Size Splits for a Bulk Caps Order
By The Velocity Wear Team
Most bulk caps are adjustable, so a size split is far simpler than for tees or hoodies: snapbacks, strapbacks and dad caps all fit a wide range of heads on one size. Fitted caps are the exception and do need a size run. Either way the fifty-piece minimum can be divided across sizes however you want, at no change to the per-piece price.
Do caps even have sizes?
Adjustable ones effectively do not. A snapback uses a plastic strip with a row of studs, a strapback uses a fabric strap with a buckle or slider, and both cover the usual adult range comfortably. A dad cap is typically strapback and unstructured, which makes it the most forgiving of the lot. Fitted caps have no closure at all and come in head sizes, which is a very different buying decision — you are committing stock to specific measurements. Snapback vs fitted vs strapback explains where each one belongs.
How do you split fifty adjustable caps?
Since size is not the variable, the split becomes a colour and allocation question. The rule that keeps a first order clean is depth over breadth: fifty in one colour sells and restocks; fifty split four ways leaves you with slow-moving pockets that individually cannot be reordered, because a reorder still needs fifty. For a staff order, allocate roughly one and a half caps per person so there is a spare in rotation, then hold the balance for new starters. For a retail order, two thirds dark neutral and one third brand colour is a reasonable starting shape.
What does a fitted run look like?
If you genuinely need fitted headwear, weight the middle heavily. The extremes of the size range sell in small numbers and are the pieces that sit in the box for a year. Something in the order of ten per cent at the smallest size, sixty per cent across the two central sizes and the remainder above is a defensible starting point, adjusted by what you know about your buyers. The broader thinking behind weighting a run is in apparel sizing and fit, and it applies to heads as much as to bodies.
How do you avoid dead stock on a reorder?
Record what actually went, not what you ordered. After the first run you will know which colour moved and which size stalled, and the second order should be that first order minus its mistakes. Because a repeat run carries the same fifty-piece minimum, consolidating onto fewer variants is usually the right correction rather than carrying every colour forward out of habit. Current headwear styles and from-prices are on wholesale caps, with the quantity bands on pricing.
What should you ask the team before ordering?
Two questions, and they take five minutes. First, does anyone struggle with standard adjustable headwear? A small number of people sit outside the range an adjustable cap covers comfortably, and knowing that before the order is placed is better than finding out on the day the box arrives. Second, would they actually wear it? A cap nobody likes the shape of is fifty pieces of storage, and the difference between a structured six panel and an unstructured dad cap is entirely a preference question that staff will answer honestly if asked. Show two options and take a vote. It costs nothing, and it converts the order from something imposed into something the team chose, which is most of the battle with any branded kit. The third question, if there is time for one, is where they would want the logo. Front and centre is the default, but a team that works at close quarters with customers often prefers a small side mark, and a cap they are comfortable wearing is a cap that gets worn. None of this changes the order you place, but it changes how much of it ends up on heads rather than in a drawer, which is the only measure of a staff cap that matters.
