It is a scenario every club committee knows well. You ordered your team caps back in pre season, everyone was fitted out, the sponsor logo looked sharp on the peak, and life moved on. Then round six rolls around and three new players have signed on, two juniors have moved up into the senior squad, and someone has lost theirs at training. Suddenly you need another eight or ten caps that match the original order exactly, and you need them before finals, not next season.
This is one of the most common calls we get at HatsOnline, and it is exactly the kind of situation our whole business is built around. Here is how we handle it, and what to expect if your club ever finds itself in the same spot.
Reordering a handful of caps sounds simple until you try to do it with a supplier that has a minimum order quantity. Plenty of headwear suppliers want fifty or a hundred units before they will even quote, which leaves clubs stuck buying far more stock than they need just to get a small run made, or worse, mismatching the new caps with a different brand or colourway because that is all that is available quickly.
At HatsOnline there is no minimum order. Whether your club needs three caps or three hundred, the process is the same. That matters most in exactly this kind of mid season top up situation, where a club treasurer does not want to explain to the committee why they had to buy fifty caps to get the eight they actually needed.
Getting a top up order right depends on more than just picking a similar looking cap. Embroidery thread colours, cap fabric, brim shape and even the stitch density on your club crest can all vary between brands and batches. When a club comes back to us for a repeat order, we work from the original artwork and specification on file rather than starting from scratch, which is a big part of why the new caps sit and look right alongside the ones your existing squad already has.
This is where our relationship with Doree Embroidery earns its keep. Doree has been embellishing garments in Brisbane since 1934 and runs around 150 embroidery heads, so reproducing a crest or sponsor logo accurately, down to the stitch, is routine for their team rather than a guessing game. If your club badge has fine detail, small text, or a tricky colour match, this kind of embroidery depth is what keeps a reorder looking like part of the original set, not an odd one out.
It can be tempting to skip the checking process on a small reorder because it feels like a formality. We would still encourage you not to. Before anything goes into production, you get a digital proof showing exactly how your logo will sit on the cap, including placement, size and thread colours. For a top up order this is your chance to flag if the club has updated its sponsor panel, changed a colour slightly, or wants the new intake’s caps to include an extra badge for a grade change. It takes a few minutes and avoids any surprises when the box arrives.
Depending on your timeline and budget, we can run your order through local Australian production or through our offshore partners. Local production tends to suit clubs that are up against a tight date, such as needing caps before a finals series or a presentation night, while offshore production can be a good option when you have more lead time and want to keep costs down for a larger squad refresh. We will talk you through which option makes sense once we know your timeframe.
Typical turnaround once you approve your proof is around two weeks. That is not a guaranteed delivery date, since factors like the number of caps, decoration method and the time of year can shift things, but it gives most clubs enough runway to plan a reorder around a known event on the calendar, whether that is a grand final, an awards night or simply the start of a new intake. If you are genuinely up against it, it is worth asking about a rush order rather than assuming it cannot be done.
Beyond the single reorder, plenty of clubs come to us wanting a longer term arrangement, so that every season’s caps, whether for seniors, juniors or committee members, stay consistent without someone having to hunt down old artwork files each time. Keeping a record of your club’s chosen cap style, brand and embroidery specification on file means future orders, big or small, can move quickly. Clubs running representative teams, multiple grades or several sports under one banner often find this approach saves a lot of back and forth, and it is worth mentioning if you place a larger seasonal order through our bulk order service.
Most club crests and sponsor logos suit embroidery, which gives a durable, professional finish that holds up to a full season of sun, sweat and regular washing. Some clubs also mix in screen printed or heat seal elements for sponsor panels that change often, since these can be more economical to update. If you are not sure which decoration method suits your club’s logo, it is worth asking before you lock in a design.
If your club is facing its own version of the mid season top up, whether that is new players, a lost cap or a sponsor change that needs updating across the whole squad, we can usually work from what you already have on file to keep things simple. Have a look through our full range of caps for inspiration, or if you would rather just talk it through, get in touch for a free quote or call us on 1300 428 766 and we will help you sort out exactly what your club needs.
