so how would you approach t-shirt pricing during a recession? the company I work for hired some marketing guy and he recommended we raise our t-shirt prices a couple of dollars to maximize sales. on the other hand, during recessions most people tend to cut back on spending and often buy cheaper goods. so, with t-shirts do you raise your prices or do you reduce prices to bring in more customers? inexpensive t-shirts can sometimes be seen as a sign of cheapness in quality but on the other hand people like a good bargain. how would you deal with this?
Despite the fact that people seek a bargain, people do pay for quality. If people are financially stressed they won't be buying t-shirts. Those who are choosing to spend their money on t-shirts will likely pay a few dollars more if the design is good and the quality is not compromised.
I'm hardly a businessperson, but I would think that the best bet would be to maintain the prices you have now or increase them slightly. Given the economy you will likely lose customers either way, and lowering the prices may not attract many more new customers.
I'm new to this site and the business of t-shirts...My opinion is based on the fact that personally, I pay for quality. Since t-shirts are not an essential expenditure for consumers, any sales you make would be from people who are obviously unaffected enough by the economy that they are buying t-shirts, and they will likely pay the current price or higher.
I agree with it. People pay for Quality. I would still not increase prices or do much changes in T-shirts & Try to concentrate on Advertising and Marketing to sell few more instead of doing anything else. Its huge Challenge for any new/old Brands to stay in eyes of customer/people when they don't really want to look at[knowing the fact that Malls/Huge Stores don't have much business].
That is just my personal opinion. I have not started business yet. planning to do in May. I hope Economy gets better till then. If not, I will jump into & see what happens. Making Plans on Advertising & Execute at Time is Huge factor.
NiL
Quote:
Originally Posted by sclars misnit
Despite the fact that people seek a bargain, people do pay for quality. If people are financially stressed they won't be buying t-shirts. Those who are choosing to spend their money on t-shirts will likely pay a few dollars more if the design is good and the quality is not compromised.
I'm hardly a businessperson, but I would think that the best bet would be to maintain the prices you have now or increase them slightly. Given the economy you will likely lose customers either way, and lowering the prices may not attract many more new customers.
I'm new to this site and the business of t-shirts...My opinion is based on the fact that personally, I pay for quality. Since t-shirts are not an essential expenditure for consumers, any sales you make would be from people who are obviously unaffected enough by the economy that they are buying t-shirts, and they will likely pay the current price or higher.
My personal opinion is.. People like to skimp on quality to achieve "Lowest Price!!" .. You wanna sell a higher price? Easy.. Just market "Highest Quality.. Guaranteed."
You think right NiL. Advertising and Marketing are tough, but I understand its about 30% of your cost. Good luck on May opening. Here's to the "economy!!??!!"
And Wes....Your product says alot about you. Quality has to be apart of the sell. You obviously paid attention in class.
I reckon it depends on what the client wants, if they're 'one off' promo shirts then then won't want to be paying for a top quality shirt, if they're fashion brands they will pay more for a quality product.
I market both ends of the spectrum generally, and give my best possible price, the fact there's a recession doesn't change that.
I market both ends of the spectrum generally, and give my best possible price, the fact there's a recession doesn't change that.
I feel ya on this one. If they want it they will pay for it. Because it is a recession materials and supply fees have not changed so I remain steady with my pricing. If I receive a deal on an item of course I pass the savings on to the customer but, to try and price beat like some competitors I have read about on this forum that is something I will not do.
Keep your price up! I put mine up in January
I don't know what it is like in the States right now but in the U.K there are a lot of 'Bankers' not buying suits right now & are looking at alternative ways of dressing!
Please don't make their come-down too hard, they are not used to buying cheap
Phil
__________________
I don't suffer with insanity...I love every minute of it!
Here is my maxim's
If you are slow, reallyslow, raise your price
If you are busy, really busy, raise your price
Both of these theories provide much need funds when doing the work. the first theory allows you to make money, be appreciated for what you do
The second theory allows you to make the same amount of money for about 1/3 to 1/2 the work. It takes fortitude to do both
Your manager is dead on. Factors: people buy from people, people buy from companies people by percieved value. People who only by on price: 1: do not respect the value of your services and products, cheap price cheapens you: 2: Being in business by being the cheapest or lowest is a great way to go out of business these days, you cannot maintain a business on such low margins.
The last part of the theory is: if you are happy with the busyness of your production, but want to make more money without the hassles of ticking of clients, then you look internally to find cost cutting. And there is always something to cut or make more efficient. From simple things like setting up workspaces that work for production to order entry etc.
My brother and I review monthly things that could be done better, more efficiently etc...but we are never looking for silly things like sISO 9000.... we just want to be the best there is
I think this all depends on the type of products you are selling. If you are selling to the higher-end crowd or basically products that are selling because of there quality I would recommend raising your prices. The reason for this is during a recession there will be a decrease in your demand for your product, so to make up for the decrease in quantity of products sold you increase the price. This will balance it out.
Now if you market is aimed towards more lower end products, the demand for these products will increase during a recession, meaning you should lower your prices. You will end up selling more products and it will make up for the decrease in the price.
All in all i believe marketing strategies are very important during these times of recession.How you market your product will matter tremendously. Using words such as "best value" rather then "cheapest" or "most expensive" for instance will make the customer believe that he is being offered the best value available for the price you are charging. For example (in extremes) whether your a high-end retailer like Tiffany & Co. or budget-minded Target your customer will still feel pleased if they received the best valued product in the market.
Here is my maxim's
If you are slow, reallyslow, raise your price
If you are busy, really busy, raise your price
Good if everyone else is doing the same, if others in the industry are sticking, your in danger of pricing yourself out.
Personally if anything, I'd lower my prices, negotiate better terms/prices with suppliers, and push for more business.
This is a good time to gain new business as people are more likely to go shopping for a bargain.
Have a temporary price cut, run a few good offers, market it well, then when your prices go back to normal, if you've done a good job you'll retain those customers.
I AM NOT SURE. BUT I AM A FTY, my price should depend on the cost. i can do the business which don;t make money,but i don;t want to lose money. this is the mind of a fty.
There's no point in raising the price just for the sake of it, that seems way to oppurtunistic really. If your costs are going up then, yes raise your price. Aside from this though, people will always want a bargain, but bargains are associated with cheapness (and what we in the UK call disposable/throwaway fashion). What you need to think is if your market is these people or those who will want to pay a fair amount for a good quality, greatly designed tee?
t-shirt pricing during a recession 
