Discuss the wholesale blanks industry: Factory direct, custom labels. You can also use this forum to locate a wide variety of wholesale products including t-shirts, hoodies, mousepads, coffee mugs and other imprintable products.
OK, I know this has been brought up a million times, but i still haven't found any of the answers i'm looking for in the threads.
Ideally I'd like to buy American Apparel shirts for around or less than $4 a piece, but don't have a tax ID # to buy wholesale from the company so I don't see that happening. I'm probably only going to be buying about 30-40 shirts at a time, and in various sizes and colors
I like AA first of all for their long, slim fit.
Second item of importance is the color selection. the cream colored shirt is my favorite, and their golden yellow is pretty great too.
I know Gilden and Anvil both make a ringspun "fashion" fit shirt, but they're about 2 inches shorter than AA sizes.
Does anyone know of a good company that makes shirts that fit like AA shirts? And where can I get them cheap?
if there truly is no decent alternative, can someone let me know how difficult it is to get a tax ID #? How difficult will it make my tax filing?
If anyone DOES buy wholesale from AA and would be willing to sell me 30-40 shirts at a markup to get my screen printing "business" off the ground that would be awesome, although i'm sure its a big no-no.
To get a tax ID# you have to create a business entity with your secretary of state. In my state it is a 2 page form, and a $50 fee. You would have to file separate taxes for the business. I pay quarterly estimated business income tax + payroll taxes. Your salary paid to yourself through the business would just increase your personal income.
To get a tax ID# you have to create a business entity with your secretary of state. In my state it is a 2 page form, and a $50 fee.
Actually, that's just *one* way to get a tax id#.
In reality, you could make a business name on the spot, go to the IRS website, and have a tax id# in less than 5 minutes without paying anything, or registering with your local or state government.
Then, you could take that tax id# to your county clerk, register as a sole-proprietor with your new tax id#.
Several ways to do it, and registering at the state level is just one.
For the OP, I would just do like Lewis suggests, and get the tax id#.
Try setting up accounts with different vendors that carry AA and see that the pricing is like, compared to buying directly from AA.
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Last edited by Comin'OutSwingin; May 15th, 2009 at 09:12 AM.
In reality, you could make a business name on the spot, go to the IRS website, and have a tax id# in less than 5 minutes without paying anything, or registering with your local or state government.
Then, you could take that tax id# to your county clerk, register as a sole-proprietor with your new tax id#.
Several ways to do it, and registering at the state level is just one.
thanks for the info. do i have anything to really risk if i wind up not making any money off of the shirts?
Comin'OutSwingin, tell me more...is the AA website REALLY $17 for 96 shirts? and can you help clarify if there are any risks in getting a tax id #? if i make no money am i going to have to pay anything on my taxes?
Stop and think about it for even one second. "Can I buy one of the most popular blank shirts in America, shirts that retail for over twenty bucks with a print on them, for eighteen cents each?" You already know the answer to that question.
Even when you buy wholesale directly from AA the shirts are around $4 each. That includes the per case price. They don't drop the price much when you buy larger quantities. They probably only have better deals for t-shirt warehouses that buy tons of cases at a time.
Comin'OutSwingin, tell me more...is the AA website REALLY $17 for 96 shirts? and can you help clarify if there are any risks in getting a tax id #? if i make no money am i going to have to pay anything on my taxes?
You'll need to check with your state and local county business office to see what is involved with starting a business and what types of fees that would need to be paid.
There are risks with everything, but the best advice is to do it "right" from the start so it doesn't come back to bite you later. In this case, it also opens up more doors for you when the vendors you work with realize that you are a legitimate business.
Since many wholesalers keep their pricing information private for their registered customers only, it wouldn't be right for us to post their specific pricing here in a public forum.
Gildan and Anvil (and I think Hanes too) all have blank t-shirts that are "similar" to American Apparel and competively priced.
There's also Pacific Sportwear (they have their wholesale pricing posted on their public website last time I checked)
Cheaper alternative to American Apparel 
