“We’ve only got eight players, can we still get custom gear?” It’s the most common question small clubs ask, and the answer is usually yes, with a bit of strategy.
Why minimums exist (it’s not greed)
Before a single garment is made, someone has to design the artwork, prepare production files, configure the print run and set up the line. That work costs the same for 5 units as for 500. Spread over 5 units, it makes each jersey absurdly expensive. Spread over 20, it disappears into the price. Minimums are how suppliers keep the per-unit price sane.
Typical MOQs in Australia
- Sublimated playing kit: usually 10 to 20 units per design
- Embroidered polos and workwear: often as low as 5 to 10, since the garment is stock and only the decoration is custom
- Fully bespoke cuts and fabrics: can be 25 to 50+
Five ways small teams hit the minimum
1. Combine garments in one design run. Ten playing jerseys plus ten training tees in the same artwork often counts as one run.
2. Order spares. You’ll need them anyway. Players join mid-season, sizes get lost, jerseys get damaged. Two or three spares per size range is smart, not wasteful.
3. Pool across your club. If the seniors and juniors share a design with different trim, many suppliers will run them together.
4. Include off-field gear. Supporter polos and coach jackets in the same order push you past the line and look professional on the sideline.
5. Just ask. Minimums are policies, not physics. SACUL, a Sydney-based custom uniform supplier operating since 2005, works with squads of every size and will always look for a way to make a small order work rather than turn it away.
When a minimum is a red flag
Very low minimums on “custom” gear sometimes mean the supplier is just heat-pressing a logo onto stock garments and calling it custom. Ask whether the gear is genuinely sublimated to your design. The difference shows by round three.
Frequently asked questions
Usually only as a top-up to an existing order, where the artwork already exists. One-off fully custom garments are possible but expensive because all the setup cost lands on a single unit.
Reorders are often more flexible because the design work is done. Many suppliers, SACUL included, accept smaller top-up runs for existing clients.
Yes, meaningfully. Price breaks typically kick in around 20, 50 and 100 units. If your club will need more gear within six months, ordering it now almost always costs less overall.