T-Shirts for Sports Clubs: samples
By The Velocity Wear Team
A club t-shirt sample costs £150 and that fee is credited against the bulk order once you place it. You get one finished shirt in the fabric weight, garment colour and decoration you have specified, with your crest on it. For a committee spending club funds on 50 pieces or more, it is the only way to check fit and finish before the money is committed.
What does the £150 club sample cover?
One garment, made to the production specification. That means the same 150-240 GSM combed ring-spun cotton, the same regular or boxy cut, the same print or embroidery method and the same position you have asked for. It is not a mockup and not a stock blank with a sticker on it. Samples are never free, but because the fee comes off the bulk invoice, a club that goes on to order is effectively paying for the timing rather than the shirt.
What should the committee check on it?
Split the checks between people rather than passing the shirt round a meeting. One person checks the decoration, one checks the fit, one washes it.
- Crest reproduction: are the thin parts of the badge still legible at the size printed?
- Sponsor colour: does the mark match what the sponsor expects, in daylight rather than under strip lighting?
- Position: measured from the shoulder seam, does it sit where the proof said it would?
- Fit after washing: does the body shorten, and does the neck hold its shape?
- Weight in use: wear it to a session and see whether it is right for how the squad trains.
Who should actually try the sample on?
Not the person who ordered it. Give it to a player at the middle of your size range and one at the edge if you can borrow it back between them, because that is where fit decisions go wrong. Boxy cuts in particular surprise squads: they run wider and shorter than a regular fit and change the whole size form. If the sample moves your curve, redo the split before ordering - size splits for clubs covers how to rebuild it quickly.
How does the sample fit the season timeline?
It sits in front of the 10-15 working day production window, not inside it. A committee working towards a season opener should order the sample during the design stage, not after the design is agreed, so that review time overlaps with collecting sizes rather than following it. Club lead times sets out the full backwards plan, and the sports clubs page shows what else clubs tend to order alongside their tees.
Does a sample make sense for a repeat season order?
Usually not. If the shirt is unchanged from last season and the specification is on file, you are repeating a known garment and the questions are about quantity and sizes instead. Order a sample when something material has changed: a new sponsor on the back, a different fabric weight, a switch from print to embroidery, or a new garment colour. Those are the changes that look fine on a proof and land differently in the hand. When you are ready to price the bulk run, the wholesale t-shirts page carries the from-price at the 50-piece minimum.
