How Much Do Wholesale Polo Shirts Cost?
By The Velocity Wear Team
Wholesale polo shirts start at $18 a piece at our 50-piece minimum, with the per-piece price falling as quantity rises to as much as 35% below that figure at the top band. The bands break at 50–99, 100–249, 250–499, 500–999 and 1,000+. What sits above the from-price is fabric choice, decoration method and how many positions you decorate.
What does the from-price include?
It is the price of a decorated garment at the minimum quantity: the polo itself, one decoration in one position, and the setup that goes with it. It is not a blank. The figure assumes a standard piqué body and a single-position mark, which is what the large majority of orders actually are. Anything beyond that is an addition you can see and decide on rather than a hidden cost, and the full specification behind the figure sits on the wholesale polo shirts page.
Which decisions move the number up?
- A performance knit rather than a standard piqué body, which is a different cloth at a different cost.
- A second decoration position — a sleeve mark or a back yoke alongside the chest logo.
- Colour count on a screen print, because each colour is its own screen and its own pass.
- Large or dense embroidery, which is priced on stitch count rather than on physical size.
- Private label work: woven neck labels, tear-out tabs, swing tags and individual bagging.
None of these is large on its own. Together they are the difference between a $18 shirt and something meaningfully above it, which is why a quote should always name the specification it was written against.
Where do the volume bands actually bite?
The step from 50 to 100 is proportionally one of the most useful, because setup costs are fixed and spreading them over twice as many pieces does most of its work early. After that the saving comes from the garment and the run itself, and it builds steadily to the 35% ceiling at the top band. The practical consequence is that if you are ordering 90 pieces you should price 100 before you commit, and the same applies at every band edge. Band figures are listed on the pricing page.
How should you compare two quotes?
Line by line, on the same specification. A cheaper per-piece figure that turns out to be a lighter body with a single-colour print, no neck label change and delivery excluded is not cheaper. Ask each supplier for the fabric weight, the decoration method and position count, whether setup is included, what the sample costs and whether it is credited, and what the delivered price is to your address. We go through that comparison properly in choosing a wholesale polo shirt supplier.
What does a sample cost against the order?
A sample is £150, and it is credited against the bulk order that follows it. So on an order you go ahead with, the sample costs nothing in the end; on one you walk away from, it is the price of finding out early. Samples are never given away, and a supplier who claims to hand them out at these quantities is recovering that cost somewhere you cannot see.
How should you budget for a first order?
Take the from-price, multiply by the quantity you actually intend to order rather than the minimum, and then add three things buyers routinely forget: delivery to your address, any private label work you want, and the sample if you are taking one. That total is your real number, and it is the one to take to whoever signs it off. Building the budget from $18 alone and then discovering delivery and neck labels afterwards is how a project ends up re-approved twice.
One more habit worth keeping: price the next band up at the same time. A buyer approving 200 pieces almost always wants to know what 250 would have cost, and finding out after the order has gone in is a conversation nobody enjoys. The step between bands is often smaller than the saving it delivers on the pieces you were buying anyway.
