Questions
Frequently asked questions.
Everything people ask before they open a store, answered plainly.
The managed store program
What is the fully managed store?
It is a storefront under your own brand that we build, host, print, pack, ship, and answer for. You send the artwork. You keep 20 percent of the net revenue on every sale, paid out weekly.
What does the client actually have to do?
Send us your logo or crest and tell us where the money goes. That is the whole ask: we handle design, product setup, printing, packing, shipping, returns, and every customer email. Most organizations spend under an hour on it, ever.
What is inside The Collective's 80 percent?
Payment processing, sales tax filed as merchant of record, refunds and chargebacks, the blank garments and the inventory risk, in-house printing, quality control, packing, shipping labels and carrier costs, re-ships, storefront hosting and updates, and every customer email.
When and how do payouts happen?
Every Monday, automatically, through Stripe. Nothing to invoice, nothing to chase, and each statement reconciled to the cent. Payouts are made through Stripe only, so a store needs its Stripe account connected before the first one can land.
What counts as net revenue?
The merchandise total on an order after any discount, not including shipping or sales tax. Your 20 percent is calculated on that figure. Refunds issued after a payout are netted against your next one, never invoiced back to you.
What does it cost to start a managed store?
Nothing. No setup cost, no inventory to buy, and no card needed to open one. A standard storefront build is included, and the monthly hosting and care fee is waived for the first 60 days and in any month the store clears $500 in net sales.
Who owns the brand and the designs?
You do. Your name, your logo, and your artwork stay entirely yours, and you warrant that you hold the rights to whatever you send us. The print-ready production files we build to reproduce that artwork are ours.
How fast can a store go live?
Days, not months. Commands and leagues have gone live the same week they sent their crest, once the artwork is in hand and the range is agreed. If you have a date to hit, tell us and we will confirm it before you commit.
Military command and CPOA stores
Is a military command store really free?
Yes. The Military Command tier's maintenance fee is permanently waived for active-duty commands. No setup cost, no inventory buy, and no catch: we earn our share only when gear actually sells.
Where does the money from a command store go?
Twenty percent of every sale's net revenue is paid out weekly to your CPOA, FCPOA, MWR fund, or wherever your association directs it. The command names the destination when the store is set up, and every statement is reconciled to the cent.
Can a store be ready for CPO season?
Yes. Results drop in August and pinning is in September, and a store stood up now is open for both. Selectee gear, initiation-season items, and pinning-day orders are exactly what these stores carry.
Is The Collective affiliated with the Navy or the Department of Defense?
No. The Collective is a private, veteran-owned business, not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Navy or the Department of Defense. Command insignia is used only with the express authorization of the requesting organization.
Which commands already run stores with The Collective?
CSDG-1 FCPOA and COMSURFDEVGRU ONE CPOA both run storefronts we built and operate. Both are live and both are linked from the military page, so you can see exactly what a command store looks like before you ask for one.
Teams, leagues, clubs and schools
How many volunteer hours does a league store take?
None. Families order, we print and ship each order straight to them, and we answer every question. Nobody collects sizes, fronts money, sorts boxes in a parking lot, or reconciles a spreadsheet at the end of the season.
What happens to a team store in the off-season?
It hibernates. Fees pause automatically while the league is dark, and the store wakes for the next season with its catalog and artwork intact. Fall ball and spring registration are the natural windows to open one.
What does the league have to provide?
Your logo, and a destination for the money. That is it. We build the store, produce the graphics, print the gear, ship to each family, and pay the league 20 percent of every sale's net revenue weekly.
How does the gear reach families?
Each order ships directly to the family that placed it, made to order. No bulk buy to organize, no team box to hand out at practice, and no pile of leftover sizes when the season ends.
Company and crew stores
We just want company gear, not a fundraiser. Is this for us?
Yes, and it is a simpler arrangement. Many of our stores are exactly that: an organization that wants branded gear handled completely, from the store to the printing to the shipping to the support.
How does ordering work for a company store?
Your store stays open all year at its own link. Employees, crew, or members order what they need, we print each piece to order, and we ship it straight to the person. Nobody on your side touches inventory or admin.
Is there a minimum order?
No. Everything is made to order, one piece at a time, so there is no minimum, no bulk buy, and nothing sitting in a closet. A single new hire can order a single shirt in their own size.
How is a company store priced?
From the rate sheet, like any build we host: a storefront build plus the universal monthly hosting and care rate. Nothing is being sold to raise money, so a company store involves no revenue share at all.
Production and shipping
Where is the gear printed?
In our own shop in San Diego, California, on our own equipment. We print DTF and more, we buy the blanks ourselves, and we carry the inventory risk, so nobody has to order in bulk up front.
Is anything printed before it is ordered?
No. Every piece is made to order, printed after the customer buys it. That removes dead stock, order minimums, and the money normally tied up in a garage full of boxes nobody wanted.
How long does an order take to arrive?
Orders are printed once placed, checked, and shipped as soon as they pass quality control, with tracking sent to the customer. Turnaround varies with the piece and the season, so write us first if you have a hard deadline.
Who handles returns, exchanges and reprints?
We do, under your brand. On a managed store the customer emails, tracking questions, returns, exchanges, lost packages, and reprints are all ours to answer and ours to fund. None of it routes back to you.
Is every piece checked before it ships?
Yes. Quality control on every piece before it ships is part of what our 80 covers on a managed store. If something arrives wrong, we reprint it and we pay for the reprint.
Self-run stores and the Studio
What is different about a self-run store?
You carry the inventory, the shipping, and the money: payments land in your own account and nothing routes through us. You get the same platform, the same builder, and the same hosting and care. There is no revenue share either way.
What does the Studio do?
Websites that are not stores: landing pages, business sites, and full custom builds, with graphic and brand design, hosting, security, and updates alongside them. It will also take on a site you already have somewhere else.
Where are your prices listed?
On one public rate sheet: storefront builds, hosting and maintenance, change requests, design work, websites, and site transfers. It is the canonical version our seller terms reference, and the version published there governs.
How do we get started?
Tell us what you are making. The chooser hands you to the builder with your door already picked, or write us and we will point you at the right one. No account and no card until you are ready to publish.
Still have a question?
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