Why We Priced Our Millionth Tee at $3

At Ink’d Stores, we just crossed a big milestone: our one-millionth printed shirt. That’s a number I never imagined when we started pressing shirts one at a time, order by order, job by job. It means something. It represents thousands of companies, teams, nonprofits, events, and real people, who’ve trusted us to make their message wearable. So when it came time to celebrate, I wanted to do something bold. Something fun. Something that showed real appreciation.

That’s why we priced our millionth shirt at just $3.

Now, if you’re in the business, you know how crazy that number is. Three bucks barely covers the blank shirt, let alone the print, the labor, the packaging, and everything else that goes into getting it to your door. This isn’t a gimmick or a “$3 shirt but $18 shipping” kind of deal. The shipping is at cost as well. This is real.

Let me break it down.

Depending on how many shirts a customer usually orders, the $3 price is anywhere from 60% to 80% off our standard pricing. That’s not a markdown we’d ever be able to offer under normal circumstances. And to be candid, it’s the absolute lowest we can go without taking a loss.

But this campaign isn't about squeezing out a profit. It's about saying thanks.

I’ve always believed in generosity, especially when it’s earned.

We wouldn’t be here without the customers who trusted us again and again. We also wouldn't without our team who printed, folded, and shipped every one of those one million shirts.

This was a chance to give back in a way that felt real.

At the same time, I’m a business owner. I have a responsibility to keep the company healthy so we can keep printing the second million shirts. So I spent some time on the math, making sure we could still cover our hard costs. We can’t offer $3 shirts forever, but for this moment, we can do it, and do it right.

I also have a soft spot for the number 3.

It’s been my lucky number for as long as I can remember. I wore #3 in sports growing up. I rode the #3 bus to Chadds Ford Elementary, I’ve always liked the way it feels, simple, solid, lucky. When we hit the million mark and I started tossing around ideas, that number came back around. Three dollars. Three cheers. Three times, thank you.

I didn’t want to slap some random percentage off and call it a sale. I wanted something with meaning behind it. Something our clients would talk about. Something our team would be proud of. And something that made me smile.

So we’re running this $3 shirt offer now....limited time, limited quantity. It’s a thank you, a celebration, and a little bit of a love letter to everyone who’s been on this ride with us.

If you’ve ordered from us before, you know the quality of our work. If you haven’t, this is the perfect time to try us. A shirt for three bucks, printed with your design, shipped out by a team that cares? That’s something worth grabbing.

We’re proud of what we’ve built. But more than anything, we’re grateful. Grateful for the trust, the repeat orders, the referrals, the chance to keep growing. One million shirts is a huge deal for us....but it’s just the start.

Thanks for being a part of it. Here's to the next million.

-Jay