MerchButler Resources — guides, calculators, and playbooks for buying merch in bulk
Sponsor Logo Placement on Race Shirts
Most race directors figure out sponsor logo placement the same way: by getting it badly wrong on their first shirt run, watching the title sponsor call to complain about font size, and quietly vowing to have a real system in place before…
First-Time OrganizerIs Your Merch Quote Fair? How to Tell If You're Overpaying (Before You Sign Off)
That pit in your stomach when you open a merch quote is information. It might mean the vendor is great at their job and you just didn't expect the number. It might mean you're being charged like a tourist. Either way, the feeling is worth…
People Ops SwagNew Hire Welcome Kit Essentials That Earn Day-One Trust
The best welcome kit we've ever heard described had four items in it. The worst had seventeen, including a branded stress ball shaped like the company logo and a travel umbrella sized for a child. The difference between the two wasn't…
The Real Event-Swag Checklist (T-12 Weeks to T-Day)
The "event swag checklist" results that rank for this query are 30-item product listicles in disguise. They list water bottles, totes, and lanyards. They do not tell you when to order the water bottles, who has to approve the art proof, or…
Custom Moleskine Hard Cover Ruled Large Expanded Notebook for New-hire onboarding kits: A Buyer's Take
Moleskine notebooks land in onboarding kits because they feel like a gift rather than an afterthought, but the math only works if you know exactly what you're paying for and how long you actually have. There's a reason people-ops teams…
How to Run a Spirit Wear Fundraiser (PTA Chair's 6-Week Playbook)
Most first-time PTA spirit wear fundraisers lose money. Not because spirit wear does not sell, but because the chair was handed the role in October, told the school needs $4,000 by Thanksgiving, and discovered nobody wrote down what last…
How Many T-Shirts to Order for a 5K
You can ship a 5K weekend with the wrong shirt order in two ways. You can underorder and run out of larges by Saturday morning. You can overorder and store 80 shirts in your garage until next year, where they will sit until you find them…
How to Choose Trade-Show Giveaways: A Decision Flow, Not a Listicle
The reason every "best trade-show giveaways of 2026" listicle reads the same is that the writer skipped the decision. They listed thirty items. You still have to pick one, and you have less context than when you started. This is the actual…
What 100 Custom T-Shirts Actually Cost
Most "how much do 100 custom t-shirts cost" pages are written by print shops to convince you to put your email into a quote form. The number you actually need is hidden behind the lead capture. Here is the math, with no form. Per-shirt…
Trade-Show Swag Tiered Budget: A Real 60/30/10 Framework
Every trade-show booth has the same problem. You are told you have a $4,000 swag budget. You have 3,000 expected booth visitors. The math says $1.33 per person. So you order 3,000 stress balls, give them out for three days, and a year…
Swag for Healthcare Trade Shows (HIMSS, HLTH, Becker's)
Healthcare trade-show booths fail at swag for a reason none of the generic listicles mention. Half the items recommended in those listicles will be confiscated, ignored, or quietly handed back. Healthcare audiences operate inside…
Want to
try it out?
Just want to kick the tires? Click below to get started. Trying it out is free, and it’s pretty fun to see what The Butler suggests.
Get Started