The Mistakes Almost Everyone Makes on a First Clothing Order
By The Velocity Wear Team
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First orders go wrong in a small number of consistent ways. None of them are anyone’s fault exactly — they are what happens when a process is unfamiliar and nobody mentioned the parts that matter.
Ordering too many
The volume discount is real and the temptation is strong. A first order should be sized to learn from: which design sells, which sizes go, how fast. Order 500 on instinct and the most likely outcome is 380 in a cupboard.
Ordering the wrong size spread
A squad is not twenty mediums and neither is a customer base. Where the minimum is per design rather than per size, a genuine spread costs nothing extra, so there is no reason to narrow it.
Sending a logo from a website
A 500-pixel PNG is fine on a screen and unusable at 30cm across a chest. Vector artwork — AI, EPS, PDF or SVG — removes the problem permanently. If you do not have it, having your logo redrawn is a one-off cost that pays back on every order afterwards.
Choosing the garment on price alone
The cheapest blank is cheap because it is thin, and a thin garment is not worn. Unworn merch has an infinite cost per wear regardless of what it cost per unit. Order the sample pack and judge fabric by hand before deciding.
Making the logo too big
The instinct is that bigger branding produces more visibility. In practice a garment with restrained branding is worn far more often and therefore seen more. This is the single most common regret on corporate orders.
Leaving no time for approval
Production is schedulable; approvals are not. A proof sitting in an inbox for two weeks while three people are consulted is the normal cause of a missed deadline. Appoint one approver with authority before you order.
Not asking what happens if it is wrong
Tolerances, defect rates and remedies are easy to agree before production and difficult afterwards. Ask what tolerance applies to measurements and print placement, and what happens if a proportion of the run falls outside it.
Dating it
Printing an event year or a cohort guarantees the garment becomes unwearable on a known date and unsellable immediately afterwards. Unless the date is the point — a genuine souvenir — leave it off and the garment stays useful.
The short version
Order fewer, better garments in a full size range, send vector artwork, brand them lightly, appoint one approver, agree what happens if something is wrong, and leave the date off. That is most of it.
