Custom leather patch hats have become all the rage! Embroidery was once the king of hat decoration, but as of late, the leather patch is making a fast and furious attempt to unseat that king.
It’s no secret that baseball caps are the icon of casual American fashion, you see them in Hollywood, in the work place, in athletics and virtually everywhere. Custom caps are universal to men and women and are growing in popularity each year. As a result, many brands both small and large are scrambling to capture their piece of the market. What was once unattainable for smaller brands, is now within reach as niche companies are offering smaller run custom leather patches and leather patch caps.
Let’s review the top 3 things that you should be considering when you are about to place your first order for custom leather patch caps.
Top 3 questions to ask when researching your custom leather patch hat order
1. What do the setup fees look like to create my custom leather patch hat?
Custom generally means that a special setup is going to be required in order for you to process your first custom cap and patch job. Since the vendor that you pick to do your work will not automatically have your logo on the shelf, they have to create dies or plates to stamp it in to the leather. These custom tooling charges do cost money. Be prepared to invest between $50 and $200 to get your custom logo setup for your first order. If you plan to continue to order from the vendor that you pick, there may be setup fees for each order, as setup will be required on initial as well as re-orders.
2. What is the minimum order for my first order of custom leather patch hats?
This is the single biggest driving factor in choosing the best vendor for your custom leather patch caps. Minimum orders vary greatly across multiple vendors. Larger providers tend to have larger minimums and smaller and medium providers will have smaller mediums. It’s important to determine what is most important to you, the lower minimum order or the production capacity of the vendor. As an example, you may land a large order and have a smaller vendor with a limited capacity for production that can’t keep up with your demands. While they are an attractive partner in terms of a lower minimum, they may fall short in production capacity. Likewise, you may have a great production partner who has steep minimum orders. Choose wisely and account for what you think your business will look like for the next 18 months.
3. How long will it take for me to get my first order of leather patch caps?
If you are excited to get your first order of leather patch caps, make sure that your expectations are set properly with the vendor that you choose. Custom work is not easy and it’s not fast. You want to balance quality and speed for what works best with your brand. A small artisan company may produce amazing quality, but may take forever to get you even the smallest number of leather patches. A larger provider may produce thousands of mediocre patches quickly, where as a medium sized provider may be just what you need for your starting brand.
Who ever you decide to work with, make sure that you set your expectations in line with their capabilities. Communication is critical, as always.
If you are interested in ordering Custom Leather Patch Hats, please consider giving us a call (908) 806-8337 or email us today.
