I'm brand new...planning on having shirts printed at a printer and re-selling to high-end boutique/dept. stores/gift shops at museums or zoos or aquariums. How do I determine my markup and if selling to stores, who determines selling price to consumer?
search the forum for this topic -- there are many threads on the subject with great suggestions. typical seems to be that your wholesale price would be about double your total cost and the retailer usually doubles what he paid you wholesale when pricing for the consumer. good luck!
that's where you just have to do your research. you know your market best -- if you are talking about boutique sales, then your prices will be expected to be higher (greater quality being there, of course), but even then average retail pricing varies greatly. some brands charge upwards of $200 for a T-shirt. you really have to research the other brands selling in the types of stores you want to be in and go from there. i'll tell you, though, that i wouldn't expect zoos, museums and aquariums would be willing to pay a high wholesale price, but then that's not something i've ever looked into. you'll just have to dig around and do some research on your competition in those stores. still, you would typically price based off of your cost on the wholesale side and then the retailer would mark up as they see fit. good luck!
What works is what sells. First know your cost. Then double it. The owner of the stores determines the selling price. Your job is to get the product into the stores. If it cost you $5.00 to make a shirt and you sell 100 at $10.00 then you should be happy. If the stores sells them for $50. and gets it then that his business. because if he does then he buys more of your product. If you try to up your price because of his selling price and if he has any knowledge at all he will go where he can get the shirts at $10.00. make them happy and they will make you happy.
Thanks - I think you're right about zoos/museums. I was planning on having 2 lines - 1 w/organic t's, lots of colors, discharge process for the boutiques and upper end dept. stores and 1 w/straight cotton, less colors, maybe even straight screened for the zoos/museums.
I'll have to go around to stores and do some research.
Thanks - I think you're right about zoos/museums. I was planning on having 2 lines - 1 w/organic t's, lots of colors, discharge process for the boutiques and upper end dept. stores and 1 w/straight cotton, less colors, maybe even straight screened for the zoos/museums.
I'll have to go around to stores and do some research.
Nina
hmmm... if you're into organic and aware of why going green is such an important trend, why would you consider doing traditional cotton just so you can sell them for less? in my opinion it waters down what your brand will be about -- sort of like talking out of both sides of your mouth. find a way to do it green at low cost and you can still make a difference... places like zoos and aquariums would certainly be drawn to eco-friendly options if you get the price right. you can actually get decent organic tees in good colors from anvil for fairly low cost. granted the dye process they use is likely not friendly, but at least its still organic cotton. and you can use less-toxic-than-traditional screening without doing discharge -- it costs less and is still a friendlier process than normal. jmho.
What works is what sells. First know your cost. Then double it. The owner of the stores determines the selling price. Your job is to get the product into the stores. If it cost you $5.00 to make a shirt and you sell 100 at $10.00 then you should be happy. If the stores sells them for $50. and gets it then that his business. because if he does then he buys more of your product. If you try to up your price because of his selling price and if he has any knowledge at all he will go where he can get the shirts at $10.00. make them happy and they will make you happy.
Great answer Lou. I never worry about my cost and profit. I let others tend to their own business. .... JB
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Are there average prices - or will the market bear just about anything, especially in the upper end of the market?
There will be average prices, but not average overall. They will be specific to your location and the places you want to sell. Why not visit those boutiques, museums, etc. and see what prices they are selling their shirts at?
there are pvc-free plastisol inks -- not discharge or water based but at least don't have the pvc. i'm not a screenprinter, so i'm probably not the best source for details. perhaps search the site for pvc-free and see what info is available in the archives. seems like a good option to me, though. good luck!
Markups 
