A comprehensive guide to custom scarves
Why custom scarves?
Reasons why you should consider customizing scarves for your organization
Like many organizations, I’m sure yours has made custom t-shirts, hoodies and maybe even hats in the past to show off your logo or branding. Friends and fans of your brand have purchased these products from you, or perhaps you’ve even given them away. Well, guess what, every organization like yours has done the same thing. It’s time to stand out and try something new to differentiate yourself from the others. It's easy. Custom made scarves online.
Whether it's custom printed scarves or personalized knitted scarves, you are sure to separate yourself from the rest.
The traditional soccer scarf has been worn by soccer fans for over 100 years. Its history began in England in the early 20th century. Since then, scarf tradition has spread throughout the world and has widely been recognized as the must-have accessory in football, aka soccer.
The most obvious reason you're creating custom soccer scarves is because of your connection to the sport. Maybe you are a soccer coach, a hardcore supporter, a school administrator, or even a company that wants to elevate your brand among the soccer community. They're certainly the most common reasons for choosing soccer scarves, but I’m here to tell you that there are also several other reasons why.
Below is a list of some of the ways our customers have used their customized scarves.
This is by no means the entire list of useful ways, but hopefully, it will serve to help you with ideas.
- Fundraising for schools and non-profits
- Corporate promotion at sporting events
- End-of-season awards to replace trophies
- Tournament merchandise and prizes for the champions
- School merchandise to raise money through booster clubs
- Gifts to school staff
- Gifts to team members and families to raise team spirit
- Store merchandise for retailers
- Corporate branded merchandise for employees, customers, and partners
- Team and sponsor co-branded merchandise
- Supporters club merchandise
- Brewery and bar merchandise
- School band accessory for band members
- Included in the required uniform for players and coaches
- Fan giveaways
- Season ticket holder gifts
- Personalized scarves with VIP names on each scarf
- And many more ways...
Why Ruffneck Scarves?
Ruffneck is the official soccer scarf supplier to MLS, US Soccer, USL, NCAA and many more
Ruffneck Scarves was founded in Seattle, in 2007, by a couple of guys that had the goal of providing high-quality soccer scarves to fans that they would raise proudly in stadiums around America. Soccer was still struggling to gain popularity back then, and our mission was to help grow the game in our country.
The first year in business, we served mostly small supporters groups in the USL and MLS, along with some high schools and local colleges. But within a year after starting the business, Ruffneck was fortunate enough to sign an agreement with Adidas and MLS to become an officially licensed supplier to the still-growing professional soccer league.
Today, Ruffneck is the officially licensed scarf of MLS, NHL, US Soccer, USL, USWNT Players Association, and several NCAA member schools.
When you design custom soccer scarves with Ruffneck Scarves, you are getting the same type of scarf we supply to the pros.
Ruffneck provides the guidance you’ll need to choose the type of scarf and custom design that’s right for your group. Our design team will create custom scarf designs with your logo, text, and team colors at no cost.
How does it work?
Before you can make a decision, you need to understand how the order process works.
It’s easier than you might think.
We’ve developed a simple 5-step process for ordering custom scarves.
- CONNECT - Complete a simple form to connect with a Ruffneck specialist
- CUSTOMIZE- Our design team creates your design for FREE
- CONFIRM- You approve your design and confirm your order
- CREATE- Our production team creates your scarves after you approve a sample photo
- COMPLETE- Sit back and wait for your scarves to arrive at your door
Once you connect with your Ruffneck specialist, you will be guided through the design process, and he/she will help you choose your design along with the type of scarf that’s right for your organization.
After you’ve chosen your new custom design and scarf type and confirmed your order, the Ruffneck specialist will send your order to our production team. A few days later, you will receive a photo of a production sample straight off the scarf machine. You review the photo sample to make sure it’s exactly what you want and then let us know if it’s approved.
Following approval of your sample photo, the production team finishes making the full quantity of scarves in your order and packages them up for shipping.
PLEASE NOTE: Because of production setup time and costs, there is a minimum required order quantity of 50 custom scarves.
How long does it take?
The time it takes to complete your order from start to finish is usually a matter of weeks.
