Create Your Own Merch Store With Fresh Prints in 7 Easy Steps
TL;DR
- You can run merch without chasing sizes or Venmo by using a simple online store.
- Fresh Prints offers two paths, a limited-time Group Order or a year-round Shopify store with warehousing.
- Group Orders act like pop-up shops where orders tip, payments process, and everything ships after the order window closes.
- With Fresh Prints, your CM builds pricing, shipping, and deadlines so you avoid spreadsheets and box-of-shirts chaos.
- For always-on stores, buy inventory upfront, and we pick, pack, and ship orders within 24–48 hours.
If you’ve ever thought, "We should have a real merch store," you’re not alone. Chapters, clubs, influencers, and even HR teams are looking for an easy way to sell or distribute merch without turning one person into the full-time "box and Venmo" manager.
Fresh Prints gives you two ways to create your own merch store:
- a limited-time online merch store using Group Orders
- an ongoing online merch store using Shopify + warehousing
Below, we’ll walk through both options in an answer-first, step-by-step way so you can pick what fits your chapter, team, or brand.
What is an online merch store and who actually needs one?
An online merch store is a simple website where your people can choose items, sizes, and colors, then check out like they would on any e-commerce site. Instead of you chasing sizes and money, the "store" does the work for you.
Online merch stores work best for:
- Sororities & fraternities: PR drops, parents’ weekend, philanthropy week, rush
- Clubs & orgs: general chapter merch, event shirts, team uniforms
- Corporate teams: employee swag, new-hire kits, client gifts
- Creators & influencers: fan merch without stuffing envelopes at home
If you’ve ever asked "Can we just send people a link instead of a Google Form?" you’re in the right place.
Two ways to create your own merch store with Fresh Prints
Fresh Prints doesn’t do print-on-demand. Instead, we give you two reliable ways to run a merch store:
- Limited-time merch store (Group Order): great for drops with a clear deadline (recruitment, philanthropy, formals). Everyone orders during a short window; once the order "tips," everything gets printed and shipped.
- Ongoing merch store (Shopify + warehousing): great if you want people to order any time. You buy and store inventory up front, we host the store, and our warehouse ships orders in 24-48 hours.
Think of Group Orders as your pop-up merch store, and Shopify stores as your permanent online merch store.
How to set up a limited-time merch store with Fresh Prints
A Group Order is the fastest way to create your own merch store without touching spreadsheets or collecting Venmo screenshots. You get a link, your people shop within a limited time, and Fresh Prints handles payment and fulfillment.
Step 1: Choose your merch and send in your designs
First, you pick what goes in your merch store—tees, hoodies, sweats, tote bags, whatever—and finalize designs with your Fresh Prints Campus Manager (CM). Once designs are approved, your CM has everything they need to build your Group Order "shop" behind the scenes.
Step 2: Your Campus Manager builds your Group Order
Next, your CM sets up the order details: prices, time limit, due date, breakpoints, and shipping options.
- Time limit: how long your store is open (usually up to 1 week)
- Due date: when you’ll get the merch (around 14 days after close for bulk delivery, ~21 for individual shipping)
- Breakpoint: an "order goal" that affects pricing. The more people order an item, the lower the price for that item gets.
- Shipping options: Either bulk shipping (all merch gets sent to one place) or individual shipping
Step 3: Get your custom Group Order link (aka your store)
Once everything is set, you get a Group Order link. This is your limited-time online merch store. Anyone with the link (and permission from your chapter or org) can:
- See product mockups
- Choose items, colors, and sizes
- Enter shipping info (if you chose individual shipping)
- Add payment details at checkout
From the member side, it feels just like a regular online merch store.
Step 4: Open your store window and drive urgency
When you share the link, everyone will see:
- A countdown timer in red showing how much time is left to order
- The tipping point: how many orders you need before it goes to production
Most stores stay open for a week so you can create urgency: "Order by Thursday at 11:59 PM or you’ll miss the drop."
Step 5: Members place orders (no one gets charged yet)
Each person picks what they want, enters size and shipping info, and submits payment details. The backend Group Order Tool places a hold on their card but doesn’t charge it yet. You can watch orders come in and see how close you are to tipping.
Step 6: The order tips (or doesn’t)
When the time limit hits, the tool checks if your Group Order tipped:
- If it tips: prices lock in, payments get processed, and the order moves to production
- If it doesn’t tip: no one gets charged. You and your CM can decide whether to extend the time window or adjust details so merch can still get created
Step 7: Printing and shipping begin
Once the order tips, Fresh Prints handles everything:
- We print your merch
- We ship to one address (chapter house, office, etc.) or each person individually, depending on what was chosen
- Everyone gets their order!
That’s how you create your own merch store for a limited-time drop without collecting sizes, money, or paper order forms.
