Is selling your team's gear on your list of to-dos before next season? Want more people in your community to wear your organization's apparel?
You should set up an online apparel store that allows people to buy branded gear online.
Here are a few tips to help you set up a custom team apparel store for your team, club, or league.
Option 1: Find an online store builder
What type of store are you trying to build? Do you need player uniforms, team gear, or a variety of game day apparel for parents and fans?
If you are a volunteer-run program and only have a little time, you should find a vendor to handle the printing, shipping, and pricing.
Online stores will take care of the dirty work for you. Most will let you upload your youth sports logos and colors and get started immediately.
Check out a few of the most popular online apparel store solutions below. You can even create free accounts on a few platforms to find the best vendor.
SquadLocker
SquadLocker specializes in team uniforms and apparel for parents, coaches, and fans. You can set up your store online by selecting your sport, uploading your logos, and selecting items to sell.
A huge advantage is that there are no order minimums and no order windows - so you can keep your store open 24/7, 365 days per year.
SquadLocker stores can offer some of the most popular brands, including UnderArmour, Adidas, Nike, and Russell Athletic. Orders arrive quickly, typically in less than two weeks.
You can start building your store at www.squadlocker.com! Need additional help? Check out How To Create a SquadLocker Store.
Blatant Team Store
Blatant Team Store offers online custom spirit wear stores with notable name brands like Nike, Adidas, and Champion.
You can keep your store open year-round, and a percentage of store sales can be contributed to your organization each quarter. There are no order minimums, and most items ship within two weeks.
You can also view live stores on their website to see examples.
Learn more or start setting up your store on blatantteamstore.com!
BSN Sports
BSN Sports is one of the most popular apparel and equipment and apparel providers. My Team Shop is a product specifically built for managing a store for your team.
BSN will help you set up your store customized with your logos, colors, and preferences. You can also offer name and number personalization for team members and fans.
Orders are placed online, so you don't have to deal with any forms or in-person payments.
Start setting up a store or talk to a sales rep at www.bsnteamsports.com
Team Sports Planet
Team Sports Planet specializes in outfitting individual teams with high-quality jerseys, uniforms, gear, and apparel.
You can create "Team Packs" so that everyone on your team can quickly order the same pre-approved items for the season. This can be helpful if you have 1-5 teams and want every player to purchase the same items before the season.
You can also use your uniform and apparel sales on Team Sports Planet to help with fundraising.
Team Packs can make sure everyone on your team has matching apparel and gear. Get started or learn more at www.teamsportsplanet.com
Rokkitwear
If you're in charge of fundraising for a high school sports team, you should check out Rokkitwear. Creating a store is free, and Rokkitwear prints your gear in many name brands like Nike, North Face, and Champion.
Rokkitwear stores can stay open year-round and offer hundreds of customizable items to all of your fans.
You can sign up to request a team store on the Rokkitwear website to get started.
Boombah
Boombah is built for all sports - but is particularly popular with travel baseball and softball programs. You can create custom uniforms or apparel sites on www.boombah.com
Turnaround time for Custom Apparel is three weeks. So, make sure you order all your player and coach gear at least a month before your season.
Head to www.boombah.com to learn more or sign up.
Score Sports
Score Sports is focused on online uniform sales for soccer, basketball, and baseball. It's a potential option if you're looking to create top-quality uniforms for your team for an upcoming season.
Score Sports also has a custom design studio so that you can design a unique uniform for your team each season.
To get started, you can create an account on their website.
Elevation Sports
Elevation Sports specializes in team jerseys, uniforms, and swag for Lacrosse, Field Hockey, and Soccer. You can also order custom team gear like duffel bags, sweatshirts, hoodies, hats, or socks for any sport.
You can also set up your store with some top brands like Nike, Under Armour, Jordan, and The North Face.
Fan Cloth
Fan Cloth is used to outfit teams and fans and assist with fundraising needs.
You don't have to worry about wasting inventory or managing sizing yourself. Fan Cloth only produces items that are ordered. They'll also package and label orders for each player, so you don't have to sort everything yourself.
Plus, there are potential fundraising bonuses for selling apparel and gear to your team.
Learn more or speak to a sales rep at www.fancloth.com/theprogram
Option 2: Allow players to make add-on purchases during registration
If you just have a few items already in stock that you pre-ordered, you can set up the option for players to purchase extra items during online registration.
