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Cost-vs-value guide
How many custom shirts should I order?
Short answer: the sweet spots are 24, 48, and 100 pieces. Bumping from 12 to 24 pieces on a Gildan 5000 costs $96 more but gets you 12 extra shirts at $8 each — 33% cheaper per shirt than the ones you were already buying. This guide shows the math for every common quantity so you can decide with your eyes open.
The pattern behind every scenario below: our per-piece price drops at 6, 12, 24, 48, 100, and 250 pieces. Free shipping kicks in at $50, so any order of 3 tees or more ships free too. The step from the $12/pc tier to the $10/pc tier at 24 pieces is where most orders find their best value — aim for at least 24 if you can use them.
Scenario 1: Gildan 5000 tee, 1-color front print
The most common Harborside order. Restaurant staff, event tees, camp shirts, brewery merch — all live here.
Bump 12 → 24: +12 shirts for $96 more$8 per extra shirt
Bump 24 → 48: +24 shirts for $192 more$8 per extra shirt
Bump 48 → 100: +52 shirts for $368 more$7.08 per extra shirt
Practical rule: if you need 8–20 shirts, order 24 anyway. The extra shirts cost less per unit than the ones you were already buying, and you get spares for staff turnover or lost/damaged shirts. If you need 30–40, order 48 — same logic.
Scenario 2: Port Authority K500 polo, embroidered chest
HVAC crews, restaurant hosts, real-estate teams — the professional apparel benchmark.
3 pc
$34/pc
$102 + $55 digitizing
FREE ship
6 pc
$30/pc
$180 + $55 digitizing
FREE ship
12 pc
$26/pc
$312 + $55 digitizing
FREE ship
24 pc
$24/pc
$576
FREE + digitizing WAIVED
48 pc
$22/pc
$1,056
FREE ship
Big tip: the digitizing fee ($55 one-time per new logo) is waived on 24+ pieces. Going from 12 to 24 polos saves you $55 and adds 12 pieces at $24 each — the effective bump cost is only $17.42/extra polo. If you were considering 15–20 polos, jump to 24.
Scenario 3: Carhartt K121 hoodie, embroidered
Contractors, construction crews, premium workwear giveaways.
1 pc
$24 + $48 garment
$72 + $55 digitizing
+$12 ship
6 pc
$68/pc
$408 + $55 digitizing
FREE ship
12 pc
$64/pc
$768 + $55 digitizing
FREE ship
24 pc
$62/pc
$1,488
FREE + digitizing WAIVED
On Carhartt, quantity matters less — the blank cost ($48/pc) dominates and per-piece decoration savings are smaller as a percentage. Order what you actually need. Going from 6 to 12 saves ~6% per piece; going from 12 to 24 saves 3%. Digitizing waiver at 24+ is a real bonus but only ~$2/piece amortized.
Scenario 4: Small crew hire order (2–5 pieces)
New employee starting Monday. You've got the design on file from a previous order. What's the cheapest way to just add them to the crew?
For 1–5 pieces on your existing logo: there's no small-run surcharge and no re-digitizing fee because your file is on record forever. A single new-hire Carhartt K87 lands at $52 shipped ($40 + $12 shipping; two pieces ship free). A single embroidered polo runs $46 shipped. Details on the reorder page.
Combine mid-season adds into one order. If you know 3 people are joining over the next 6 weeks, order all 3 shirts at once — one shipping fee (usually free once you hit $50), one production run, one proof to approve. Otherwise you pay $12 shipping 3 separate times ($36 wasted).
The universal decision rule
Look at how much you'd pay to add the next 10–20 pieces. If it works out to less per extra shirt than your current per-piece price, bump up. Almost always the case at the 12→24 and 48→100 transitions.
Also worth remembering:
- Free shipping starts at $50 — in practice 3 tees or more already clears it
- Free digitizing on embroidery at 24+ pieces — $55 saved
- Same-artwork reorders skip all setup — production runs 1–2 days faster the second time
- Order 10–15% over your headcount — new hires, lost shirts, spare demand. Reordering 3 pieces later is expensive vs. adding 4 to the initial order
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