How to make your team earn money by selling sports equipment – practical tips for ice hockey and bandy teams 2026

Summary: The best way to raise money for the team is not the one that generates the highest revenue per package sold, but the one that generates the most per hour parents spend. Therefore, compare the different sales methods on four points: how much is left over, how much time it takes, who buys, and the risk the team takes. Toilet paper, cakes, and lottery tickets can generate good revenue but require a lot of work. A team link from StickyTape gives 20% on every Team Package sold, without purchasing, inventory, or collection, because families buy tape they need anyway. Most teams benefit from combining two or three methods.

Introduction

Every season the same question at the parents' meeting: how are we going to raise money for the cup? And every season the same answer: toilet paper, cakes, maybe a lottery sale. It works, but it is rarely calculated what it actually generates in relation to how much time it takes.

This guide helps you compare. We go through the most common sales methods, their pros and cons, and a simple way to calculate what each option generates per hour invested. The goal is not to make you stop doing everything you do today, but for you to choose what gives the most for the hours you spend, so that parents can keep going all season.

Four questions to ask before you choose

1. How much is left over? What counts is what ends up in the team fund after all costs, not what the customer pays. A product sold for 200 kr where the team gets 40 kr is worse than one sold for 100 kr where the team gets 60 kr.

2. How much time does it take? Count all the time, not just the sale itself: collecting orders, ordering, receiving the delivery, sorting, distributing, chasing payments, and reporting. That is where many sales take the most time.

3. Who buys? Do you sell to relatives, neighbors, and colleagues, or to families who need the product anyway? The more people buy to support the team and not because they need the product, the harder it gets every season, because the same people are asked by multiple teams.

4. What risk does the team take? Do you have to buy in advance? What happens to what is not sold? Who is responsible if something disappears or if a payment is missed?

The most common sales methods – pros and cons

Household products such as toilet paper and household paper. Products that everyone needs, which makes them easy to sell. The downside is that they are bulky. Someone has to receive the pallet, store it, and distribute it, and that takes a lot of time and space. The buyers are often relatives and neighbors, who receive the same question from many teams.

Cakes, candy, and calendars. Easy to explain and often popular, but they are usually bought to support the team, not because people need them. Requires collecting orders, distribution, and payments. Works best as a campaign once a year.

Lotteries. Can generate good revenue in relation to the cost, but registration with the municipality may be required, and there are rules to follow. Check what applies before you start.

Kiosk, own cups, and event work. Can generate good revenue, especially own cups, but requires many volunteer hours and good planning. Suitable for teams with many committed parents.

Team link – earn money on what families already buy. With a team link from StickyTape, players, parents, and hockey friends buy Team Packages with tape and accessories via the team's own link. 20% of every sold package goes to the team fund.

• What is left over: 20% on every Team Package, without deductions for purchases.
• Time: sharing the link and reminding a few times per season. Families order, pay, and receive the packages themselves.
• The buyers: the families on the team, who buy tape all season anyway, plus relatives and friends who want to support.
• Risk: none. The team does not buy anything and has no inventory.

The downside is that the revenue per family is less than with a large campaign where relatives buy a lot. Therefore, the team link works best together with something else. Read more on the page about earning money for the team fund.

Calculate your own sales

A simple way to compare is to calculate kronor to the team fund per hour:

(what is left over after all costs) ÷ (all hours spent) = kronor per hour

Do it for every sale you have had or plan. Count all hours: every parent who distributed, every evening someone collected orders, and every hour the treasurer spent reconciling payments.

A calculation example with the team link and today's prices:

• Team Package Season for 1,649 kr gives approximately 330 kr to the team fund.
• Team Package Pro for 979 kr gives approximately 196 kr.
• Team Package Standard for 839 kr gives approximately 168 kr.
• Team Package Basic for 299 kr gives approximately 60 kr.

A team with 20 players where 10 families choose Season, 6 choose Pro, and 4 choose Basic gets 4,712 kr for the team fund. If the team leader spends four hours presenting the setup and reminding during the season, it becomes approximately 1,180 kr per hour. Every family and relative who shops beyond that increases the sum, without it costing more time.

