Can I "afford" to use Gildan over American Apparel?
Greetings,
I plan on starting up a t-shirt site very similar to what you'd see at BustedTees.com or SnorgTees.com. I need to decide what brand of blank tee to print on.
Obviously, the first question to answer would be "What brand of tee does your target market want?" Honestly, I'm not sure. When I recently bought tees from Busted and Snorg, my first online tee purchases ever, I had no idea what brand of tee they were going to be. I was buying them for the funny messages on them, or the look.
Upon receiving the tees, I found "American Apparel" tags in them. I'm embarassed to say that that was the first I had ever heard of American Apparel!
Now, as I prepare to open my company, I am leaning toward the Gildan 2000 tee, as it is lower cost.
My questions that I throw out for discussion:
1. In the esteemed opinion of all of the experienced folks here, do many customers really pay attention to the brand of tee that's used?
2. Would I have to or should I charge less for my funny tees if they're printed on Gildan? Or could I still charge in the $16-19 range?
3. Based on the fact that I'll be selling to teens and folks in their 20's, which I believe to be Busted and Snorg's demographic, will they accept Gildan, or is American Apparel the smarter choice?
Re: Can I "afford" to use Gildan over American Apparel?
I'm starting a similar business, printed on Hanes heavyweight 100% cotton (same price range as the Gildan I think). Before starting in this industry, I dont think I'd know enough to look and see what they're printing on, I would have just bought it for the graphic, like you said. There are more serious people though, who actually buy the shirts for personal collections. I'd assume they would care more about the brand. Hanes is about all I can afford now though, so that's what I'm printing on.
Re: Can I "afford" to use Gildan over American Apparel?
Depends on your market. The heavy Gildan and Hanes shirts are kinda out of style in many markets. The newer style, fitted shirts look much better on skinny, athletic and average-build people.
Ring spun cotton feels better and is lighter weight / thinner. I think of the heavy shirts as more of a work shirt than a fashion item.
Use a material that fits the application and purchaser.
-Luke / TRBA
Re: Can I "afford" to use Gildan over American Apparel?
I'd say you cant afford to use gildian, people will only ever buy it once, after a few washes it just wont hold up as well as AA,
also you will get alot of sales by people seeing others wearing a funny yet good quality product, asking where they got it from etc...
Re: Can I "afford" to use Gildan over American Apparel?
Quote:
Originally Posted by kaner
I'd say you cant afford to use gildian, people will only ever buy it once, after a few washes it just wont hold up as well as AA,
also you will get alot of sales by people seeing others wearing a funny yet good quality product, asking where they got it from etc...
So AA actually hold up better than the 6.1 oz Gildan 2000?
Re: Can I "afford" to use Gildan over American Apparel?
remember, its all about marketability. If you can find your target market and sell to them in the proper fashion (no pun intended) then you will be successful. Miss your market, and you will spend a lot of useless marketing dollars. Research Research Research.
Re: Can I "afford" to use Gildan over American Apparel?
Quote:
Originally Posted by xaltair
Damn, i need to start my business ASAP...like yesterday. I can come up with catchy phrases like that daily.
yup. but then you have to market your site. I see Snorg advertising on EXPENSIVE sites. i wish I knew what they first did to break thru the anonymity of being a brand new t-shirt company.
Re: Can I "afford" to use Gildan over American Apparel?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Q.
yup. but then you have to market your site. I see Snorg advertising on EXPENSIVE sites. i wish I knew what they first did to break thru the anonymity of being a brand new t-shirt company.
Re: Can I "afford" to use Gildan over American Apparel?
Quote:
Originally Posted by xaltair
Sorry to derail this a bit, but do those shirts actually sell, the ones you mentioned at bustedtees and snorgtees? They're so stupid...
One of the keys of staying in business is not only trying to sell what YOU like. Just because a shirt doesn't meet YOUR standards, doesn't make it a bad idea. A shirt that you come up with may only sell one print or it may sell 1 million. The market knows what the market wants.
One thing to consider when picking your shirts is what your market is willing to pay. If you pick similar designs and phrases as a site that's selling shirts for $15 to $20, you probably don't want or need to go with a blank that starts at around double the cost of a Gildan 2000. If your selling limited editions at $35 to $50 and up, the market willing to pay that will appreciate a higher quality shirt.
__________________
Hard labor kills, make t-shirts instead.
Re: Can I "afford" to use Gildan over American Apparel?
Quote:
Originally Posted by tim3560
One of the keys of staying in business is not only trying to sell what YOU like. Just because a shirt doesn't meet YOUR standards, doesn't make it a bad idea. A shirt that you come up with may only sell one print or it may sell 1 million. The market knows what the market wants.
One thing to consider when picking your shirts is what your market is willing to pay. If you pick similar designs and phrases as a site that's selling shirts for $15 to $20, you probably don't want or need to go with a blank that starts at around double the cost of a Gildan 2000. If your selling limited editions at $35 to $50 and up, the market willing to pay that will appreciate a higher quality shirt.
Snorg sells tees for $16.95 and uses AA. So in that respect, I'd say $16.95 is a good deal.
This is a discussion about Can I "afford" to use Gildan over American Apparel? that was posted in the General T-Shirt Selling Discussion section of the forums.
Can I "afford" to use Gildan over American Apparel? 
