blackmarket

WHATS UP T-SHIRT PEOPLE.
MY PARTNER AND I STARTED BLACKMARKETCLOTHING www.shopblackmarket.com THIS SUMMER. WE FIRST DEALT WITH A MFR. IN BANGLADESH WHO PROMISED A WHOLE LOT & CLAIMED NO MINIMUMS BUT MADE A LOT OF MISTAKES, THEN TRIED TO RAISE THE PRICES BECAUSE WE WEREN'T DOING BIG ENOUGH ORDERS. THEN WE FOUND A MFR. ON THIS FORUM IN PAKISTAN WHO MADE THE SAME PROMISES, THEN AT THE LAST MINUTE TOLD US THAT HE COULD NOT DO THE SIZES (THAT WE REQUESTED FROM THE VERY BEGINNING) WE WANTED AT THE PRICE HE ORIGINALLY QUOTED. NEEDLESS TO SAY, WE ARE HAVING A ROUGH TIME. MY QUESTIONS ARE:

1. DOES ANYONE KNOW OF ANY MANUFACTURERS, HERE OR ABROAD WITH LOW MINIMUMS THAT DO VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING?( SHIRTS, PRINTING, LABELS, TAGS, MAYBE EVEN POLYBAGGING) I KNOW ITS A LOT TO ASK FOR BUT WE FOUND 2 SO FAR, WE JUST ARE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO LIVES UP TO THEIR CLAIMS AND IS WILLING TO WORK WITH A SMALL COMPANY TO START OUT.

2. WE ARE BASED OUT OF NY AND ARE CONSIDERING DOING IT OURSELVES. WE KNOW PLACES TO GET INEXPENSIVE BLANK TEES. CAN ANYONE RECCOMEND PLACES TO GET TAGS OR EMBROIDERY DONE FOR CHEAP, CHEAP PRINTERS, AND PLACES TO GET THE SHIRTS RELABELED SO IT HAS THE BLACKMARKET STAMP ON IT. THE T-SHIRTS WE HAVE NOW HAVE THE INSIDE LABEL SCREENPRINTED INSTEAD OF A REGULAR TAG, SO IF ANYONE KNOWS WHERE TO GET THE TAGS REMOVED THAT WOULD HELP TOO.

I KNOW I'VE SAID A MOUTHFUL, IF ANYONE CAN BE OF ASSISTANCE WE'D APPRECIATE IT. THANKS

 

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NARC72

Welcome BLACKMARKET,

Well you've got the same frustrations that I used to & still have!!

First off!!! Dealing with overseas makers/factories is supposed to be cheaper, but in the longrun you end up paying for it! I work in the apparrel industry & deal with dozens of overseas factories! And their bottom line is profit! The order has to make money for them, it's no different than domestic factories & shops here! Even though some say they don't have minimums, someone there is punching a calculator deciding whether or not to take the order! Their reasoning is that the time your job will be on a press whether it's manual or automatic, they can use that time & material on a bigger order! What you should do is draw up a contract with the factory & agree to do X amount of "runs" with them! It all about repeat business with many overseas factories.

This is usually my first stop when trying to source manufacturers

http://screenprinters.net/links.php

If you're really serious about using Manufacturers outside of USA then you need to purchase this book, The Apparel Production Sourcebook. You can get it from this site

http://www.fashiondex.com

Now for your second question...
If the shirt label is screened on the inside then you won't be able to screen over it & have your company logo recognisable. Some shirt mills can give you generic shirts without the tags. Some manufacturers can actually provide that service. You're in NY? I use these guys for labels...

http://www.itclabels.com

Outside NY

http://www.hangtags.com/

Again volume will ulimately control how cheap/expensive the work will be!

As far as embroidery, I would continue to source this if I were you. You don't wantto skimp with embroidery! It's based on size, no. of colors & stitch count. You want a higher Stitch count for it to look decent.

You should research some new specialty inks for screenprinting that can simulate Embroidered thread!

Now I've said a mouthful!!!

Hope this helps...

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blackmarket

thanks a lot for the info NARC72. I'm going to get on that right now. I actually have a card from ITC labels so I guess I'll use. thanks again and peace

 

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monkeylantern

You should also check this post which has just popped up:

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/showthread.php?t=1061

Looks like what you are looking for, and they're in Mexico, so probably much cheaper shipping than Indonesia, India, etc.

I can't vouch for them aobviously....I know nothing about them...the website they have looks good though.

 

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NARC72

No prob...

BTW, when you contact http://www.hangtags.com/ ask them to send you a sample package! It's pretty impressive. It also give you a base as far as quality & pricing.

__________________
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sarafina

Why do people bother with Indonesia and India anyway? I've seen plenty of suppliers in the US that produced affordable/cheap goods. Is the quality and price oversea THAT much better? I'm genuinely curious because I always thought overseas manufacturers were useful for more complex orders (ie.producing entire clothing lines etc) and didn't make sense if you didn't have super mass production. What am I missing here?

 

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NARC72

Quote: Originally Posted by sarafina Why do people bother with Indonesia and India anyway? I've seen plenty of suppliers in the US that produced affordable/cheap goods. Is the quality and price oversea THAT much better? I'm genuinely curious because I always thought overseas manufacturers were useful for more complex orders (ie.producing entire clothing lines etc) and didn't make sense if you didn't have super mass production. What am I missing here?

Well, the bottom line is that labor & material costs are lower in most of these countries! But I suggest that for anyone considering working with an overseas manufacturer that they research that manufacturer & make sure they are not violating any labor laws i.e. like having kids working in factories. The overhead is pretty low for some of these factories due to inferior equiptment & training. So even though your cost of production is lower your product quality may suffer, which is not worth the money saved!
Ask factory for samples of their work to see quality.

__________________
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monkeylantern

Personally, I'd never outsource beyond the borders of the country I was in (used to be the UK, now Australia). I like to be able to talk to people, and not have to stay up until 3am to do so. Also, samples, etc all add up....the postage cost creeps up even before the relationship is established.

But then, I'd never outsource my product anyway. The whole fun of this business the making things! Why take that away!

The only aspect I'm getting from abroad is my labelling. My labels are coming from Bankok, simply because to get them locally is so uneconomic. If I had to, I just wouldn't to be able to afford labels. They're sewn-in over here though. And I looked at the company long enough to get a jist of their working practices, to ensure they are not vile.

 

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