Make the same calculation for your latest cake sale or toilet paper sale. Many teams are surprised by how much time was actually spent.

Combine – a plan for the season

Most teams benefit from two or three revenue sources that complement each other:

• An ongoing revenue that takes no time: the team link, which continues all season when families buy tape.
• A larger effort once a year: a campaign, an own cup, or kiosk sale, when you need a larger sum for a specific goal.
• Sponsorship: local businesses that pay for visibility, for example with a logo on the team clothes. That is what you do in the guide about sponsorship agreements for sports teams.

Distribute the work so that the same parents do not do everything. Link every effort to a clear goal, such as the cup in March or new match jerseys, and report what it has yielded. Then more people will be able to join next time. Also choose sales methods that do not require so much. A team link from StickyTape requires almost nothing from the parents. They buy tape they need anyway, but via the team's link, and 20% goes to the team fund. Team Package Season covers a whole season, so the family does not have to buy in installments. Ready-made texts to share in the parents' group are available in the guide on selling tape to the team fund.

Practical tips about the team link, with ready-made texts for the parents' group, are available in the guide on selling tape to the team fund. The basics for managing the team fund, such as account, treasurer, and rules, are available in the guide on starting a team fund.

Common questions about earning money for the team

1. What is the best way to earn money for the team?

There is no single best way, but there is a good way to choose: compare what is left over per hour that the parents spend. Many teams focus on how much a sale brings in total and forget how much time it takes. A campaign that generates 10,000 kr but requires 100 hours generates 100 kr per hour. A setup that generates 5,000 kr in 5 hours generates 1,000 kr per hour. Also consider who buys. Sales where relatives and neighbors buy to support the team get harder every season. Sales where families buy something they need anyway last longer. That is why the team link from StickyTape works well as a foundation. Families buy Team Packages with tape that the players use up all season anyway, and 20% goes to the team fund, without purchasing, inventory, or collection. Team Package Season corresponds to approximately one active player's consumption during a season. Complement with a larger effort once a year and with sponsorship, so you spread both the work and the risks. Read more about how you earn money for the team fund.

2. Can you earn money for the team without selling?

Yes, in several ways. Sponsorship from local businesses gives money in exchange for benefits, such as a logo on the team clothes or visibility on social media, without anyone on the team selling anything. Team fees are another way, but they become a direct cost for the families. Own arrangements, such as cups or work at the club's events, generate money for time invested instead of sales. The method closest to earning money without selling is a team link. No one needs to sell anything to anyone. The families on the team buy tape that the players need anyway, but via the team's link instead of in a regular store. With a team link from StickyTape, 20% of every sold Team Package goes to the team fund. The team does not buy anything in advance, handle any goods, or collect any money. The only thing the team leader does is share the link and remind about it during the season. Team Package Basic is a simple package with shin guard tape, cloth tape, and grip tape, and Team Package Season covers a whole season. Read more about how sponsorship works in the guide on sponsorship agreements for sports teams.

3. Is it worth selling toilet paper for the team fund?

It can be. Toilet paper and household paper are products that everyone needs, which makes them easy to sell. Many teams have done it for many years with good results. But calculate the entire effort, not just the revenue. Toilet paper is bulky, and someone has to receive the delivery, store it, sort the orders, and distribute it to all buyers. Add the time to collect orders and payments, and divide what is left over by the total number of hours. Then you see what the sale actually generates per hour. Also consider who buys. Often it is relatives, neighbors, and colleagues, who receive the same question from multiple teams every season, and it gets harder every time. One alternative is to complement, or partially replace, with something that the families on the team buy anyway. With a team link from StickyTape, families buy Team Packages with tape via the team's link, and 20% goes to the team fund. There are no pallets to store and no packages to distribute, because everything is shipped home to the families. Team Package Standard contains shin guard tape, cloth tape, grip tape, waxed skate laces, and club wax.

