What Merch Should You Actually Make? A Printer's Guide

So you've decided to make merch. Brilliant. Now comes the first proper decision — and it's the one people rush most: what should it be?

T-shirts feel like the automatic answer. Sometimes they are. But we've seen charities order shirts when tote bags would have flown off the stall, and bands sink their budget into caps nobody asked for while the hoodie-shaped hole in their merch table went unfilled.

This chapter is for anyone at that "blank page" stage — band, business, charity, team or event organiser — and by the end of it you'll be able to pick your product with confidence, not guesswork. If you haven't read Chapter 1 yet, it's worth two minutes: this chapter picks up exactly where its three questions left off.

Start with the job, not the product

Here's the framework, and it's the most useful thing in this chapter. Before browsing a single garment, ask: what job is this merch doing?

Job 1: Merch you sell

Fans, customers or supporters hand over money for it. The product needs to be something people want to own — which means quality matters, because nobody pays twice for a t-shirt that went baggy after one wash. Sellable merch lives or dies on desirability.

Typical scenario: a band with a gig calendar and a merch table. Their buyers are fans who want to wear the band's name — shirts and hoodies are the core, posters make a great low-price add-on.

Job 2: Merch you give away

Freebies at a fun run, conference goody bags, thank-yous for volunteers. Here the maths flips: cost per item is king, because you're buying in volume and getting nothing back at the till — the payback is visibility and goodwill.

Typical scenario: a charity summer event. Tote bags are the classic for good reason — useful, one-size, relatively low cost, and they get reused for years, carrying your logo round the supermarket long after the event.

Job 3: Merch you wear for work

Uniforms, team kit, staff clothing. The product is dictated by the day itself: what does the wearer actually do in it? A café needs aprons and polos that survive daily washing; a building crew needs hi-vis and warm layers; a five-a-side team needs kit that breathes.

Typical scenario: a small plumbing firm. Polo shirts with an embroidered logo for the day-to-day, softshell jackets for winter — smart enough for a customer's doorstep, tough enough for the van.

Plenty of projects mix jobs — a charity might sell hoodies to supporters and give away totes at events. That's fine. Just decide the job per product, not per project.

The product rundown: who suits what

A quick tour of the main options and where each one earns its place:

T-shirts. The default for a reason: everyone wears them, they take print beautifully, and they work at almost any budget. Best all-rounder for selling and giving away alike. The catch: you'll need a spread of sizes, and quality varies enormously between garments — fabric weight is the first thing to check.

Hoodies. The step up. Higher cost per item, but higher perceived value — a hoodie feels like a proper possession, not a freebie. Brilliant for bands and creators whose fans will pay more, and for teams in colder months. Riskier as a giveaway purely on price.

Workwear. Polos, aprons, hi-vis, fleeces, softshells. Built for repeated wear and washing, usually paired with an embroidered or printed logo. If the merch is a uniform, start here rather than adapting fashion garments to a job they weren't made for.

Tote bags. The giveaway champion: one size fits all, no size mix to agonise over, low cost, and genuinely useful — which is what keeps a logo in circulation. Also a lovely sellable item for bookish, crafty or cause-led audiences.

Hats and beanies. One-size (or close to it), logo-led, and great for teams and outdoor events. Beanies quietly outsell expectations in winter merch ranges. Keep the design simple — a hat is a small canvas.

Posters and flyers. Not wearable, but don't overlook them: for bands and events they're the cheapest item on the table, an easy impulse buy, and flyers do the promotional legwork before the event even happens.

Accessories and the rest. Mugs, badges, and other bits and pieces. Lovely as range-fillers once your core product is working — rarely the right first product.

Matching product to budget

You don't need exact prices yet (that's Part 5 territory) — you need the shape of the decision:

• Tight budget, big numbers needed (freebies for hundreds): totes, flyers, budget-friendly tees.
• Moderate budget, selling to fans or customers: quality t-shirts as the core, posters as the cheap add-on.
• Willing audience, higher spend per head: add hoodies — fewer units, higher value each.
• Ongoing daily use: workwear, where durability per pound matters more than unit price.

The mistake to avoid is stretching a small budget across many products. One product done well beats four done thinly — you can always add to the range later, and there's a whole chapter on growing it coming in Part 7.

Your product decision, in four questions

Answer those and you'll usually find two or three products have already ruled themselves out — and one is looking right at you.

Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)

1. Choosing what you like instead of what your audience wears. You might love caps; your supporters might be tote people. Fix: picture your ten most typical fans, customers or volunteers and dress them honestly.

2. Launching five products at once. Spreads the budget thin and multiplies every decision — sizes, designs, stock. Fix: one core product first; expand once it proves itself.

3. Treating giveaways and sellable merch the same. A giveaway optimises for cost and reach; a sellable item for desirability. Fix: name the job before naming the product.

4. Forgetting the size-mix burden. Fifty shirts means guessing a spread of sizes; fifty totes means ordering fifty totes. Fix: factor sizing effort into the choice — it's a genuine cost in time and risk.

5. Adapting the wrong garment to a job. Fashion tees as daily workwear wear out fast; hi-vis at a merch table sells poorly. Fix: let the wearing conditions pick the category.

6. Copying another band or business blindly. Their product mix reflects their audience and budget. Fix: borrow inspiration, but run it through the four questions above.

FAQs

What's the best first merch product?
For most sellers and giveaways: a good t-shirt. For events on tight budgets: tote bags. For uniforms: polos. But run the four questions before defaulting.

Is it cheaper per item to order more?
Generally, larger runs bring the per-item cost down — but exact numbers depend on the product, method and quantity, so ask your printer for a quote on a couple of quantity options and compare.

Can I sell and give away the same product?
Yes, and charities do it all the time — sell hoodies to supporters, give totes to event-goers. Just budget each job separately.

Are hoodies worth the extra cost?
When your audience will pay for them, very much so — they're worn for years and carry a design brilliantly. As a mass giveaway, rarely.

What if my audience is all shapes and sizes and I'm scared of ordering wrong?
That's exactly what one-size products are for — or hold tight for the sizing chapter in Part 2, which takes the fear out of the size mix.

Do posters really count as merch?
At a band or event merch table, absolutely — lowest price point on the table, easy impulse purchase, zero sizing.

How many products should a first range have?
One core product, maybe two if the budget genuinely stretches. Ranges grow best in response to real demand.

What's next after choosing the product?
Getting specific about your audience and budget — which is Chapter 3, and it'll sharpen every decision you've pencilled in here.