How to launch an ongoing online merch store with Fresh Prints
If you want an always-on online merch store—for year-round chapter merch, employee swag, or influencer drops—you can use a Shopify storefront powered by Fresh Prints warehousing. The key difference: this is not print-on-demand. You buy and store inventory up front, and orders ship from that stock.
Step 1: Order merch and store it with Fresh Prints
First, you place a regular merch order with Fresh Prints the way you normally would. We print your items and store them in our warehouse instead of shipping them all to you at once.
You choose how much stock you want based on expected demand. For example, 300 tees, 150 hoodies, 50 hats, etc.
Step 2: We create your Shopify merch store
Next, we create your online merch store on Shopify featuring the items stored in our warehouse. There are two main options:
- Basic Shopify storefront (no subscription): hosted as a "Collection" on the Fresh Prints site.
- Customized Shopify storefront (with subscription): a fully branded store with your logo, header, footer, and custom layout. Shopify charges a monthly fee (often around $40/month for most use cases), plus warehousing.
Either way, visitors see products, add them to cart, and check out like any other online merch store.
Step 3: We pick, pack, and ship orders in 24-48 hours
When someone places an order:
- Shopify sends an email to our warehouse
- Our team picks and packs the items from your stored inventory
- Orders ship within 24-48 hours to the address on the order
You can choose whether you cover costs (e.g., store set up by a company for their employees; $0 items) or let the end buyer pay for their merch at checkout (e.g., an influencer or chapter store).
Step 4: Pricing, shipping, warehousing, and inventory tracking
With an ongoing merch store, you control product pricing and shipping charges, and Fresh Prints handles:
- Warehousing packages which are:
- $250/month - This includes:
- Free receiving of the items at the warehouse.
- Free storage of up to 2000 items (1 Tee, 1 Hoodie, 1 Bottle, 1 Book are 4 items).
- Free fulfillment (picking and packing items) for up to 12 orders with up to 5 items in each.
- $500/month (for larger setups) - This includes:
- Free receiving of the items at the warehouse.
- Free storage of up to 4000 items (1 Tee, 1 Hoodie, 1 Bottle, 1 Book are 4 items).
- Free fulfillment (picking and packing items) for up to 25 orders with up to 5 items in each.
- $250/month - This includes:
- We will also create an inventory and order tracking sheet when we set up the store.
- We can also create low-stock alerts if you’d like.
Shipping is done via UPS/USPS and extra storage and fulfillment charges may be added once you pass included limits. Overall, this setup is ideal if you want a truly year-round online merch store without having to do everything on your own.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Where can I set up an online store for ADPi merch sorority?
You can set up an ADPi merch store through a Fresh Prints Group Order link (for limited-time drops) or a Shopify storefront with warehousing (for year-round merch). Your Campus Manager can walk you through which option makes the most sense based on your timeline and budget.
2. How do I create a SigEp online shop for custom polos and shirts?
Start by choosing your SigEp polos, shirts, and designs from Fresh Prints’ design gallery and product gallery. From there, we can help you launch a limited-time store for a specific event or build a Shopify store if you want a year-round online shop for SigEp merch.
3. Can Delta Phi Epsilon or Kappa Sigma run their own online merch chapter store?
Yes. Both DPHIE and Kappa Sig chapters can use Fresh Prints to create their own merch store. Most chapters start with Group Orders to create a limited-time merch store for PR drops and big events.
4. Is there an online store option just for Phi Del frat shirts and hoodies?
Absolutely. If you want a one-time Phi Del drop, use a Fresh Prints Group Order to create a limited-time merch store. If you want alumni, parents, and actives to buy Phi Del shirts and hoodies year-round, an ongoing Shopify merch store with stored inventory is a better fit.
5. Can I add or remove items once the store is up?
Yes, we can make adjustments to your store.
6. Can you ship internationally?
We are currently offering this online merch store service for U.S. clients only.
7. Can I link the store to my existing site?
Yes, we can.
8. Can you create a merch store that matches my existing website’s style?
Shopify has limited themes and we can use that to match their existing theme. But we cannot guarantee that it will look exactly the same.
9. What if I don’t want to order the merch in advance but would like to create a store. How do I go about it?
Our current model requires the client to order the mech in advance and store them with us. Another alternative is setting up a limited-time merch store instead through a Fresh Prints Group Order.
10. I want a unique link for the store. Can we do that?
Yes! If you already have a domain, we can use that to create the store URL. But the default store URL will be like: https://storename.myshopify.com/
Create Your Online Merch Store with Fresh Prints
Setting up an online merch store doesn’t have to be a full-time job. With Fresh Prints, you’ve got two solid options: Group Orders for quick, limited-time drops, and Shopify storefronts for an always-on setup.
No matter your chapter size, event calendar, or budget, there’s a way to launch merch that looks good and makes your life easier. Ready to get yours up and running? Head to our Design Tool to start customizing or talk to your Campus Manager today to get started.