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Has anyone else had problems with American Apparel's quality? I have sent back three orders in a row, because the cuts are either very wonky, or the sizing from one shirt to the next is very inconsistent.
Things like arm holes on the sleevless t's being 7" on one arm, and 8" on the other arm.
Or puckering around the neck, where there is too much material, or puckering in the sleeves. Or one small T being a very different fit than another T of the same size.
I am very frustrated by this. It's becoming a bit of a crap-shoot ordering from AA.
Is anyone else having this problem?
I want to sell American Apparel, but am thinking that they are only good for the BASIC T-shirts.
I'm in Canada, and can't get Alternative Apparel without going through customs, paying more, etc..
Last edited by kentphoto; July 24th, 2006 at 11:08 PM.
Reason: repeat message
I've never personally had this problem (I've never ordered AA wholesale), but its an issue I've heard about before. Badly cut, needles in shipments etc. I think Solmu might have some experience?
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Not directly; I've just passed on a few horror stories.
I did have a strange colourfast issue with a shirt I bought for myself, but I haven't bought AA in quantity either.
Threadless stopped using them for their men's shirts because they were sick of the complaints, but then started using them for their more expensive Select line due to public demand.
Their fans swear by them, but putting aside the ethical issues with the company I've heard more quality control issues with them than anyone else (I think it's possible that that's just because they're bigger than everyone else and everyone is talking about them... on the other hand they may simply have more problems. I don't know.).
HAhaha, I have had some simailar problems. i ordered Girlie cut tee's, medium and large.
after recieving them, I notice the large was the exact same size as teh medium, except one inch SHORTER than the Meds,
After taking it back to my distro, they gave me smalls instead.
I was not impressed. They told me AA must have " Mis labeled" them. I think they might have straight screwed up. Either way it cost me half a day of messing around, that could have been spent, Making more money.
It surprises me that so many people simply MUST have AA. I've seen better consistency, no doubt.
Focker OUT
No problems yet, I've only ordered about 20 shirts from them for myself and everything seems to be consistent. I've only ordered large and extra larges though.
With any shirt brand you're going to have certain things inconsistent. I've been using hane's beefy-t and had a number of my shirts slightly off....the collars set higher on the neck, the shirt itself is slightly bigger or smaller.
With mass manufacturing you're proabably always going to have these problems, but they should be minimal and not huge differences.
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so far quality wise, i haven't come across a t shirt that i like as much as AA. so, if you're switching from AA, who are you going to?
There are several brands that are comparable (if not better) than AA. Of course it comes down to a matter of opinion, but I don't think it would be hard finding a substitute.
I have had this same problem with anvil t-shirts. Its not so much of a problem, because I don't really care, but different shipments of shirts have different dimensions. A large from one shipment can literally be 3 inches longer than a large from another shipment. I always figuired this type of problem was caused by shirts being made in different factories. I believe American Apparel is all made in one factory, so there is really no excuse for them.
If American Apparel does not work for you, go with Alternative Apparel.
Hi Marlon J, welcome to the T-Shirt Forums!
Many of our members are already familiar with AlternativeApparel (there's a link to them right on this menu of this site)
I think the issue here is inconsistent garments from the manufacturer. As was mentioned above, this can happen with just about any manufacturer (including alternativeapparel).
I would give Alternative a try, but alas, no Canadian distributer that I know of.
Given they sent me 3 catalogues (for $30 postage.....in a giant box...these people don't seem to have economy in mind), I'm pretty sure they ship internationally.
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For every post I aim for 3 or 4 typos per line
i find with super stretch knits like ribs, lycra etc... garment pattern parts like sleeves, front panels etc. they stretch in/out even when they are being handled by the sewers as they are made up and until the point when they are shipped to you.
It is normal for stretch garments not to be exact, since they stretch into/out-of place. Mind you that all manufacturers end up with "Seconds", and they are sold at discount prices.
AA is no different from other major brands.
I find that if you order in Dozens or Cases your defect ratio decreases major. I think this is because when the pickers at the warehouse go thru and pick an order that involves singles/cherry picking etc....they pick from the lose items that sit on top of the shelf, of couse these have been handled more and there is a greater chance that there is something wrong with them....
American Apparel Quality 
Re: American Apparel Quality 
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