Cheap custom apparel is not inherently risky, but a handful of specific warning signs separate a fair price from a quote that will cost more than it looks like once every add-on lands. This is a straightforward 5-point checklist to run against any supplier, print-on-demand or bulk, before you place an order.
If a "cheap" per-piece price does not mention shipping, assume it is not included until you confirm otherwise. Shipping added at checkout can turn a $15 shirt into a $22 shirt, erasing most or all of the apparent savings. Confirm this before comparing prices across suppliers, not after.
A minimum order turns a cheap per-unit price into a forced bulk purchase. If you need 6 shirts and the minimum is 24, the "cheap" price is really an $288+ commitment, not a $15 decision. Check for this before getting attached to a quoted per-unit number. See the full breakdown on why no-minimum ordering usually wins for small orders.
Bear Grips Pro Shops: Custom Apparel for Your Team. No Minimums. Free Shipping.Some suppliers charge extra for each additional color in a design, or a flat setup fee per new design uploaded. This rarely shows up on the initial price page and usually surfaces at the design-upload or invoice step. Ask directly: is there a charge for a multi-color logo, and is there a setup fee per new design?
"100% cotton" tells you almost nothing about weight or feel. A legitimate cheap supplier should be able to name the actual garment brand and style (Bella+Canvas, Gildan, Next Level, and so on), not just a generic fabric percentage. If a supplier will not name the blank they are printing on, that is worth treating as a caution sign.
If the only way to see the actual print quality is to commit to a minimum order, you are taking the supplier's word for it on quality. A supplier confident in their cheap pricing lets you order one piece first. Bear Grips clears all 5 checks on this list: free shipping to the end customer, no minimum order, no per-color fee, named brand blanks across all 63 products (Bella+Canvas, Next Level, Gildan, Sport-Tek, Champion, and more), and single-piece ordering available from day one. See the true-cost calculation guide to run your own numbers, or start testing at Bear Grips Pro Shops.
Free shipping, no minimum, no per-color fee, named brand blanks. See it before you commit.
Start FreeShipping not included in the quoted price. It is the most common way a cheap sticker price turns into an expensive checkout.
Not always, but it changes a cheap per-unit price into a larger forced commitment. Confirm the total cost for the quantity you actually need, not the quoted per-unit price alone.
Ask directly before uploading a design, or check the invoice step before finalizing an order. This detail rarely appears on the main pricing page.
Yes. There is no minimum order on any of the 63 products, so a single test piece costs the same per-unit price as a full order.
Bear Grips Pro Shops