Thinking of starting a biz part time and have some questions
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This section of the forum is for discussing the business and finance issues of the t-shirt industry. Which business structure to use (sole proprietor, LLC, S Corp, etc), how to handle billing, where to register your business and get the proper licensing, etc.
Thinking of starting a biz part time and have some questions
Thinking of starting a biz part time and have some questions
Hey all,
I'm new to this whole thing but am very interested in making my own tshirts. I of course don't have much money and need to start small. I was thinking of printing tshirts part time using a heat press for now (as it seems fairly basic). I have a number of questions and would love any help you could provide.
I currently work full time. From the time I wake to get home, I'm gone 12hrs. Can I make some extra income for me and my family doing this part time and approx how much? I know it's hard to say exactly how much, but I'm thinking of selling on ebay only to start until I get my feet wet and then branching out (I.e. website, etc.). I'm thinking using a heat press the cost per shirt (not including the machine, etc.) would be around $5. If I sell for $10+, I could profit a few dollars. Does anybody sell on ebay and how much can you make part time without killing yourself?
Any suggestions on the types of heat presses and printers that work efficiently and effectively?
Any good reads out there since I'm new to this and have yet to print any t shirts ever?
How do you know if a slogan or saying that you may or may not have seen on a t shirt is printable. I know I can't go printin NHL stuff, but what about words and pictures?
Are there any free graphics and sayings that can be used and where do I find them
Re: Thinking of starting a biz part time and have some questions
all of your questions have been answered to some length in other posts. Have you tried the search function and read ALL the post in the categories you list?
1- Hard to say...some have good luck but this is not a sure fire way to make a few dollars. I would guess that 75% who start are out of the business within 18 months and some at a big loss
2- Most any of the heat presses that are sold by the preferred vendors here are good. As to printers...you need to decide are you going to do inkjet or laser...
Re: Thinking of starting a biz part time and have some questions
Everyone always makes ebay sound very simple and it is but if you start making any kind of decent sales it does take some time especially if you're going to be printing shirts on demand. Here is a simplified list of steps to list an item on ebay.
1) Decide what it is you're going to list.
2) Take a GOOD picture of your item.
3) Download the pic to your pc.
4) Create a listing for your item which includes the following
a) Use descriptive keywords to come up with a title that will allow buyers to
find exactly what they are looking for (your item).
b) Create an accurate description of your product so buyers can get a visual
of the item.
c) Decide on a shipping company, policy, pricing and make that very clear to
avoid any potential misunderstandings.
d) Decide on how you will accept payment and make that very clear to avoid
any potential misunderstanding
e) Decide on a return policy and make that very clear to avoid any
potential misunderstandings
5) Once your item sells you must contact the buyer to request payment.
6) Once you receive payment (hopefully you make it to this step if not you have to go about reporting the non-payment to ebay for a refund of your selling fee. That's right ebay charges you a fee the second the listing "sells". It is up to you to collect payment or report it to ebay to get your fee $ back) you need to package and ship yout item per your stated shipping method.
7) Hopefully once your item arrives and the buyer is happy with their purchase
you will receive positive feedback and you can do the same for the buyer.
This is a brief overview of some of the steps necessary to sell on ebay. I am not trying to discourage you but don't think it's going to be that simple if you want to make some extra income. It is not hard but it does take time. Buyers on ebay have come to expect cheap prices. IMO it is going to be hard to sell generic t-shirts for $10+. I recommend you Get on ebay and search for similiar items which you plan to sell. Ther's a feature that lets you search completed listings. It will show the ones that didn't sell and the ones that sold and for how much.
Good Luck
Last edited by txmxikn; November 5th, 2007 at 02:02 PM.
Re: Thinking of starting a biz part time and have some questions
Hi there, and welcome to the forums!
I am by no means an expert in the t shirt biz, but I have recently (2-3months ago) set up my own online business, selling tshirts and other items. I too, wanted to set up as cheaply as possible as I was on a tight budget, so I chose to do sublimation printing, so I could print on other items like mousemats, bags and placemats!
