hi, i'm new to this and i just wanted to bring up a sub topic here. no one wants to think or talk about this. but how about damage control? what will you do w/ a 100 designs if things don't go as you planned? (as opposed to say 10) this is just my opinion but i think quality is always better than quantity especially when it comes to limited capitol. it's always good to have a backup plan so your stuff doesn't end up on ebay for a $1 each. think about controlling your potential losses too. am i right? hopefully you won't have any. peace and luck to all.
Since the beginning of the year I have been checking out thousands of different online t-shirt companies. The number of shirts, few or small, haven't really detered me from any site. I personally believe that website layout and shirt quality are the main things to look at.
I believe if you have 2 shirts but the designs are very good, you can get away starting out. I just recieved my first order of stock, we got 50 shirts per in 3 designs (150 total). After showing them, all 3 designs are getting great reviews. So I am definately pleased with starting with 3.
Some sites I have went to have 100's of shirts. Typically their web layout isn't that good so all 100 are immediately thrown at you. I think it is overwhelming and I normally leave the site. Some others lay it out to where you're only looking at what you can handle and I am more inclined to stick around.
Either way quality should be your biggest concern. If you are trying to do too much and it hinders your quality, you are wasting your time as well as your potential customers.
I am in this dilemma right now, I just looked at my sketchbook and I have 33 design concepts, this is not only expensive to get made, promote, market, and showcase, but I think really will overwhelm the audience. I will NEVER stay on a site that has hundred plus designs. It seems so impersonal to me, like they just cut and pasted tons of designs, or bought rites and are trying to make a quick buck. (This isnt always true but is how I interpret it)
I also think people like updated content, if you have the same designs from day one, to day 100, people are going to think "wow, is this site even active?" I think that having reserve designs to update not only keeps people coming back, but lets people know you are WORKING.
If you do have hundreds of designs I would tone it down to your best ones, then alternate others in, or phase certain ones out to create a buzz of "you have to buy this now or it will be gone".
Hope this helps, it comes from a person that liked to buy online shirts.
Ryan, we had over 30 designs, too, and decided to scale it back a bit, for just the very reasons you mention.
Some of our designs were done years ago, but our customers don't know that. They will be seeing them for the first time. So, keeping designs in reserve and always keeping a fresh offering is a good idea.
I've been taking note of Johnny Cupcake's site, and even after being established for several years, having his own retail store and online shop, there is never more than about 20-25 designs available at 1 time on his site.
He keeps them fresh, with the newer offerings at the top, and the older ones at the bottom. I think every few weeks he adds new ones, and moves all the old ones down until they aren't offered anymore.
He told us that he already has enough designs to last for a few years. But obviously, he isn't offering a billion designs at once, even though he could if he wanted to.
I think a solid example of this can be found in the fast food and restaurant market.
It has evolved from something with a few solid age old favorites, to a vast array of choices ranging from low carb, to salads, to kids meals.
This can be directly linked to the t-shirt market. We (t shirt sellers) are all like restaurants, serving our own unique cuisine, we will always have our age old favorites (logo designs, best sellers) and will incorporate new designs to draw in a different demographic from the one we will or are establishing.
Some of us will serve different things, cheaper things (not worse) expensive things.
Honestly looking at fast food chains is an excellent source of information, not only for marketing, but to see how they adapt and evolve their menus to accomodate who it is that they are catering to.
It also doesnt hurt that mcD's and others like it are some of the most creative marketing geniuses on the planet. Lets face it food and tees are two of the thins that really do appeal to everyone.
If you can emulate them and take what they do to the same level with tees then you definitely will be successful.
Just an idea.
This really depends on your niche, for example if you making funny tshirts regarding the presidential elections; you're not going to expect them to sell like hotcakes in 2 years down the road.
For the most part having several shirts is nice since it gives your customers some variety and choice.
However, having too much of a variety can also be a bad thing; especially if you wanna get your name out. For exmaple, say you're trying to sell your brand, having a standard design that everyone can recognize can help you build a fanbase - getting your name out there.
I agree with this...earlier this week, we showed 3 designs and asked people to vote for which shirt they liked best. We had a great response rate and made our decision of which shirt to print that much easier.
I am in this dilemma right now, I just looked at my sketchbook and I have 33 design concepts, this is not only expensive to get made, promote, market, and showcase, but I think really will overwhelm the audience.
If you have 33 designs there's no need to print and release them all at once. Have 5-10 of them made for a season collection, then use the next 5-10 for the next season. It keeps your brand fresh and might give you some breathing space in the future if you wouldn't have time to create a lot of designs.
That's the approach I'm aiming for with the line I'm setting up currently.
If you have 33 designs there's no need to print and release them all at once. Have 5-10 of them made for a season collection, then use the next 5-10 for the next season. It keeps your brand fresh and might give you some breathing space in the future if you wouldn't have time to create a lot of designs.
That's the approach I'm aiming for with the line I'm setting up currently.
thats a realy good piece of advice, tyhanks for that!! igota good few designs aside aswel as ones im still working on or have noted down to draw up, so as you say i will start with 3-5 designs to launch with then the other designs ivegot aside, ican use them to introduce them later on.
If you have 30 cool designs, and not just 1 color 1 liners...release them all if you have the time to create more, and the resources to get them all produced...meaning if this is really something your going for hardcore, go for it hardcore....otherwise...
If some of the quality is less then what you are targeting , be choosy, and improve on some of the designs for the next round.
Decide on your audience...many forum posters here love Tees, and would love to buy a more rare cool design, but it is a different group selection than say your general walmart shopper, who unfortunately might see a site with 5 designs as not a legitimate business...however a Actual Physical store with 5 designs is way different than one with 100, so it really depends on the designs, and the customer in the end...but a release of a few designs will definitely give off a much different look/feel that a release of 30.
Better or worse, I think that is the opinion of your customer, who ever that may be.
personally I could never convince myself to buy from a site I saw as questionable in any way.
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Re: starting out and number of designs 
