CBD Shop Apparel Compared: Bear Grips, Custom Ink, Printful, Printify

CBD shops 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 dispensary running an ongoing merch program 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

Custom Ink is built for one-time bulk apparel orders: school events, fundraisers, family reunions, corporate one-offs.

• Minimums per design: Most products require 6 to 12 piece minimums to unlock pricing.
• Setup is order-by-order: Each new order is a fresh design upload, fresh proof cycle, fresh setup.
• No persistent storefront: Customers cannot browse a shop link. Each order is a transaction.
• Best for: A one-time grand opening 50-piece order. Not for ongoing weekly customer merch.

Printful and Printify: POD Marketplaces

Printful and Printify are print-on-demand marketplaces. They connect to a Shopify or Etsy store the dispensary has to build separately.

• Catalog is broad but unfiltered: Hundreds of products, mixed quality, requires curation.
• Storefront is on the operator: The dispensary builds and maintains the Shopify or Etsy store. That is a real time investment.
• Setup work for product: Each product requires mockup generation, description writing, pricing setup.
• Best for: A cannabis brand with an in-house e-commerce team. Not for a single-location dispensary owner doing it themselves.

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

Bear Grips Pro Shops: Vendor SaaS

Bear Grips Pro Shops is built as vendor SaaS for ongoing merch programs.

• Persistent shop link: One URL the dispensary 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, all at flat rate.
• Done-For-You option: $109 a month VIP plan, a team builds and curates the shop monthly. Vendor sends one logo, the team handles the rest.
• Best for: CBD shops, dispensaries, and cannabis brands running ongoing merch programs.

Side-by-Side: Which Platform Fits a CBD Shop

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 it	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 CBD shop merch

Switching Cost From Custom Ink or Printful to Pro Shops

• Setup: One day. Upload logo, pick three starter products, set retail prices.
• Migration: Re-upload your logo and product designs. The Pro Shops dashboard handles the rest.
• Shop link: Available immediately. Print the QR code, add to the register card, push to Instagram bio.
• Existing orders: No migration of past orders required. New orders flow into the Pro Shops system.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Per-piece prices are competitive on both VIP plans ($59 and $109). The free plan runs a bit higher per piece. The bigger comparison is total cost of ownership: persistent storefront, no Shopify build cost, no plugins.

Can we switch from Custom Ink mid-year?

Yes. Setup takes a day. No contract to break with Custom Ink (they are per-order).

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

We handle the shop site. Vendor gets a Pro Shops URL with their logo and branding. No Shopify or Etsy build required.

What about the Done-For-You option for cannabis brands?

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