Rhinestone Cheer and Dance Apparel Pricing: Team Shirts, Mom Shirts and Jackets
How to price rhinestone cheer and dance apparel: cost stones and templates, price team tees, mom shirts and jacket backs, and quote team orders with setup charged once.
In this guide
Cheer and dance teams love bling, and so do their parents. A single team can order 20 athlete shirts, 20 mom shirts and a few jacket backs, all with the same design. That makes it a great business, as long as your team pricing still covers the blank, the stones and your time. This guide shows how to price cheer and dance rhinestone apparel, with team order tiers.
- Shirt price = blank + stones + template share + tape + labor + overhead, then profit and fees.
- A team name tee with about 500 stones costs $19.69 to make and sells for about $29 each as a single.
- One template can press a whole team, so template cost per shirt drops to cents on big orders.
- Add names and numbers as a per-shirt upcharge, because each one is a new template.
Why team bling orders can still lose money
Team orders feel profitable because they are big. But teams expect a discount, and parents often want names, numbers or different sizes. Each name is a new template and more time.
Price the base design with a team discount, and charge names and numbers separately. Take a deposit before you buy blanks.
The steps
1. Get stone counts for each design
Count stones by size for the team logo, the mom design and any jacket back. Add 3% to 5% for loss.
2. Cost each template
One template per design, reused for every shirt. Names and numbers need separate small templates.
3. Price the blanks by size
Adult, youth and jacket blanks cost different amounts. Larger sizes often cost more.
4. Time a few shirts
Time brushing, taping and pressing. Repeats get faster.
5. Add overhead, profit and fees
Add about 10% overhead, 25% to 35% profit, and card fees.
6. Build team tiers
Charge setup once, then lower the price per shirt as the quantity goes up. Upcharge names and numbers.
Worked example: single prices for cheer apparel
$20 an hour, 10% overhead, 30% profit and 10% fees for single orders.
| Team name tee (500 stones) | Cheer mom tee with name (700) | Jacket back (1,200 stones) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blank | $4.50 | $4.50 | $22.00 |
| Stones incl. 5% loss | $2.50 | $3.50 | $6.00 |
| Template share and tape | $0.90 | $1.00 | $1.60 |
| Labor at $20.00/hr | 0.5 hr = $10.00 | 0.6 hr = $12.00 | 0.9 hr = $18.00 |
| Overhead (10%) | $1.79 | $2.10 | $4.76 |
| Cost to make | $19.69 | $23.10 | $52.36 |
| Plus 30% profit | $25.60 | $30.03 | $68.07 |
| Cover 10% selling fees (divide by 0.90) | $28.44 | $33.37 | $75.63 |
| Suggested price | $29 | $34 | $76 |
These are single prices. On a team order, the template is shared and the time per shirt drops, as shown in the bulk table below.
Names and numbers upcharge
Each name or number is its own small template, cut and weeded separately, plus extra stones and time. Many bling makers charge $5 to $12 per name and $3 to $8 per number, depending on size. List these as add-ons on the team order form so parents can choose.
What you keep on each sales channel
The same team name bling tee at $29.00 leaves different money in your pocket depending on where it sells. This uses the $19.69 cost to make from the example above, with Etsy's current transaction, processing and listing fees and Square's in-person card rate. Shipping, sales tax and ads are left out.
| Where it sells | Buyer pays | Fees | You keep | Profit over cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etsy (6.5% + 3% + $0.25 + $0.20 listing) | $29.00 | $3.21 | $25.80 | $6.11 |
| Your own website (about 2.9% + $0.30) | $29.00 | $1.14 | $27.86 | $8.17 |
| Craft fair, card reader (2.6% + $0.15) | $29.00 | $0.90 | $28.10 | $8.41 |
| Craft fair, cash | $29.00 | $0.00 | $29.00 | $9.31 |
| Wholesale to a shop (50% of retail) | $14.50 | $0.00 | $14.50 | -$5.19 |
On Etsy, fees take about 11% of a $29.00 sale. If a sale comes through Etsy Offsite Ads, add another 15% (12% for shops over $10,000 a year), so build that into your price if you're enrolled. Wholesale at half of retail loses $5.19 per piece here. Either raise retail, lower your cost, or set a separate wholesale price with a case minimum.
Bulk and custom order pricing
For a team order of matching cheer tees, design, template cutting and a test press takes about 1.25 hr at $20.00/hr. Charge that once per order, then spread it across the pieces. Materials are $7.90 per piece and hands-on time is 30 minutes, which drops when you batch the same design. Overhead is 10%, profit 30%, and 3% covers card or invoice fees.
| Quantity | Setup share per piece | Cost per piece | Price per piece | Order total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25.00 | $47.19 | $63.24 | $63.24 |
| 10 | $2.50 | $20.24 | $27.13 | $271.26 |
| 20 | $1.25 | $17.77 | $23.81 | $476.18 |
| 40 | $0.62 | $16.53 | $22.15 | $886.01 |
The price per piece falls from $63.24 to $22.15 because the setup is shared, not because you cut your rate. Quote the tier the customer actually orders, ask for a 50% deposit before you buy blanks, and set a minimum order size for custom work.
Cheer apparel pricing checklist
- Stone counts for each team design.
- Template cost per design, shared across the team.
- Blank prices by size and style.
- Timed shirts for each design.
- Overhead, profit and fees.
- Team tiers with setup charged once.
- Names and numbers priced as add-ons, and a deposit collected.
Quote team bling orders in minutes
Type your designs, sizes, stones and time into the peach cells. The calculator builds a team quote with setup, tiers and deposit.
Get the Rhinestone Team Order QuoteCalculators that help
- Stone cost: Cost stones by size. Use the Rhinestone Stone Count & Cost by Size Calculator – Cost per Stone, per Design & Bags.
- Template reuse: See what each reuse saves. Use the Rhinestone Template Cost & Reuse Planner – Flock Roll vs Sheets, Setup Fee.
- Wholesale tiers: Set price tiers for gyms and studios. Use the Rhinestone Transfer Wholesale Price Tiers – Quantity Breaks 12 to 500 with Margin Floor.
- Deadlines: Plan production before competition dates. Use the Rhinestone Production Capacity & Deadline Planner – Bottleneck, Templates & Helpers.
Common questions
How much should I charge for a rhinestone cheer shirt?
Many cheer bling tees sell for about $25 to $40 as singles and less per shirt on team orders. In this guide a single team tee prices at about $29.
How do I price team rhinestone orders?
Charge setup and the template once, lower the price per shirt as quantity goes up, and add names and numbers as upcharges.
How much should I charge for cheer mom shirts?
Mom shirts often have a name or number, so they cost a bit more. In this guide a mom shirt with a name prices at about $34.
How many stones are in a cheer team design?
Team logos are often 400 to 900 stones on a shirt and 1,000 or more on a jacket back.
Should I take a deposit for team orders?
Yes. Many makers take 50% before buying blanks, especially with sizes that can't be resold.
How far ahead should teams order?
Ask for two to four weeks before competitions, and set a rush fee for less.
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