How To Get Free Shipping From SanMar

Everyone hates shipping costs.

We all live in an Amazon Prime world where you can order (almost) anything and get it shipped to your door within a few days.

This means that we expect free shipping and quick delivery. Merchandise and wholesale garments for your print shop are no exception. Shipping costs can ruin our (already thin) margins and decrease our profits – so finding a way to circumvent shipping costs is mission-critical.

SanMar is a leading supplier for wholesale products within the custom apparel industry. They have almost 50 years of experience in the apparel industry and employ over 4,000 people across the globe. There are a total of 8 distribution centers in the United States. They offer 1 to 2-day shipping to most of the nation. 

Building shipping costs into your budget and pricing model can be tricky. Unpredictable extra costs can quickly sink your business.

Here are some tips about how to get free shipping from SanMar.

Order $200 With Each Purchase 

The simplest way to get free shipping from SanMar is to order more than $200 of goods.

While small businesses, multiple small orders, and other complications can arise – you can get free shipping from SanMar just by meeting their order minimum. 

It may not always be feasible to order $200 at a time. But there are some simple tricks to help you batch orders into larger shipments.

First, consider your shop’s staple goods. Typically, shops have a most popular garment or t-shirt that they print a lot of – take stock of your most common hoodies, t-shirts, fleece garments, etc.

Tips to Batch Your Wholesale Orders

It can be hard to figure out how to order products in batches when dealing with multiple customers who wanted their shirts yesterday. However, setting a weekly deadline for orders should help produce larger batches of products that you can order together.

Batch ordering can be a selling point when working with groups of customers who want a slightly discounted product. Letting them know that their orders must be in by a deadline will help produce enough product to hit the $200 minimum. Otherwise, add extra fees to those orders that miss the deadline but still can’t wait until the next batch is ordered.

Other options include creating a $200 minimum garment order for large groups so that you can order the apparel anytime without worrying about it.

Use The PSST Program

The Pack Separately, Ship Together (PSST) program by SanMar is a solution for those print shops who either want to be the hub for their area or need help filling orders beyond their capacity. All orders submitted for the PSST program must be in by 1 pm to be shipped out the same day. Most PSST orders arrive within 1-2 days.

As A Contract Decorator:

• These print shops are essentially the middle man when it comes to free shipping. They are partnered with SanMar and receive a daily shipment of items for both themselves and other shops in the area. 
• Orders come pre-sorted to make it easy to divide orders for printing. 
• Perks include no restocking fees for returned items and the ability to sample items as well.
• Smaller shops in the area can forward orders to you when they don’t have the right equipment or don’t have the capacity to fulfill an order
• The Catch: You must be a member of ASI, PPAI, SAGE, or any other promotional products distributor. There are also other program rules and guidelines that are available directly by contacting SanMar.

As A Shared Account Holder:

• You get the benefit of having items shipped quickly and for free to the Contract Decorator hub in your area.
• This is a good option for those shops that:
  1. Don’t carry and don’t know how to print a specialty item
  2. Don’t have the capacity or supplies to fulfill a large order
  3. Don’t have the time to fulfill an order quickly
• The Catch: As a print shop, you don’t print on the item but instead employ the Contract Decorator to do the printing for you. You can then pick up the completed order to get it to customers or the Contract Decorator could blind drop-ship the order to your customer.

Choose Another Distributor

There are plenty of other wholesale distributors that offer different items with various shipping policies. These competitors offer some of the same brands that SanMar stocks. While these competitors may have a higher free shipping minimum, or no free shipping at all, choosing a different supplier is an option when trying to cut costs.

• Other Wholesalers To Choose From:

  • AlphaBroder
  • Apparel Source
  • Golden State Activewear
  • S&S Activewear
  • TSC Apparel

• Garment Brands Carried By Both SanMar And Competitors:

  • Alternative Apparel:
    • AlphaBroder, Golden State Activewear, S&S Activewear
  • Anvil
    • AlphaBroder, Golden State Activewear, S&S Activewear, TSC Apparel
  • Bulwark
    • S&S Activewear
  • Fruit of the Loom
    • AlphaBroder, Apparel Source, Golden State Activewear
  • Gildan
    • AlphaBroder, Golden State Activewear, S&S Activewear
  • Hanes
    • AlphaBroder, Golden State Activewear, S&S Activewear
  • Jerzees
    • AlphaBroder, Apparel Source, Golden State Activewear, S&S Activewear

• Garment Brands Carried By SanMar Only:

  • Cornerstone
  • District
  • District Made
  • Eddie Bauer
  • New Era
  • Nike Golf
  • OGIO
  • OGIO Endurance
  • Port & Company
  • Port Authority
  • Precious Cargo
  • Red House
  • Red Kap
  • Russell Outdoors

Figuring out how to save on shipping costs may be worth the research into SanMar’s PSST program. Either as a Contract Decorator or Shared Account Holder, there are some benefits to the program. Improving your batch ordering system as well as comparing prices with other distributors are also ways that you can cut down on shipping and overall cost. Consider these tips on how to get free shipping from SanMar on your next garment order.