The cheapest shirt is not always the cheapest order. You can save money buying blank apparel yourself, from Costco or a wholesale distributor. You can also lose money if the garment doesn’t hold up to embroidery, arrives late, or doesn’t match across sizes. Here’s how to source apparel the smart way, and when to let Northwest Custom Apparel handle sourcing and decoration together.
Not sure where to buy your blanks? Get a free apparel sourcing recommendation.
What does Apparel Sourcing mean for custom apparel?
You’re sourcing the blank garment, not the finished product
Apparel sourcing means finding and buying the plain, undecorated garment before it gets your logo. That’s different from apparel manufacturing, which involves fabric mills, factories, and production runs overseas. If you run a construction crew, corporate office, school, or event, you don’t need a manufacturer. You need a reliable place to buy blanks that hold up to embroidery or printing.
The real cost includes more than the shirt price
A $6 blank polo isn’t a $6 finished shirt. Your total cost includes the garment, shipping, decoration, setup fees, extra logo placements, and the risk of spoiled or mismatched pieces. Add the cost of your own time coordinating sizes and vendors. Once you count all of that, the lowest sticker price on the garment often isn’t the lowest total cost.
Where Can You Source Blank Apparel?
Let Northwest Custom Apparel Source It
We pull from SanMar and Alpha Broder, both within 10 miles of our Milton, WA facility. That means same-day inventory checks, consistent sizing across your whole order, and one vendor handling garments and custom embroidery services together. So Get benefit from a 1-day shipping proximity to major distributors with us, ensuring efficient supply chain integration. You get a quote in one business day.
Buy from a Wholesale Apparel Distributor
Wholesale distributors offer a wider catalog and can work well for larger, recurring programs. The tradeoff is more work on your end: comparing suppliers, tracking minimums, and managing a separate shipment before it ever reaches a decorator.
Buy retail or big-box apparel yourself
Retailers like Costco sell garments in bulk at a set price, with no account setup required. That works for specific items you already know you want. It comes with less control over sizing consistency, restocks, and fabric compatibility with embroidery or screen printing.
Blank Apparel Sourcing Comparison
| Option | Best For | Potential Savings | Main Drawback |
|---|---|---|---|
| NWCA sources apparel | Business uniforms, recurring orders | Volume pricing, coordinated purchasing | Garment price alone may not be the lowest |
| Wholesale distributor | Larger or repeat programs | Wide selection, professional pricing | More procurement work for you |
| Costco/big-box | Specific retail garments | Lower garment price | Limited consistency, inventory can sell out |
| Customer-supplied apparel | Existing inventory, special items | No need to repurchase garments | Compatibility and damage risk |
Want us to compare sourcing options for your order size? Request a free apparel quote.
Can Buying Apparel from Costco Save Money?
When buying from Costco can make sense
If you need a specific retail garment, or you already have a Costco membership and buy in bulk anyway, this route can lower your garment cost. It works best for smaller orders where sizing consistency matters less.
When Costco may not be the cheapest option
Costco doesn’t guarantee the same style or size run stays in stock for a repeat order. If your crew grows or you need to reorder six months later, you might not find the same jacket. Buying blanks yourself also removes the coordination NW Custom Apparel provides between sourcing and decoration, and that coordination often saves more than the garment discount.
Bottom line: Costco can lower the price of the shirt. It does not automatically lower the total cost of your finished, decorated order.
What Does Customer-supplied Apparel Change?
Garment compatibility matters
Not every fabric holds embroidery or screen printing well. Thin blends can pucker under stitching. Treated or coated fabrics can reject screen printing ink. We inspect customer-supplied garments before production so you know what to expect.
You assume more of the garment-side risk
When you buy your own blanks, you own the sizing mistakes, the fabric issues, and the reorder problem if a style gets discontinued. Northwest Custom Apparel still backs the decoration with our satisfaction guarantee, but the garment purchase itself is on you.
How to Lower your Total Custom Apparel Cost
Choose the right garment before comparing prices
A cheap shirt that fights your decoration method costs more in reprints than a slightly pricier one that works the first time.
Order enough pieces to reach better pricing
Embroidery and screen printing both have volume breaks. Ordering 24 pieces instead of 12 often lowers your per-piece decoration cost. See screen printing for bulk apparel.
Keep decoration locations simple
Every extra logo placement adds setup time and cost. One clean front-chest logo is often more cost-effective than four placements.
Choose the right decoration method
Embroidery lasts longer on jackets and polos. Screen printing costs less at volume on cotton tees. Pick the method that matches how the apparel gets used.
Avoid rush charges
Rush service runs a 25% surcharge. Ordering with a normal 10-day turnaround protects your budget.
Consolidate your apparel orders
Placing one larger order instead of three small ones spreads your setup costs across more pieces.
Use a sample before a large run
A free pre-production sample catches sizing or color issues before you commit to 100 pieces instead of after.
Ready to see your total cost, not just the garment price? See what affects your custom apparel quote.
When should Northwest Custom Apparel source your apparel?
You need consistent garments across a team
If ten people need the exact same jacket in the exact same shade, we can pull consistent stock instead of hunting through retail inventory.
You need help choosing the right garment
Not sure if a fabric holds embroidery well? We’ll recommend a style based on your logo and how the apparel gets worn. See our guide to choosing the right fabric for logo embroidery.
You need embroidery or printing coordinated with sourcing
One vendor for sourcing and decoration means one timeline, one point of contact, and no gap between “garment arrived” and “decoration starts.”
When should you Supply your own Apparel?
You already own the garments
If your crew already has jackets or your school already ordered shirts, bring them in for decoration instead of buying new ones.
You need a specific retail garment
Some garments are only available at retail. If that’s the item you need, buy it yourself and let us decorate it.
You understand the decoration limitations
Confirm your garment’s fabric and coating work with your chosen decoration method before buying in bulk.
Always confirm garment compatibility before buying hundreds of pieces. A quick sample check costs far less than a spoiled bulk order.
Get your custom apparel quote in one business day. Request a Free Quote -> Sourcing your own apparel? Ask about customer-supplied garment decoration ->
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on your order size and how many locations you need decorated. Buying your own blanks can lower the garment price for small, one-time orders. For recurring team orders, letting NWCA source and decorate together usually lowers your total cost because sizing, shipping, and decoration get coordinated in one step.
Yes, with a garment inspection first. We check fabric type, coating, and construction to confirm it holds up to your chosen decoration method. Learn more about customer-supplied garment decoration.
The same minimums apply as garments we source: 6 pieces for embroidery, 24 pieces for screen printing. Orders below the minimum carry a $50 under-minimum charge.
Some styles do, some don’t. Cotton-poly blends generally embroider well. Heavily treated or performance fabrics can be harder to stitch cleanly. Bring a sample piece and we’ll confirm before you buy in bulk.
Garment price, shipping, decoration cost, setup fee, extra logo locations, and any rush surcharge. Skipping this math is the most common reason a “cheap” bulk order ends up costing more than expected.
Rush service adds a 25% surcharge to your order. Standard turnaround is 10 business days from sample approval, so ordering early avoids the extra fee.
Yes, every order gets a free pre-production sample before full production begins. This confirms sizing, color, and logo placement before you commit to the full run.
We’re at 2025 Freeman Road East, Milton, WA 98354. Our showroom is open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., for anyone who wants to see samples in person.
Ready to Get Started?
You don’t need to guess between Costco, a wholesale distributor, or supplying your own garments. Send us your order size and logo, and we’ll tell you which sourcing option actually costs less once decoration is factored in.
Call 253-922-5793 or request your free quote today.
