Barbershop Apparel Compared: Bear Grips, Custom Ink, Printful, Printify

Barbershops looking at custom apparel have three categories of platforms: bulk-order shops like Custom Ink, POD marketplaces like Printful and Printify, and vendor SaaS like Bear Grips Pro Shops. Each was built for a different use case. For a barbershop running an ongoing merch line with staff uniforms and customer-facing drops, the vendor SaaS model wins on setup time, ongoing sell-through, and operator workflow.

Custom Ink: Built for One-Time Bulk Orders

• Minimums per design: 6 to 12 piece minimums to unlock pricing.
• Setup is order-by-order: Fresh upload, proof cycle, setup per order.
• No persistent storefront: Customers cannot browse a shop link. Each order is a transaction.
• Best for: One-time grand opening 50-piece order. Not for ongoing barbershop merch.

Printful and Printify: POD Marketplaces

• Catalog broad but unfiltered: Hundreds of products, mixed quality, requires curation.
• Storefront is on the operator: Barbershop builds and maintains a Shopify or Etsy store. Real time investment.
• Setup per product: Each product needs mockup generation, description, pricing.
• Best for: Multi-location chains with in-house e-commerce. Not for a single-location barbershop owner doing it themselves.

Bear Grips Pro Shops: Custom Apparel for Your Team. No Minimums. Free Shipping.

Bear Grips Pro Shops: Vendor SaaS Built for Shops

• Persistent shop link: One URL the barbershop shares forever. Customers browse and order direct.
• No piece minimums: Order 6 or 600 at the same per-piece rate.
• No setup fees: Multi-color logos, multi-design drops, flat rate.
• Done-For-You option: $109/mo VIP. A team builds and curates the shop monthly. Vendor sends one logo, the team handles the rest.
• Best for: Barbershops running ongoing apparel programs and combo storefronts.

Side-by-Side: Which Platform Fits a Barbershop

Factor	Custom Ink	Printful / Printify	Bear Grips Pro Shops
Piece minimum per design	6 to 12	None (POD)	None
Setup fees per design	Typical $30 to $80	None	None
Persistent storefront	No	Operator builds	Included
Setup time to first sale	Per-order	2 to 6 weeks (Shopify build)	About a week
Monthly cost	$0 (per-order)	$30+ Shopify + plugins	$0 free, $59 VIP, $109 DFY
Best for	One-time grand opening	In-house e-comm team	Ongoing barbershop merch

Switching Cost From Custom Ink or Printful

• Setup: One day. Upload logo, pick three starter products, set retail.
• Migration: Re-upload your logo and product designs.
• Shop link: Available immediately. Print the QR code, add to the front desk card.
• Existing orders: No migration required. New orders flow into Pro Shops.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does per-piece price compare to Printful or Printify?

Per-piece prices are competitive on both VIP plans. The bigger comparison is total cost: persistent storefront, no Shopify build, no plugins.

Can we switch from Custom Ink mid-year?

Yes. Setup takes a day. No contract with Custom Ink to break.

Do you handle the shop site, or do we build a Shopify store?

We handle the shop site. Vendor gets a Pro Shops URL. No Shopify or Etsy build.

What is the Done-For-You option?

DFY VIP ($109/mo): our team builds and curates the shop monthly. Vendor sends one logo, we handle 15 products, mockups, descriptions, and seasonal updates.