To do sublimation printing you need a heat press, an epson printer, and ideally a bulk flow system (for your inks). You'll also need some transfer paper, teflon sheets to protect your press and your items, heat tape etc etc! There are more helpful in depth posts on this if you search the sublimation section, but this might give you a few starters! I have to say this seemed like the cheapest option, but dont forget you'll need to buy your tshirts as well. Generally if you have a price in mind of how much everything will cost, you can guarantee it will cost a lot more! You'll also need packaging..
It takes a lot of time to start getting sales as well, so don't expect to get rich quick! You can certainly do this part time, as long as you keep an eye on your sales, e-mails etc. Allow for mistakes as well. You may have to do things several times before you get it right. I'm still learning now.
Another tip. Before you make any decisions, research, research and research! I spent several months gaining the knowledge I needed before pressing ahead. I still don't know, if this will turn out to be a great venture, or a flop, but it was fun trying.
Re: Thinking of starting a biz part time and have some questions
I'm gonna chime in on this one even though my business isn't exactly making the shirts (yet) and I'm very new to this forum.
If you have particular designs in mind that will sell well I think the easiest way to get started with small money and little time involved is to sell shirts to retailers. I'd personally stay away from eBay. The competition is remarkable unless you have a very niche item. Also, try outsourcing first. Margins will be smaller but you won't have to invest money in equipment until you know the shirts sell well.
I own a brick and mortar business and one of the aspects of it is apparel. As a business owner, I am constantly looking for things that set me apart from other retailers. Any successful retailer does the same. Heck even Walmart has product research teams and open tryouts for prospective wholesalers. I have in several occasions had people call or come in to the store telling me or my managers about a product they are selling. Most don't fit our store, to be honest, but we have picked up our fair share. Some make t-shirts, others make blankets, etc.
This is also a good way to gauge if your designs are really as neat as you think they are. If you find that the public is not very receptive to your shirts you can then rethink how to find the niche of people who would appreciate your shirts or find out if there is even a market for them.
I have a success story to share in that department. We sell upscale items and one particular shirt maker came to us wanting to sell shirts in one of our boutiques. He had been turned down in quite a few stores but trucked along anyway. We picked up his designs. They sold very well for us. Through the sales, he bought all the necessary equipment (he was outsourcing everything) and obviously made substantially more. His initial runs of shirts when he did them by himself were slowly introduced alongside the outsourced ones. To make sure the quality didn't falter due to his inexperience.
We recommended his design when the Boston Globe (largest circulation newspaper in the area I'm in) was doing a fashion feature for the fall and called us to see what the trends were. Long story short, his shirts were in the Fall buying rounds for Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, among other major, upscale mall anchor retailers.
Business owners are weary of taking in a brand new line. We don't know if the quality holds up, we don't know how reliable reorders or returns are handled etc. The person in my previous story was intelligent in that he offered the shirts to us in a way that I, as the business owner, had nothing to lose by stocking some of it and "see how they do".
It is a very tedious way to drum up business but definitely more successful than just spamming eBay and hope someone is searching for what you are selling, which, by the way, you can do while you contact retailers anyway.
Set up a website, put your designs on it, call prospective stores and reference your site so they can look things up. Follow up on your calls etc. And best of luck!
Re: Thinking of starting a biz part time and have some questions
Thanks all for the comments so far, it's much appreciated. I still have a question about what you can and can't print on a tshirt as far as sayings. Do you remember the shirts that said something like "If you can read this, you're too close"? Can anyone freely print this on a shirt? How do you know what you can and can't besides the obvious licenced goods (I.e. NHL Teams, etc)?
This is a discussion about Thinking of starting a biz part time and have some questions that was posted in the Business and Finance section of the forums.
Thinking of starting a biz part time and have some questions 
Re: Thinking of starting a biz part time and have some questions 
