How to Choose Your First 5 Merch Products
By The Merch Counter team · Updated · 3 min read
Start with five or fewer: a t-shirt, a hoodie or sweatshirt, a hat, and one or two products that fit your trade (a mug for a coffee shop, a tote for a bookstore, a water bottle for a gym). That covers the main price points, suits nearly every customer, and keeps your shop focused. Add more once you see what sells.
Why start small
It's tempting to put your logo on everything. Don't.
- Fewer choices sell more. A shop with three great products is easier to buy from than one with twenty. Customers who can't decide often leave. In a well-known grocery-store study, shoppers shown 6 jams were far more likely to buy than those shown 24; a later review of the research finds the effect varies, and is strongest when options are hard to compare and shoppers have no clear favorite.
- It looks intentional. A small, considered range looks like a brand. A huge one looks like a catalog.
- You learn faster. With five products, you'll quickly see which ones sell.
With print on demand there's no cost to adding more later, so there's no reason to start big.
The core three
1. T-shirt. The default merch item, the one customers ask for, and the easiest entry point. Choose a soft, mid-weight tee in two or three colors that suit your brand. Example: $30, you earn $12 †.
2. Hoodie or crewneck sweatshirt. A higher price and more earnings per sale. In cooler climates it may become your best seller. Example hoodie: $55, you earn $20 †.
3. Hat. An embroidered cap looks premium, suits all ages, and has no sizes to get wrong. Example: $32, you earn $10.60 †.
Choose one or two for your trade
| Business | Best extra products |
|---|---|
| Coffee shop or roaster | Mug, tumbler, tote |
| Brewery or taproom | Beanie, second tee design |
| Restaurant | Apron, tote, stickers |
| Bakery | Apron, tote, mug |
| Gym or fitness studio | Tank, water bottle |
| Yoga or pilates studio | Tank, tote, water bottle |
| Bookstore | Tote, mug |
| Ice cream shop | Stickers, tote |
| Record store | Stickers, tote |
| Barbershop or salon | Stickers, beanie |
| Nonprofit | Tote, mug, stickers |
Cover a range of prices
Aim for something at each price level:
- Impulse (under $10): stickers or pins
- Gift ($15–$35): mugs, totes, tees, hats
- Treat ($40+): hoodies, sweatshirts, aprons
That way someone who wants a small souvenir and someone buying a gift both find something.
Pick colors carefully
- Start with two or three colors per item, not every color available.
- Make sure your logo works on each. A dark logo needs a light version for black or navy shirts — see How to Make Your Logo Work on Dark Shirts.
- Neutral colors (black, white, heather grey, natural) are safe; one brand color adds personality.
When to add more
Add a product when:
- Customers ask for something specific ("do you have a beanie?")
- A season is coming (hoodies in fall, tanks in spring)
- You have a new design worth a product of its own
- Your dashboard shows one product selling well and you want to give buyers a second option
Remove a product when it hasn't sold in a few months and isn't there for a reason.
Related: Merch Ideas for Every Kind of Local Business · How to Price Hoodies, Hats and Mugs
† Worked examples. They use our real 20% fee and suggested 2.5× price on an illustrative cost to make; real costs vary by product, size and print. Bulk-order figures are illustrative too. Today’s numbers for every product are in the profit calculator and in your dashboard before you list anything.