Custom Ink Alternative for Pet Businesses

Custom Ink is the most-recognized name in custom apparel for groups, but the model is built around one-off bulk orders for events. For a pet business that wants an ongoing branded apparel program (staff uniforms, customer merch, year-round availability), the print-on-demand shop model at Bear Grips Pro Shops fits the use case better. Here is a side-by-side comparison and when each one makes sense for a pet business.

Custom Ink vs Pro Shops Side-By-Side for Pet Businesses

Feature	Custom Ink	Bear Grips Pro Shops
Minimum order	6 pieces typical	1 piece
Pricing structure	Per-order tiered pricing	Flat per-unit, free signup
Ongoing shop	No (one-off orders)	Yes (persistent shop)
Customer-facing retail	No	Yes (set retail markup)
Re-order flexibility	Re-quote each time	One-click re-order
Affiliate program	No	Yes (10% recurring)
Best fit	One-time event orders	Ongoing staff and customer apparel

When Custom Ink Makes Sense for a Pet Business

Custom Ink is the right call in three specific pet business scenarios:

• One-off team-building event: pet business team-building day with no ongoing apparel program needed
• Charity 5K or fundraiser shirt: single-event shirt that does not need to live on after the event
• Highly customized one-off design: complex multi-color design for a single 30-piece order

For these scenarios, Custom Ink's order-and-done model is straightforward.

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

When Pro Shops Makes Sense for a Pet Business

Pro Shops fits the use case better in most ongoing pet business scenarios:

• Staff uniform program with rolling new hires: re-order one polo for a new hire without re-quoting
• Customer-facing retail merch: set retail prices above base cost, margin flows on every sale
• Year-round availability for customers: customers can buy the brand merch any time of year without prompting
• Test-and-iterate on new designs: launch a new design, see if it sells, kill it without inventory waste
• Affiliate referral income: refer other pet businesses to the platform and earn recurring commissions

For the broader vendor walkthrough see how to start a pet business merch shop.

Switching From Custom Ink to Pro Shops

Pet businesses that have been running Custom Ink orders typically switch when:

• The pet business has grown enough to want a persistent shop instead of one-off orders
• The owner wants to add a customer-facing retail merch line
• Re-ordering single shirts for new hires gets expensive at Custom Ink minimums
• The owner wants to earn affiliate income by referring other pet professionals

The switch takes about an hour: upload the existing logo to a new Pro Shops account, set up the product mix, and start sharing the link.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Bear Grips Pro Shops compare to Custom Ink for pet businesses?

Pro Shops is built for ongoing shop programs (one-piece minimum, persistent shop, retail margin). Custom Ink is built for one-off bulk orders. Different use cases.

Is Custom Ink cheaper than Pro Shops for pet businesses?

Per-shirt cost is similar at typical pet business order sizes. Pro Shops adds zero setup cost, no minimum, and retail margin opportunity that Custom Ink does not provide.

Can I run an ongoing pet business shop through Custom Ink?

Custom Ink is built for one-off orders, not persistent shops. For ongoing staff uniforms and customer merch, the Pro Shops model fits better.