When it comes to branded merchandise and company swag, most teams still rely on something that feels a lot like psychic intuition. Ordering in bulk often turns into a full-blown séance:
Guess the sizes.
Guess the quantities.
Guess what people might want six months—or a year—from now.
And then comes the real haunting: stacks of leftover swag boxes sitting in supply closets like merch ghosts you can’t get rid of. 👻
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. For years, companies assumed this was just “how swag works.”
But it doesn’t have to.
The Problem With Bulk Swag Orders
Traditional bulk ordering sets you up for waste from the start. You’re forced to make decisions without data, without personalization, and without any guarantee anyone will actually wear what you ordered.
That’s how teams end up with:
- The wrong sizes
- The wrong quantities
- The wrong items
- And piles of unworn branded T-shirts that quietly haunt the office
One client told me she had spent years “just hoping people liked the swag.” That was her entire strategy—hope.
And hope is not a supply chain plan.
Why Print-on-Demand Changes Everything
Switching to print-on-demand branded merch removes the guesswork entirely. Instead of ordering large quantities and crossing your fingers, you produce items only when someone actually wants them.
That means:
- No minimums
- No wasted inventory
- No guessing sizes
- No sad bins of outdated merch
Employees, customers, and event attendees can choose exactly what they want. And the reorders? They tell the real story. When people actually choose the swag, they actually use the swag.
Stop Guessing. Start Offering Choice.
The most successful corporate swag programs today aren’t about forcing the same T-shirt on everyone—they’re about offering curated, on-brand choices that people genuinely love.
When you let people pick their own merch:
- Engagement goes up
- Waste goes down
- And your branded merchandise budget finally works smarter, not harder
So ask yourself: Why keep guessing when you don’t have to?