. Every reserved piece is counted within the finished quantity, and the intended sales stock is shown separately.
| Product and role | Order | Physical pieces | Reserved allocation | Remaining use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gloss vinyl stickers for parcels and events | 2 packs of 50 | 100 | 10 samples and photography; 30 event handouts | 60 parcel inserts |
| Embroidered beanies for retail and team use | 2 packs of 10 | 20 | 4 team; 2 photography | 14 available for sale |
The sticker allocation is 10 + 30 + 60 = 100. The beanie allocation is 4 + 2 + 14 = 20. Add the confirmed artwork revision, beanie colour counts, required arrival date and complete selected cost beside each row in your own worksheet. Those details are part of the plan even though this example does not invent prices or delivery promises.
Record the useful details for a reorder
Keep the original artwork, approved product version, proof and confirmed specification with the stock worksheet. Record the exact product reference, finish, colours and allocations. Add what actually happened: which options sold, which were used by the team and whether the reserved quantities were sensible.
Those notes make a reorder more deliberate. You may keep the identity but adjust a colour split, reduce an unused option or choose a different product for the next launch. Treat any changed material, dimensions, decoration or artwork as a specification to review, and confirm current pricing rather than assuming every first-order arrangement transfers unchanged.
When you are ready, compare the relevant complete-pack and configurable options or send your combined merch brief. Include the physical quantities, artwork, options and arrival requirement. A first order planned this way gives you a focused launch and useful evidence for building the next one.
