How a pre-order actually runs
Pick the design and the garment, set an order deadline, and collect names, sizes, and payment inside that window. When the window closes the shop prints the exact count. Because it lands as one bulk run, the group gets bulk pricing instead of paying short-run rates on a trickle of orders.
Sizes are the part people get wrong
A group order spans youth small through adult sizes, and the size spread is where money leaks. Pre-ordering fixes it: every shirt printed is a shirt already sold to a specific person in a specific size. Larger sizes carry a small upcharge because the blanks cost more, and that gets quoted up front, not sprung at pickup.
Pickup, drop off, or shipped
Local pickup at the shop in Falfurrias is the normal close, and drop off can be arranged for a campus or a business. For a group with people out of town, shipping is available. Payment is flexible, including Cash App for group organizers who are collecting from a crowd.
How a pre-order actually works
You pick one design. You set an opening and a closing date. Everybody in the group orders their own size and pays during that window.
When it closes, the totals are your count and your size breakdown, and the whole thing prints as a single run at the bulk price. Nobody is out of pocket, nobody is stuck with unsold boxes, and everybody gets a price that only exists because you all ordered together.
The closing date has to be real
This is the one rule that decides whether a campaign works. If people learn that the deadline moves, they will wait, and a campaign that stays open drifts for weeks. Announce the date, remind everybody twice, and then actually close it.
A short window with a hard end collects more orders than a long window with a soft one, every single time.
Collecting the money before you print
Chasing people for money after the shirts are printed is the worst job in any group. Collecting during the order window solves it completely. Whatever method your group already uses is fine.
Ordering and paying happen in the same step. So a name on the list is a shirt already paid for, not one somebody hopes to be reimbursed for.
Common ways a campaign goes wrong
Three things account for most of it. The design is still being argued about when the window opens, so the first week is wasted. Sizes are collected separately from payment, so the two lists do not match.
Or the window closes so close to the event date that there is no room for printing. Fixing all three is the same fix: settle the design first, take size and payment together, and count backward from the date.
What to send your group so the sizes come back right
Most of the pain in a campaign comes from a size list that does not match the payment list. Send one message that does both at once: the design, the price, the closing date, and a single place to pick a size and pay. Spell out that youth and adult sizes are different scales, because that mix-up accounts for most of the wrong shirts in any group order.
Ask people to pick the size they actually wear, not the size they wish they wore. Then send exactly one reminder the day before the window closes, which reliably pulls in the stragglers who meant to order and forgot.
- One design, one order window, one print run
- Collect sizes and money before anything prints
- Bulk pricing because the whole campaign prints together
- Youth through adult sizing with upcharges quoted up front
- Local pickup, drop off, or shipping for out of town members
- Cash App accepted for organizers collecting from a group
Questions people ask about Group T-Shirt Pre-Order Campaigns
How long should our order window be?
One to two weeks of selling is usually enough to catch everyone without losing momentum, then a hard deadline. A firm cutoff is what makes the run possible: the shop needs the final count and the size breakdown before screens go on the press.
What if someone misses the deadline?
Late adds become their own small order, which will not carry the campaign's bulk price. That is exactly why the deadline is announced loudly and enforced. If enough people miss it, a second window can be opened and printed as its own run.
What is the minimum for a pre-order campaign?
The same as any bulk run. What matters is the total when the window closes, not how many people ordered on day one. That is why the reminder before the deadline matters so much.
Can people order different garments in one campaign?
Usually yes, such as tees and hoodies with the same design. The hoodies cost more because the blank garment costs more, but the design and setup are shared across both, which keeps it efficient.
Can we ship to people who live out of town?
Yes. Shipping anywhere in Texas is available, and it is common for a group with members who have moved away. Sort out who is picking up and who is shipping before the window closes.
Answer it yourself: custom t-shirts tools, no phone call needed.
New to this? The plain-English guide to ordering walks through what to decide first.
Want numbers before you ask? See the published price chart for custom t-shirts.