After you submit the form to connect with the Ruffneck specialist, you should hear back within a few hours at most. From there, we can start on a design and have it ready for you in 48 hours.
If you choose your design right away and confirm the order, we can send your order to the production team on the same day.
Your photo sample will be sent to you a few days later. Once you have approved the sample, the lead time for wrapping up the production of your scarves and shipping is only a couple of weeks.
All-in-all our average order takes approximately four weeks to complete from start to finish. Some factors can speed things up, such as having a design ready to go and choosing a faster-production scarf type.
You’ll have your new custom-designed scarves ready for your fans within the month.
What is the cost?
We understand that pricing is a big part of every decision. Because we offer so many different types of scarves at different quantities, your Ruffneck specialist will be able to provide you with a quote specific to your order.
Bulk pricing discounts are available in all of our types of scarves. The more you order, the less the cost per scarf. Keep in mind; the bulk pricing applies to each design. So if you want to order multiple designs, you will need to consider your quantities and budget per design.
Connect with a Ruffneck specialist for other questions specific to pricing.
Which type of scarf is right for me?
Choose from several types of scarves
As of the publishing of this article, Ruffneck offers a variety of eight different types of scarves to choose from. Each type is unique in its own way and offers various features and benefits.
Eight types of scarves:
- Traditional Jacquard Knit Soccer Scarf - The scarf that started it all. This is the traditional soccer scarf you’ve seen soccer fans with for decades.
- HD Jacquard Knit Scarf- Similar in weight and feel to the traditional scarf, but made with a higher thread count to bring high-definition to the graphic design.
- Summer Scarf- Lightweight scarf using sublimation technology. It gives you the ability to print photo images and just about anything on the scarf.
- HD Woven Scarf- This is a mid-weight scarf that is wider, longer, and flatter than a traditional knit scarf. It offers a very high definition of detail to the design—the perfect scarf for hanging on your wall.
- Ultra Soft Knit Scarf- A much softer and more flexible scarf. The Ultra Soft Knit captures HD detail like the HD jacquard knit but with a much softer feel.
- Embroidered Knit Scarf- Some people like the detail of an embroidered patch. It delivers another level of professionalism to the scarf.
- Personalized Scarf- The personalization available on these scarves is designed for organizations that want to add individual names to each scarf for that personal touch.
- Neck Gaiter Scarf- Gaiters are excellent choices for those looking for some added neck and face protection in a flexible, lightweight scarf.
For more information along with images, please visit our Types of Custom Scarves page.
Again, keep in mind that your Ruffneck specialist is here to help you choose the right scarf type for your needs.
How do I sell my scarves?
Ideas for successfully selling your scarves
Selling your custom scarves requires the same amount of attention and planning as ordering them. Maybe even more so. After all, the objective was to use these scarves as a way to generate sales.
The first thing you want to put in place is your selling location. Will you sell your scarves online, at a tournament, or maybe in a retail store? If you decide you are going to sell your scarves in a physical location, we recommend you also attempt to sell them online. It’s easy to set up a quick website with WIX for free if you don’t already have one, or you could try selling them via Facebook or directly through email. It helps if you have a Paypal account, Venmo, or some other online payment system.
For customers that need help with hosting their scarves online along with fulfillment and shipping to their recipients, click here for information on the Ruffneck Custom Assist (RCA) program.
Next, you want to determine your selling price. You’ll want to make sure you get the return on your investment you were looking for, so we suggest selling them for no less than double what you paid. With that in mind, our suggested retail price is $25 at the time of this publishing.
How do you plan to market your scarves, so people know how and where to buy them? Social media, websites, email, printed flyers are all great ways to get the word out.
When your scarves arrive, take photos and share them across social media and email. The best way to do this is to have someone model the scarf by wearing around the neck and holding it up in the air. Photos are always more appealing when they show the product in action.
What if I sold out early and need more? Simple, just reconnect with your Ruffneck specialist, and we’ll get your scarves re-ordered and out to you as quickly as possible.
What’s next?
If you’re ready to take the next step and design custom scarves with logo, text and the colors you choose, then simply go to our Custom Scarves page, enter your information, and a Ruffneck specialist will reach out to you to get you started.
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