SquadLocker is the established on-demand team store platform that many youth soccer clubs already know. Bear Grips Pro Shops is a newer alternative built for vendor-set margins, a done-for-you VIP option, and an affiliate program that pays the club for referring other clubs. Here is how the two stack up on the decisions a youth soccer director cares about.
If those four points are all you need, either platform works. The choice comes down to the differences below.
Bear Grips Pro Shops lets the club set the retail price on every product. The club picks the per-item margin, marks it up to the price that fits the local market, and earns the full difference between base and retail. No platform-set price floor or ceiling. The default recommended profit is $10 per item, but the club can run higher or lower.
SquadLocker historically uses platform-controlled retail pricing and a smaller per-item profit kickback to the team store, which the platform calls "team store fees" or similar. The exact percentages have varied over the years and per product. Clubs that want full margin transparency and direct control of pricing prefer the vendor-set model.
Pro Shops includes a Done-For-You VIP tier at $109 per month. The club director sends one design or logo per month and Pro Shops applies it to 15 trending products with front-and-back mockups, picks the top 6 color variants per item, builds the store layout, writes the product titles and descriptions, and sets optimal retail pricing. For clubs run by volunteers who do not have time to manage a store, this is the difference between launching and never launching. Free and Self-Service tiers are also available at $0 and $59 per month.
SquadLocker offers managed services in some form, with separate pricing. Compare current pricing on both sites if managed setup matters.
Bear Grips Pro Shops: Custom Apparel for Your Team. No Minimums. Free Shipping.Bear Grips Pro Shops runs a 63-product premium athleisure catalog: Bear Grips, Bella+Canvas, Sport-Tek, Next Level, Champion, Gildan, Independent Trading Co., Cotton Heritage, Jerzees, Hanes, AS Colour, Yupoong, Richardson, Otto Cap, and Valucap. Coverage includes tees, hoodies, quarter-zips, joggers, leggings, sports bras, polos, and embroidered hats.
SquadLocker covers a similar range across multiple supplier brands. Both platforms can handle a full youth soccer club kit. The catalog differences are minor at the youth-soccer level. Compare specific styles you care about against each catalog before deciding.
Every Bear Grips Pro Shops signup gets both a club store and an affiliate link. The club earns 10 percent of any other club’s subscription it refers (forever, paid by Bear Grips) plus $1 per unit sold by every referred club. For a director who runs an active club and knows other directors in nearby leagues, the affiliate income can match or exceed the per-jersey margin.
SquadLocker does not offer a directly-comparable affiliate income structure. If referral income matters, Pro Shops has the edge.
Both platforms ship most orders in about a week from US print facilities. Specific timing varies by product and season. Both offer free shipping to the end customer on most orders. At the youth-soccer use case, lead time is a tie.
Open a free club store, set your own margins, and add a Done-For-You VIP plan only when you are ready. Switching from SquadLocker takes under an hour for a self-service setup.
Start FreeThree main reasons: full vendor-set margin (the club picks retail prices), the done-for-you VIP tier for clubs run by volunteers, and the affiliate program that pays for referring other clubs.
Both platforms have zero minimum order. The difference is in margin control, managed services pricing, and the affiliate program.
Technically yes, but the families get confused having two stores. Most clubs pick one platform. The affiliate income and DFY tier are the main reasons clubs choose Pro Shops.
A free signup with the existing club logo and crest takes under 30 minutes. A DFY VIP launch with full mockup and layout takes about a week from logo handoff. The old SquadLocker store can run in parallel during cutover or close at the end of the current season.
Bear Grips Pro Shops