When it comes to promoting a brand or connecting with fans, cheap merch ideas can be surprisingly effective in both capturing attention and generating revenue.
Whether you’re a musician looking to enhance your merch table or a small business seeking to expand your promotional reach, affordable merchandise offers a cost-effective way to leave a lasting impression.
We’ve come up with 14 creative and affordable merch ideas that not only resonate with your audience but also have the potential to significantly boost your bottom line.
From practical items like stickers and tote bags to quirky novelties and customizable options, these ideas are designed to inspire your merchandising strategy while keeping costs low.
Continue reading and let’s uncover the power of inexpensive merchandising.
Table of Contents
#1. KEYCHAINS
Keychains are quite common in many merch tables.
Last year, Styles was named as one of the musicians who make a lot of money from merch with a revenue of around $22.97 million.
One of the best selling merch he had was the Treat People with Kindness keychain which has a retail price of $14.99.
So don’t look down on keychains. They can actually turn you into a millionaire.
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#2. STICKERS
Stickers are one of the most affordable merch items to make.
Just like keychains, stickers are usually included in a musician’s merch line up. They are usually made of paper or vinyl and these are the cheapest materials you can have for a merch.
Related Articles:
Cool Band Stickers To Get Inspiration From
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#3. PHONE CASES
Aside from protection, phone cases also add flair to our usual plain-looking phones.
A lot of musicians have this on their merch stores so it’s a competition…but everyone’s got a phone and therefore, a phone case.
With the right design, your phone case will definitely urge fans to buy. Don’t forget to put some kind of branding onto the design. It’ll be a great advertising move.
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#4. POSTERS
This merch item might not be the cheapest, might not be the most unique (it’s a classic), but fans buy it.
And the thing is that they’re relatively easy to make. Just choose an artwork and choose the kind of paper you’ll be printing. It’s that simple having them, especially if you have a reliable manufacturer.
Try having at least three poster designs, one as standard and the other two as limited ones. The other two would surely get sold out in minutes.
Related Articles:
7 Modern Poster Ideas For Bands
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#5. JEWELRY
Jewelry is not a new thing in merch tables but they are absolutely not that often seen. It’s quite a risky one given that the design must really appeal to your fans.
You might think they’re expensive to make, but it depends on the material. We have an example from Shawn Mendes’ Wonder album release.
The brass ring set looks expensive, right?
It looks like it costs at least $80, but in reality it’s actually lower than that at $10 to make. The rings’ stocks for sizes 6 and 7 were sold out showing how it’s liked by Mendes’ fans.
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#6. TOTE BAGS
There are two types of materials that are used for music merch tote bags and that’s canvas and polyvinyl. Both are very stylish and give room for much creativity.
If you’re planning on having this on your upcoming merch release, then I suggest doing a poll. Ask your fans what they prefer, the canvas one or the vinyl one.
In fact, you can just have both. Just make sure you order on-demand so you won’t risk anything.
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#7. CUSTOM MUGS
Of course, mugs would not be not included in this list. They are well bought when they are there.
They become one of the most popular music merch during the yuletide season. It’s wintery and cold, with a hot mug in hand everything will feel warm and cozy.
It will still need a great design to have fans buying it, though. A cheap looking design will surely be neglected and just glossed over.
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#8. PINS
Pins are highly customizable. They can be made of plastic, rubber, and metal. This means that you can customize them into any shape you want them to be.
One of the popular pins right now are the enamel pins which take on the shape of the actual design. It’s a great ornament for any apparel—jackets, denim jeans, socks…you name it.
Related Articles:
Do People Still Wear Buttons, Pins, And Badges?
Check out custom buttons/pins printing service
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#9. T-SHIRTS
T-shirts are the oldest but still the most bought merchandise compared to everything on this list. They’re actually a common merch not just in the music industry, but in most industries.
Why?
It’s because they are something we can use every day. They are one of the simplest clothing that many people wear on a daily basis.
This is why even if they are the only merch you have, you will surely make money from them. A great example would be Eminem who had an estimated revenue of $7.64 million last 2021 with most of his merch being shirts and sweaters.
Related Articles:
How Many Custom T-Shirts Should I Print On My Band Launch?
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Check out custom t-shirts printing service.
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#10. BEANIES
Headwears might make you go “but whyyy?!” but they actually sell well and that’s an evidence with how they are present in a lot of online merch shops nowadays.
What’s more is they can even get sold out, just like how Shawn Mendes did with his Wonder holiday hoodie.
Check out our custom beanie printing service.
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#11. SOCKS
Everyone needs one more pair of socks, just like everyone needs one more shirt.
They’re being offered a lot during the holiday season, just like mugs and beanies. You can even come up with funny socks. When designed well, they can be an instant favorite.
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#12. SLIP MAT
With the vinyl sales increasing year by year, vinyl slip mats have wormed their way to artists’ music merch tables. If you look at the recent merch releases, you would definitely see slip mats here and there.
If you’re offering vinyl records for a music release, be sure to add slip mats into your merch line.
And you have to be sure to have a good design ready for it so fans would want to spend a few dollars for it.
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#13. WATER BOTTLES
Justin Beiber is one of the musicians with the highest estimated revenue for water bottles, with him having $5.66 million. One of his merchandise is a clear Nalgene water bottle with “PEACHES” printed on it.
It was worth $35 each and that’s because Nalgene is quite expensive. You don’t need to have the same super expensive, very high quality water bottle. You can look for an affordable one that’s still of quality and you’ll be good to go.
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#14. VIEWFINDER
You might think that they’re too expensive for you or your fans, but they’re actually not.
We have Madonna’s Madame X viewfinder and it was sold at $25. It’s not much if you think about it, right?
It’s a good merch too because it’s another creative way to present photographs from your concert or music shoot.
And that’s everything.
We hope this list helped you decide on what to have for your upcoming music and merch release.
Just remember that designs will surely help you attract people into buying your merchandise.
Good luck.
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James Hill is a veteran of the music industry. He first worked at Warner Reprise Records then later joined Interscope/ Geffen Records where he managed producers and songwriters and got his first platinum record for Keyshia Cole’s The Way It Is. He is now helping indie artists with branding and manufacturing through his company Unified Manufacturing, a CD/DVD/vinyl and merch company in LA.
