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Today I will show you my favorite way to purchase wholesale shirts and other apparel from BELLA+CANVAS without a wholesale license. Whether you’re looking for blanks for your business or because you love to create personalized gifts, the ability to purchase blanks at a discounted price is always a good thing.
Before you really begin customizing apparel you’ll need a heat source. To help you decide which heat press is right for you check out my Heat Press vs. EasyPress comparison post.
How to Purchase Wholesale Shirts
I am going to teach you all about the BELLA+CANVAS Maker’s account. This program allows you to order as little as one shirt or up to hundreds of items at wholesale prices.
The great thing about the BELLA+CANVAS Maker’s account is that they have shirts and so much more. From t-shirts to leggings and fleece hoodies to biker shorts, you’ll find something for children and adults alike.
If you’ve ever felt a BELLA+CANVAS tee, you know the quality can’t be beaten. Since they are my favorite shirts, I was so excited to learn about the new wholesale options. You can watch me walk you through the whole process of setting up a Maker’s account and learn all about why I think BELLA+CANVAS shirts are the best out there by pressing play on the video below.
How to Set Up a BELLA+CANVAS Maker’s Account?
To create a Maker’s account you’ll begin by heading to BELLA+CANVAS.com and then click on Create Account.
NOTE – If you already have a resale license, make sure you’re creating the right kind of account. You do not need a resale license to purchase wholesale shirts from BELLA+CANVAS but if you have a resale license you can create an account for that too.
You’ll find the link to sign up for an account with a resale license right at the bottom of that same page. Once you click on Create Account, you’ll be taken to a page where you fill out all your information and then submit the application to BELLA+CANVAS.
Please note – You do need to be a US resident to sign up for a BELLA+CANVAS Maker’s account. You do not need a business license or resale license but you will need a US address.
When everything is submitted BELLA+CANVAS will confirm it and then all that’s left to do is place your first order!
Who Should Purchase Wholesale Shirts?
You might be thinking the only people who need to purchase wholesale shirts are people who own a business. I don’t think that’s true at all. Purchasing shirts wholesale through BELLA+CANVAS is for everyone!
The great thing about the BELLA+CANVAS Maker’s account is that you don’t have to order in bulk. This means if you’re wanting to make one shirt or 100 shirts in different colors and sizes you can order exactly what you need.
When people think of wholesale, they imagine ordering 30 shirts in the same color and size. That is not how this program works at all. If you have a family reunion coming up and you need 30 shirts in sizes from 2T-4XL, BELLA+CANVAS can help you with that.
Another example would be to order and make some customized apparel for your children as they head back to school. You do not have to place a large order to order from BELLA+CANVAS wholesale.
What Type of Apparel Does BELLA+CANVAS Have?
BELLA+CANVAS wholesale has so many different apparel options I can’t cover them all here. Some of my favorites are their new stretch baby tees, the fleece sweatshirts, and their unisex heathered shirts.
Those are just a few of the items I’ve used and loved over the years. They have entire categories for kids, men, women, and unisex. They even have a FWDFashion category that includes many of the current trending apparel items you’re likely seeing pop up all over social media.
I love that I can order just one of these different items to try them out. I can test them for fit, time, and temperature and see how well they wash up before purchasing a lot of them.
How to Order From BELLA+CANVAS Wholesale
Ordering from BELLA+CANVAS wholesale is really easy. You can choose to shop by age group, collections, and even by fabric or color.
Shop Wholesale Shirts By Color
For instance, if you know you need blue shirts for a local event you can look at all the different blue color options BELLA+CANVAS offers and then look at what specific items are available in each color. This will allow you to easily find a color that has all the different sizes you need for your event.
This is a great example. These are all the different options available if I select Denim Blue as the color I need. If I wanted a baseball-style t-shirt in sizes toddler to adult, this would be a great option.
If I needed a solid short sleeve t-shirt in those same sizes, this wouldn’t be the right color to choose because there isn’t a toddler or youth size available in this color.
Shop By Fabric
I also love the ability to filter by fabric. This will allow you to quickly and easily find what colors and styles are available in the fabric you’re looking for. These are the different items that come up if I select that I’m looking for something made out of Flowy Poly-Viscose fabric.
You can see that there are a variety of different styles and colors available in that fabric.
How to Select Sizing for Wholesale Shirts and Other Apparel
Now that we’ve decided what shirt we want to order, we can pick the sizing we need. You do need to be logged in to see the sizing available in each warehouse.
BELLA+CANVAS has two different warehouses they ship their apparel from. The great thing about having a Maker’s account is that you can see how many of the items are available in the sizes you need at each warehouse.
This will allow you to combine your order so everything ships from one warehouse which will save you on shipping costs.
The photo above is an example of some of the items available at the different warehouses. If I was shopping for t-shirts in Ash and needed size 2XL, I would choose the NV location over the MD location because the items will be back in stock at that location sooner.
To add your items to the cart you’ll type the number you need of each size into the box that lists the size. Remember, you want to select everything from one warehouse whenever possible to save on shipping costs.
How to Add Order to Shopping Cart
Once you have the number of shirts in each size you need, scroll up by the product details and click Update Cart.
You’ll do this for each different item you’re ordering. You can then click View Cart or proceed to another item.
Now let’s look at how things look in the cart.
The great thing about the shopping cart is that it shows you everything. Here I have all of my items shipping from the MD warehouse. You can also see the sizes and quantities of each item. I have a variety of Berry shirt sizes but only one size of both the Asphalt and Charity Pink tees.
Here in the shopping cart, I can see the total for each individual product and then the subtotal for all of the items.
How Does Shipping Work From Different Warehouses
I wanted to show you what happens if I have items shipped from different warehouses. In this shopping cart example, I have items shipping from the MD warehouse and the NV warehouse.
This is a smaller order so there will be shipping fees associated.
Note – BELLA+CANVAS Maker’s Account has free shipping on orders from a single warehouse over $200.
With items in the cart from two different warehouses I will have to pay shipping on the orders from both warehouses.
Unless you’re placing orders over $200 to get free shipping, I don’t recommend using both warehouses. It would essentially negate the benefit of shopping wholesale if you pay shipping fees twice.
Final Thoughts on Shopping for Wholesale Shirts and Apparel
I think you probably can probably tell by now I am a huge fan of BELLA+CANVAS and their Maker’s wholesale account. A Maker’s account can be a lifesaver for someone who makes a lot of customized shirts or other apparel items but doesn’t have a business or resale license.
With a BELLA+CANVAS Maker’s account, I can purchase my favorite shirts wholesale and the shipping is fast. I was really impressed with how quickly my items arrived.
If you think you may order items in a variety of colors, I recommend getting a color catalog from BELLA+CANVAS. This will allow you to show customers the different color options available and to easily find out what color products you already have.
There’s nothing worse than finding a color you like and then not being sure exactly what color of red it was when you placed the order. You can order a color catalog here.
I hope I’ve answered any questions you might have about how to purchase wholesale shirts and other apparel without a resale license. If you have any other questions, feel free to leave them in the comments and I’ll be happy to answer them for you.