How to Run a Spirit Wear Pre-Order: A Step-by-Step Playbook for PTAs

by EZ-INK

A spirit wear pre-order lets families pick their sizes and pay before anything is printed, so the PTA is not left with a box of extra shirts. It also creates a lot of small details to manage. This article is a step-by-step playbook for running one smoothly, from announcement to the last size swap.

Just getting started? Our School & PTA Event Ordering Guide covers choosing products, artwork permission, proofs, and board handoff. This article focuses on running the pre-order window itself.

Step 1: Settle the details before you announce

Families will ask the same questions, so answer them in the announcement. Have these ready:

  • What is for sale: each item, color, and design, with a picture or mockup
  • Sizes offered: youth and adult listed separately, plus any extended sizes
  • Price per item, including any higher price for extended sizes
  • How to pay and who to contact with questions
  • The cutoff date and time, written exactly the same everywhere
  • When and how items will be handed out, once you have a confirmed date

Get your item prices from the product pages or your quote first, so the family price covers your real cost.

Step 2: Build an order form that prevents mistakes

Most pre-order problems come from the form. A few design choices fix most of them:

  • One row per item, not a free-text "what do you want" box. Use drop-downs for item, color, and size.
  • Separate youth and adult sizes in the drop-down labels (for example "Youth M" and "Adult M") so no one picks the wrong range.
  • Ask for the student's name and teacher or grade, which is how you will sort and deliver.
  • Ask for a parent email or phone for questions and swaps.
  • Link the size chart for the exact style you are ordering.
  • Offer a paper form or a staffed table for families who do not use the online form.

Step 3: Run the pre-order window

  • Announce through every channel at once: school newsletter, class messages, and social posts, all with the same link and cutoff.
  • Send one reminder a few days before the cutoff and one on the last day.
  • Close on time. Late additions are the most common reason pre-orders run late. If you want to allow them, collect them as a separate, later order.
  • Match payments to orders before you close, and follow up on any unpaid orders right away.

Step 4: Turn the form into one clean order

  1. Export the form to a spreadsheet.
  2. Total by design, item, color, and size. Quantity pricing is based on how many pieces share one design, so this is the count that matters for your quote.
  3. Add a few extras in the most common sizes for swaps and late requests, if the budget allows.
  4. Double-check extended sizes and youth sizes, which are easy to miss in a long list.
  5. Send one final size breakdown to us with the artwork, and keep a copy.

Not sure which print method fits your design and counts? See Screen printing vs. DTF vs. transfers.

Step 5: Sort and hand out

  • Print a packing list from your spreadsheet, sorted by teacher or grade.
  • Bag each order and label it with the student's name, teacher, and the items and sizes inside.
  • Check each bag against the list before it goes to a classroom or pickup table.
  • Hold back the extras at one place so swaps are easy.

Step 6: Handle swaps and wrap up

  • Set a simple swap policy (for example, unworn items, by a set date, while extras last) and share it with the pickup notice.
  • Track what sold, what was swapped, and what was left over. That record is the best guide for next year's counts.
  • Save the order spreadsheet, artwork, and order number in a shared PTA folder.

Pre-order checklist

  • ☐ Items, colors, designs, and family prices approved
  • ☐ Order form built with drop-downs and youth/adult sizes separated
  • ☐ Size chart linked; paper form available
  • ☐ Cutoff date set and announced everywhere
  • ☐ Reminders scheduled
  • ☐ Payments matched to orders at close
  • ☐ Totals by design, item, color, and size
  • ☐ Final size breakdown and artwork sent
  • ☐ Packing list and labeled bags ready
  • ☐ Swap policy shared; results saved for next year

Ready to price your pre-order?

Send us the items, the design, and your size totals.

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