The phrase no minimum sublimation shirts usually means one of two things: a wholesale blank supplier that dropped its case-pack size down, or a print-on-demand shop that never had a case-pack requirement in the first place. Those are very different businesses to work with. Here is the actual difference, what it costs at each size of order, and how to set up a shop that never asks a customer to buy in bulk.
Sublimation blank wholesalers sell polyester shirts, in a size and color run, that are meant to be printed in bulk on an in-house or shared sublimation press. Their business model depends on selling in case packs (commonly 6, 12, or 24 units per size and color) because that is how their production and shipping costs pencil out. A buyer who wants one shirt has to either buy the whole case or find a smaller reseller marking up the same blanks.
None of that is a knock on wholesale suppliers. It is simply a different model built for shops that already have a sublimation press and print their own designs in-house at volume.
| Model | Typical minimum | Who it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale sublimation blanks | 6 to 24 units per size and color | Shops with their own sublimation press, printing at volume |
| Local shop bulk order | 12 to 48 units, upfront payment | One-time team or event orders with a known headcount |
| Bear Grips Pro Shops | 1 unit, any size or color | Ongoing shops, unknown or shifting headcount, per-order fulfillment |
A single-piece model matters most when the buyer does not know exactly how many people will order, or when new sizes and reorders trickle in over months instead of arriving all at once. A youth sports team, a small business selling merch to fans, or a family reunion planning committee rarely knows the exact headcount six weeks out. Ordering one at a time as people commit removes the guesswork and the leftover-inventory risk entirely.
Bear Grips Pro Shops: Custom Apparel for Your Team. No Minimums. Free Shipping.Base pricing depends on the plan and the piece. On the Self-Service VIP plan ($59 a month, 200 live products), a cotton tee starts at $19.88, a performance polyester tee runs $23.86 to $23.88, and a performance tank runs $19.88 to $25.88. The free plan ($0 a month, 3 live products) uses a higher base price on the same pieces. Every price includes printing, packing, and free shipping to the buyer, and the price does not change whether one shirt ships this week or fifty ship across a season.
Every signup also gets a built-in affiliate link: 10 percent of any referred vendor's subscription forever, plus $1 per unit that referred vendor sells, paid out every two weeks.
Same per-piece price either way. No minimum, no upfront bulk payment, free shipping.
Start FreeCorrect. One shirt costs the same per unit as any larger order. There is no case-pack requirement and no upfront bulk payment.
Pricing is per piece at the VIP or free base rate regardless of order size. Vendors control their own margin by setting retail price, so a known-headcount order can still be priced to reflect volume if the vendor chooses.
The free plan costs $0 a month for 3 live products. It uses a higher base price than VIP, so vendors planning to sell more than a handful of designs typically move to Self-Service VIP at $59 a month for the lower base cost across 200 products.
About a week from order to delivery, printed and packed in the US with free shipping to the buyer, one piece or many.
Bear Grips Pro Shops