Bulk T-Shirts for Gyms: A Buyer's Guide
By The Velocity Wear Team
Bulk t-shirts for a gym start at $13 a piece at our 50-piece minimum, and the 50 can be split across sizes however you like. The choice that matters most is weight: a 150 GSM combed ring-spun cotton tee is light and cheap to run for member merch, while staff kit worn on shift and washed daily is better at 180 to 240 GSM, where the fabric holds its shape.
What does a gym t-shirt order cost?
The from-price is $13 per piece at 50, and the per-piece figure drops as quantity rises across the bands — 50 to 99, 100 to 249, 250 to 499, 500 to 999 and 1,000 up — reaching up to 35% off the starting price at the top. Decoration moves the number too: screen printing carries a setup per colour and rewards larger runs, while DTF prices flat regardless of how many colours the design has. Embroidery on a tee is priced by stitch count and suits a small chest mark rather than a large graphic. Current options and weights are on the wholesale t-shirts page, and a wider breakdown of where the money goes sits in bulk custom t-shirt pricing.
Which weight survives the wash cycle?
Gym staff tees are the hardest-worked garment on the site. They are worn through a full shift, sweated in, washed hot and worn again within two days. At 150 GSM that cycle shows quickly: the body thins at the shoulders and the neck loses its recovery. At 180 to 240 GSM the same garment keeps its shape considerably longer, and the extra weight also gives print a firmer base to sit on, so a chest logo cracks less. Combed ring-spun cotton matters here too — the combing removes the short fibres that cause pilling, which is exactly the failure mode a hot wash accelerates.
Member merchandise is a different job. It is worn occasionally and usually bought for the graphic, so a lighter, softer tee is often the better commercial answer and leaves more margin in the retail price.
Can staff kit and member merch share one order?
Only if they are genuinely the same design. The 50-piece minimum is per design, so a staff version with a role name on the back and a member version without it are two separate orders of 50. Some gyms get around this by running one design across both and distinguishing staff by colourway — but a colourway needing its own screens counts separately too. The cleanest approach is usually to commit to one design in enough volume to reach a better tier, then run the second design later once you know it sells.
How do you get the size split right?
Staff sizes you can collect exactly, so collect them. Member sizes you cannot, so weight the curve to the middle and keep the tails short. A boxy fit compresses the curve further because it absorbs a wider range of body shapes in fewer sizes, which is worth knowing if you are stocking merch rather than uniform. The broader method is set out in apparel sizing and fit.
Should members pay for merch or get it included?
Both work, and the choice should follow the unit cost rather than a general policy. Merchandise sold at the front desk has to cover the landed cost per shirt and leave something behind, which is easier at higher quantities because the per-piece price falls as the order grows, up to 35% off the 50-piece figure. Shirts included with a membership tier are a marketing cost and can be justified by retention rather than margin, but they have to be budgeted at full landed cost including delivery, not at the from-price.
Whichever route you take, do not order merch stock on the same assumptions as staff kit. Staff numbers are known and merch demand is not, so the merch curve should be shorter at the extremes and deeper in the middle sizes, and the first run should be treated as a test. If you want to see how gym kit is handled alongside hoodies and joggers, the gyms and fitness page covers the full programme.