You can add questions at the end of your registration form for purchases like extra t-shirts, hoodies, or any other gear you want to sell to players. This can also help increase revenue for your program or assist with team fundraisers.
For example, you could order 100 t-shirts before your season for $20 each from an online print shop like Vistaprint or CustomInk.
Selling t-shirts during registration for around $40 each and are a great year round addition for youth or high school sports websites. It's an expensive t-shirt, but you should encourage parents to purchase it to help support your organization. It's a quick way to earn a quick $1,000+ for your season without doing much extra work!
Allow parents the option to make additional purchases like player apparel, spirit wear, or even donate to support your program.
Option 3: Create a sports team store on Shopify
Have a bunch of gear already ordered and want to collect payments online and handle the shipping yourself?
You can use Shopify to set up your store and create a URL with your domain - like shop.yoursportsorganization.com.
Creating a Shopify store will be much more work and maintenance, but you can customize your store and keep a large portion of the sales.
For example, you can keep 90% + of the sales from your store if you handle all of the printing and shipping yourself through Shopify rather than using an online store vendor. If you're running a for-profit organization like a competitive club or AAU program, Shopify is a great way to increase revenue.
If you want to take your apparel sales to the next level, Shopify is your best fit. Try it out on www.shopify.com!
Tips for creating a team apparel store
1. Get the right gear. Keep it simple!
Almost all of your purchases will come from just a handful of items. As you set up your store, keep it simple and don't try to do too much.
Parents, coaches, and players will order roughly the same items, so make the buying experience easy by only offering a handful of options.
Here's what you should include in your store:
- T-Shirts (long and short sleeve)
- Hoodies
- Quarter Zip Pullovers
- Joggers or sweatpants
Try two colors of each item so there are a few more options.
2. Promote your store
Post links to your store regularly on your organization's social media pages. Don't be shy - especially if there are time sensitive deadlines when players need to place their orders.
Post to your social media channels with links to the online store at least once per week during your busy time of year to make sure that everyone is getting reminded often.
You can also send email and text notifications to parents, coaches, and fans when the store is open to encourage purchases.
Your store should also have a prominent link on your youth sports website so that visitors can easy find the store at any time.
3. Raise money with your sports apparel store
Fundraising is one of the toughest parts of running a youth sports program. Whether you run a recreational volleyball league or a competitive cheerleading club, make sure that apparel and spirit wear are a major revenue generator for your organization.
Most online store options will kick back a portion of sales to your organization. If you print and sell items directly to players and parents, be sure to mark the items up at least 25% so your organization can generate additional funds from the sale of each item.
You should have prominent links to your Apparel Store on your website. You can even give visitors a quick pitch on why they should purchase items to support your league or teams!
4. Keep your store open year round
Some stores will require "order minimums" or require that your store is open only during a certain window so they can fulfill the orders quickly. But that makes it tough for parents and players to order apparel on their own timeframe.
You should find a team store solution that allows you to keep your store open for the full year. That way everyone that supports your team can order items at any time - before the season, mid-season, before a birthday or Christmas, or just when they're feeling extra excited about your team.
Create a custom apparel store for your team today
Don't wait! Even if it's your offseason you should start setting up your online team store for your next season.
If you're just getting started, try one of the Online Store solutions built for sports listed above. You should also give the option for parents to purchase items or make a donation during registration to help increase funding for your next season!
Custom sport apparel store FAQ
How much does the custom team apparel online store charge for shipping?
Shipping costs typically vary depending on factors like location, shipping method, and package weight. Custom sportswear companies may also charge flat rates for US addresses.
SquadLocker, for example, offers three shipping options:
- Standard Shipping: $9.95
- Priority: $15.95
- Express Shipping: $24.95.
What are the benefits of ordering custom team apparel online?
Ordering custom team apparel online offers benefits like convenience, because you can place orders from anywhere and at any time. Customization options, which allow you to design apparel according to your team's preferences. And competitive pricing, as online stores often provide discounts and promotions.
What is the name of the company that provides custom team apparel online?
Some popular companies include CustomInk, SquadLocker, and Score Sports. However, the best company for your needs might vary depending on factors like product selection, pricing, and customization options.