4. How can the team earn money quickly?

The fastest is usually a time-limited campaign with a clear goal. Say you are raising money for the cup in March, that the sale lasts for two weeks, and that everyone who wants to support can join. A clear goal and an end date create engagement. Sponsorship can also go quickly if someone in the parents' group has a contact with a local business. A personal conversation with a concrete offer often gives faster answers than a mass mailing. The team link from StickyTape can be started in a short time. When the team is registered and has received its link, it can be shared directly in the parents' group. The effect is greatest at the start of the season, when everyone needs new tape. Then Team Package Season fits particularly well, because it gives the most to the team fund per package. Before Christmas, you can also promote the Team Packages as Christmas gifts to hockey players. Remember that quick money often requires a lot of work in a short time. For a stable team fund, it is better to combine a quick campaign with an ongoing revenue that does not require work every week. Read more about how you earn money for the team fund.

5. What is kickback sales?

Kickback sales means that the team gets a share of what is sold, instead of buying goods and selling them on with a margin. The team gets its own link or code, and when someone shops via it, a part of the purchase price goes back to the team. The advantage is that the team does not need to buy anything in advance, keep inventory, or handle payments. The risk is zero, because the team has not paid out any money. The downside can be that the share per purchase is less than the margin in traditional sales, but because the time spent is so much less, the revenue per hour is often higher. With a team link from StickyTape, 20% of every sold Team Package goes to the team fund. There are four packages: Team Package Basic, Team Package Standard, Team Package Pro, and Team Package Season. Families order and pay themselves, and the packages are delivered directly home to them. Since the tape runs out all season, families can buy several times via the same link. Read more about how you earn money for the team fund.

6. Do you need permission to sell lottery tickets for the team fund?

It may be needed. Lotteries are regulated in the gambling law, and for clubs, registration with the municipality is often required before you can sell lottery tickets. There are also rules for how much can be turned over, how the winnings should look, and how the surplus can be used. The rules can change, so always check what applies in your municipality before you start a lottery sale. Also talk to the club's office. Many clubs already have a registration, or routines for how the teams can arrange lotteries, and it can save a lot of time. A lottery can generate good revenue in relation to the cost, but count the time it takes to arrange winnings, sell lottery tickets, report, and follow the rules. If you would rather have something without a regulatory framework to keep track of, there are other ways. Sponsorship requires an agreement but no registration. With a team link from StickyTape, families buy Team Packages with tape via the team's link, and 20% goes to the team fund, without permission or registration. Team Package Season covers approximately one active player's consumption during a season.

7. How much can a team earn on tape via the team link?

It depends on how many players you have, which packages the families choose, and how many relatives and friends also shop. With today's prices, Team Package Season for 1,649 kr gives approximately 330 kr to the team fund. Team Package Pro for 979 kr gives approximately 196 kr, Team Package Standard for 839 kr approximately 168 kr, and Team Package Basic for 299 kr approximately 60 kr. A team with 20 players where 10 choose Season, 6 choose Pro, and 4 choose Basic thus gets 4,712 kr. If everyone chooses Season, it becomes approximately 6,600 kr. Since the tape is consumed all season, families who buy a smaller package in the fall can buy again when it runs out, and that increases the sum. What makes the team link strong is not only the revenue, but that it takes almost no time. Calculated per hour that the team leader spends, it is often more than with traditional sales. On the page about earning money for the team fund there is a calculator where you calculate your own team.

8. How do you get the parents on board with team sales?

Make it easy, make the goal clear, and distribute the work. Parents lose motivation when the same people do everything, when they do not know what the money is going to, and when the sale requires a lot of time. Therefore, start with a concrete goal: “we are raising money for the cup in March” engages more than “we need money for the team fund”. Present the setup at the parents' meeting and be honest about how much time it takes. Distribute the tasks so that everyone contributes a little instead of a few doing everything. Report what the effort has yielded and what the money has been used for, because that motivates for the next time. Also choose sales methods that do not require so much. A team link from StickyTape requires almost nothing from the parents. They buy tape they need anyway, but via the team's link, and 20% goes to the team fund. Team Package Season covers a whole season, so the family does not have to buy in installments. Ready-made texts to share in the parents' group are available in the guide on selling tape to the team fund.