Online team stores
A permanent storefront for your program that nobody has to staff. Orders print after they are bought and ship to the family who bought them.
An online team store is a storefront carrying your program's range, open for as long as you want it open. The mechanism that matters is print on demand: nothing exists until somebody buys it, which is what removes the inventory, the up-front cash and the leftover sizes all at once.
Against the two alternatives
| Paper order form | Bulk order | Online team store | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash needed up front | None | $2,000 – $5,000 | None |
| Risk of unsold stock | None | High | None |
| Volunteer hours | 30 – 50 | 40 – 60 | 2 – 6 |
| Distribution day | Required | Required | None |
| Sizes available | Whatever was guessed | Whatever was guessed | Full range |
| Sells to extended family | Rarely | Rarely | Yes |
| Open all season | No | No | Yes |
| Per-unit return | Highest | High | Lower |
The honest trade is on the last row. A bulk order returns more per unit sold, because the club is taking the risk instead of paying somebody else to take it. A store returns less per unit and puts no cash at risk, needs nobody on a Saturday, and reaches people a form in a backpack never reaches.
How it runs
1. We build it
Storefront and range designed around your program. You approve it before anything is live.
2. Families order online
Any size, any time it is open. No forms, no cash, no checks to a volunteer.
3. Each order prints after it is paid for
Which is why there is no stock to buy and no minimum on any single order.
4. It ships to the buyer
Direct to their address. Nothing arrives in a box for somebody to sort.
5. We remit your share
20% of total order value, on a set schedule, with reporting your treasurer can reconcile.
How long to keep it open
Longer than clubs expect. The instinct is a two-week window to create urgency, and it does concentrate orders, but it also caps them at whoever happened to be paying attention that fortnight. Since there is no cost to leaving a store open, the usual answer is all season, with campaigns at the points where people actually buy.
Programs with an alumni following, or a second season later in the year, are usually better off never closing it at all.
Frequently asked questions
- What is an online team store?
- A storefront carrying a program's branded apparel, open continuously rather than for a single order window. Items are printed after they are purchased and shipped directly to the buyer, so the club holds no stock.
- Is an online store better than a bulk order?
- It returns less per unit and risks nothing, needs almost no volunteer time and offers every size. A bulk order returns more per unit and puts the club's cash and volunteer hours behind a size guess. Which is better depends on whether the club can afford to be wrong.
- How long does it take to set up?
- Usually days once artwork and written district permission are in hand. The approval step is almost always the longest part, and it sits with the district rather than with us.
- Who handles returns and sizing issues?
- We do, directly with the family. Nothing routes back through a volunteer.
Related
- Spirit Wear Fundraising for Schools and Clubs
- School Spirit Wear Merch: What to Put in a Store
- Spirit Wear Fundraising Pricing and Club Share