Nobody can tell you what promotional products cost without asking four questions first. Anyone who quotes a number before asking them is guessing, and the guess gets revised later.
The four things that set the price
The blank. The undecorated item. A 4.3oz retail-fit tee and a 6.1oz heavyweight are both “a t-shirt” and can differ by $4 before anyone prints anything. This is where most of the spread between competing quotes comes from, and it is the thing quotes are vaguest about.
The decoration. How many colors, how many locations, which method. A one-color left-chest screen print and a full-color back print are different jobs on the same shirt.
The quantity. Setup costs are fixed. Spread across 50 units they dominate the price. Across 1,000 they disappear. This is why per-unit pricing falls off a cliff at the first real break.
The deadline. Standard production is priced on the assumption your job can be scheduled sensibly. Compress that and you are buying someone else’s slot.
Quoting your project
Answer those four questions for us, the item, the decoration, the quantity and the deadline, and we will come back with real numbers for your job instead of a range. Every quote includes a free virtual proof, and nothing goes to production until you approve it in writing.
Reply within 24 business hours · every item has a minimum of at least 12 pieces · setup charge waived above $500 in product · artwork kept on file two years, so an exact reorder carries no new setup charge
Get a quote on your project or browse promotional products · call 1.888.452.0027, Mon–Fri 9–6 ET
Real price ranges from our catalog
These are entry-tier prices — what you pay per unit at the first genuine quantity break, not the single-piece price. The low and high figures are the 10th and 90th percentile across everything we stock in each category, so they describe the realistic span rather than the extremes.
| Category | Typical range | Midpoint |
|---|---|---|
| Water bottles & tumblers | $1.41 – $14.46 | $5.39 |
| Tech & power banks | $1.68 – $11.77 | $5.85 |
| Apparel (tees to jackets) | $1.43 – $48.60 | $7.63 |
| Umbrellas | $11.68 – $31.46 | $19.31 |
| Blankets | $13.29 – $55.60 | $28.39 |
| Napkins, cups & event disposables | $0.03 – $0.48 | $0.26 |
Categories we are still pricing
Pens, tote bags, keychains and screen-printed tees are categories we are still building out, and we have not published our own tier pricing for them yet. We would rather quote those live than print a range we would have to walk back once we know the item. Ask and we will price the specific piece.
One thing to know before you compare any tee quote: the spread inside the words “t-shirts” is enormous, and almost all of it is the blank. A lightweight retail-fit tee and a heavyweight embroidered workwear shirt are both t-shirts. Anyone quoting you “t-shirts” without naming the garment is not quoting anything.
Note how wide apparel is. That range is not vagueness — it is the honest span between a basic tee at volume and an embroidered softshell jacket. Within a single garment type the spread narrows considerably, which is why the first question we ask is what the item is actually for.
The charges nobody publishes
Unit price is the number people compare. These are the numbers that decide whether a quote was realistic. Figures below are the actual median and range across our supplier catalog.
Setup or screen charge — typically $55, ranging $40 to $75. One time, per color, per location. We waive it on reorders because we keep your artwork on file for two years. If a supplier charges this again on a repeat order, ask why.
Additional imprint colors — around $0.50 per unit, ranging $0.03 to $3.85. This is per piece, not per order, which is why a four-color logo on 2,000 units is a materially different quote from a one-color logo. Most items include one color free.
PMS color matching — typically $47, ranging $10 to $150. Mixing a specific brand color rather than using a stock ink. Worth paying when the logo is the point. Skippable when the item is a giveaway and “close to our blue” is fine.
Digitizing. Embroidery requires your logo converted into a stitch file. One time, and the file belongs to you afterwards — ask for it. If you already have one from a previous supplier, send it and skip the charge entirely.
Freight. Almost never included in a per-unit price. On heavy or bulky items — glassware, blankets, banners, anything cased — it moves the landed cost meaningfully. Foam cups are the extreme case: light but enormous, so freight is driven by volume rather than weight.
Split shipping. Sending to twelve branch offices is twelve shipments. Budget it.
Where the money actually goes
On apparel, the blank is the majority of your cost. Decoration is a smaller slice and setup is a fixed lump that only matters at low quantities. On a tech item the blank dominates almost entirely — a power bank is a power bank, and your logo adds very little to what it costs to make.
This is why “can you sharpen the price” gets a different answer by product. On apparel there is room to move by changing the garment. On electronics there mostly is not, and a supplier who finds a lot of room is usually changing the cell quality rather than the margin.
The single most useful habit
Always price the next quantity tier before you order. If the step up costs you a little and hands you spares, take the spares. Running short is the expensive outcome here, not over-ordering.
Derek Capo, owner, CustomMark
Real example from our catalog: a squeeze water bottle runs $2.46 each at 50 pieces and $1.73 each at 100. Ordering 100 instead of 60 costs about $50 more in total and gets you 40 extra bottles. The extra units are effectively free, and you have spares — which you will need, because someone always does.
The example above, in the catalog
20 oz Squeeze Water Bottle with Push Cap
Listed at 50 pc: $2.46Listed at 100 pc: $1.73Listed minimum 12 pc
That pattern repeats across almost every product here. The break points are published on every product page.
Getting a real number quickly
Send quantity, your logo as vector artwork, color count, in-hands date and ship-to. That is enough to quote accurately, usually same day. Without quantity and deadline, any number you receive is decorative.
Minimum order quantities are set per item and start at 12 pieces. Many products start higher, at 100, 150 or 250, because the production economics require it. Every product page states its own minimum.
Ready to price it? Send us the item and the specific blank you have in mind, the quantity, your color count, your in-hands date and your artwork file, and we’ll come back with real pricing. Start a quote or call 1.888.452.0027.