Selling Plus-Size Activewear With Zero Inventory Risk

Activewear plus size and athleisure plus size are both steady search terms, and the businesses positioned to answer them are usually small: a studio, a trainer, a fitness creator, not a national activewear brand. The traditional obstacle was inventory. A small business cannot responsibly bulk-order a size run across a full activewear line and hope the mix sells. The print-per-order model removes that obstacle by making every size available without anyone committing to stock any of them.

Why Bulk-Ordering an Activewear Size Run Fails Small Businesses

• Size guessing. A 24-piece bulk order forces a guess at the size breakdown weeks before a single sale happens.
• Dead stock. Whatever size mix guesses wrong sits in a bin, unsellable, tying up cash that a small business does not have to spare.
• Slow iteration. A four-week reprint cycle means a popular size stays out of stock for a month while an unpopular size gathers dust.

How the Print-Per-Order Model Changes the Math

On a Bear Grips Pro Shop, nothing is produced until a customer places an order. A shop owner lists a legging, a tank, and a jogger. If the 2XL legging outsells every other size that week, that is simply what gets printed that week. There is no bin of unsold small sizes offsetting it, because none were made in advance. This is the same underlying model used by most modern direct-to-consumer apparel platforms and it is the reason a one-person fitness brand can carry a full size range without ever touching inventory.

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

What the Activewear Catalog Covers

Category	Examples	VIP base range
Tanks	Racerback, flowy scoop, spaghetti strap	$19.88-$25.88
Leggings	Signature seamless, high-waist pocket, high-waist capri	$54.88
Shorts	Performance training, signature athletic, biker shorts	$44.88-$49.88
Joggers and sweatpants	Midweight performance, premium fleece, wave wash	$39.88-$48.88
Sports bra	Padded sports bra	$45.88

See the leggings design guide and the shorts guide for detail on each of these categories.

What It Actually Costs to Start

The free plan runs 3 live products at $0 a month, which is enough to test a tank, a tee, and a jogger before committing to anything larger. Self-Service VIP runs $59 a month for 200 live products at the lowest base prices, the right move once a specific size or style is clearly selling. There is no setup fee, no per-order minimum, and no cost tied to how many sizes a single design carries. Open a shop at Bear Grips Pro Shops to see the full catalog and current base prices before committing to a plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to order a minimum quantity to launch a size range?

No. Single-piece printing is the standard model. A customer can order one legging in one size with no minimum attached.

Does a wider size range cost more to list?

No. The base price per product is the same across the size range offered on that product page.

What happens if a size runs out of stock in a particular color?

Because nothing is pre-printed, stock-outs work differently than a traditional retailer. If a blank runs low with our supplier, the product page reflects it, but this is rare relative to holding physical inventory yourself.

Can I start with just one activewear piece?

Yes. Many shop owners start with a single tank or legging, watch which sizes sell, and expand the lineup from there.