You’ve built something worth putting your name on. Now you want merch that actually reflects that. The problem is most founders order merch the same way they handle a lot of early-stage decisions: fast, vibe-based, and slightly underprepared. A few months later they’re looking at 200 hoodies that don’t quite fit right, printed in a color that doesn’t match their brand, sitting in a corner of the office because nobody wants to wear them.

This checklist exists to stop that from happening.

Start With Why Before You Start With What

Before you pick a product, you need to know what the merch is actually supposed to do. This sounds obvious, but most founders skip it. Ask yourself: is this for your team, for clients, for a trade show, for a product launch, or just because it feels like time? The answer changes everything. Team merch needs to feel like something people would choose to wear on a Saturday. Client gifting needs to feel intentional and personal. Event merch needs to survive the moment and be useful enough that someone doesn’t toss it in a hotel room trash can on day two.

If you’re ordering merch for multiple purposes and trying to hit them all with one product, you’re already off track. Pick a lane.

Know Your Brand Files Before Anything Else

This is where more founders get tripped up than you’d expect. Your printer is going to need a vector file of your logo — usually an .AI or .EPS — not a PNG you exported from Canva at 72 dpi. If you’re not sure whether you have this, check with whoever designed your logo. If you can’t find it, get it sorted before you start talking to vendors, because the conversation stalls fast when you can’t provide production-ready files.

Also know your exact brand colors in PMS (Pantone Matching System) values, not just hex codes. Screen colors and printed colors behave differently, and if you say “it’s kind of a dusty navy” to a printer, you’re leaving the final result up to interpretation. That’s how you end up with something that looks purple on a black pullover instead of the navy you pictured.

The Product Quality Test Nobody Tells You About

Order samples. Always. This seems like a delay, but it protects you from a much worse outcome: receiving 300 units of something that looks fine in a product photo but feels like a hospital gown in real life. Hold the shirt. Wear it for an afternoon. Wash it and look at the print. Does the logo peel? Did the color shift? Is the fabric actually something a grown adult would put on voluntarily?

The merch that employees actually keep and use has a few things in common: it fits well, it’s made from fabric that feels intentional, and it doesn’t scream “bulk discount.” Samples are the only way to verify this before you’re committed to a full run.

Decoration Method Matters More Than Most People Think

Embroidery, screen printing, direct-to-garment (DTG), heat transfer, debossing on leather, laser etching on metal. These are not interchangeable. Each one works better on specific materials and at specific detail levels. A highly detailed logo with thin lines will not survive embroidery — the thread can’t replicate that precision, and it ends up looking lumpy. Screen printing works great for simple designs on fabric but has a minimum order threshold that makes it impractical for small runs. DTG gives you flexibility for smaller quantities and full-color designs but can fade faster than screen printing on dark fabrics.

Match your decoration method to your logo’s complexity, the product material, and your quantity. If you’re not sure, ask your vendor to show you examples of your specific logo type on the product you’re considering. A good vendor will show you. A bad one will just tell you it’ll look great.

Don’t Skip the Mockup Review

Any halfway decent merch vendor will send you a digital mockup before production. Review it carefully and get someone else to look at it too. Check placement: is the logo centered? Is it proportionate to the item, or does it look like a bumper sticker on a beach towel? Is it the right color? Does the text have a typo? These are things you can catch for free before they’re embroidered onto 150 jackets.

Just dropping your logo on a product without thinking about placement is one of the most common and fixable mistakes in branded merchandise. A logo that’s too large reads as desperate. Too small and it disappears. Centered on the chest vs. left chest vs. full back are three completely different brand statements. Make the call intentionally.

Set a Real Budget, Not a Wishful One

Good branded merch is not cheap. That’s not a sales pitch — it’s just physics. The materials cost money, the decoration process costs money, and the setup fees (especially for screen printing, where each color requires a separate screen) add up fast. If your budget for 50 units is $8 per item, you’re going to get product that reflects $8 per item. The people receiving it will notice.

That said, you don’t have to spend a fortune to get something good. The key is picking one product and doing it well rather than ordering five products and cutting corners on all of them. One great fleece vest beats four mediocre items nobody uses. Cheap merch has a way of costing more in the long run once you factor in replacements, the brand impression it makes, and the inventory that just sits there.

Understand Lead Times Before You Commit to a Date

If you need merch for an event, work backward from the event date with more buffer than you think you need. Standard production runs take two to three weeks. Rush orders cost significantly more and don’t always save you — if your vendor’s press is backed up, your “rush” still waits in line. Shipping adds time. Customs, if you’re ordering internationally, adds more.

Build in at least a week of wiggle room for anything time-sensitive. If the merch arrives the day of the event, that’s not a plan, that’s gambling.

Storage and Fulfillment Are Not Afterthoughts

Where are these items going once they arrive? If you’re ordering 500 units and you work out of a home office or a small co-working space, you’re going to have a logistical problem that no amount of great merch design solves. Think through fulfillment before you place the order: Do you need individual packaging? Are you shipping to employees’ homes? To clients? Are you handing these out at an event and then storing the remainder?

Some vendors offer kitting and fulfillment services — they’ll package individual swag boxes, address them, and ship them directly to recipients. For remote teams in particular, this is often worth paying for rather than spending a weekend in your garage with a label printer.

Think About Sizing More Than You Want To

Apparel sizing is where even experienced buyers mess up. If you’re ordering for a team, survey everyone. Don’t assume. Don’t guess. Don’t order mostly mediums because that “feels average” — people wear what they actually wear, not what you approximate. Unisex sizing runs differently than fitted sizing, and what works in one brand of shirt won’t match another brand’s size chart.

For client gifting, if you don’t know sizes, skip apparel and go with something that doesn’t require it: a quality notebook, a travel mug, a canvas tote, a portable charger. These items sidestep the sizing problem entirely and land just as well.

Get Everything in Writing Before Production Starts

Before you approve production, confirm the quantity, the unit price, the setup fees, the production timeline, the shipping method and cost, and the return or reprint policy if there’s a defect. This is not about distrust — it’s about clarity. Disputes over merch orders almost always come down to miscommunication about one of these six things. A quick written summary protects both sides.

If you want branded corporate merchandise done right from the jump, our team at BRND.agency works specifically with founders and growing companies who want merch that actually represents their brand — not just a logo on a cheap product.

The Order Is the Easy Part

What makes merch work isn’t finding the coolest product or getting the lowest price per unit. It’s doing the prep work before you click “order” — knowing why you’re doing it, having your brand assets ready, understanding the process, and giving yourself enough time to do it well. The founders who end up with merch they’re proud of aren’t the ones who spent the most. They’re the ones who were intentional about it from the start.