First, thanks to all of you who have been my T-shirt University.
I'm at the beginning of designing a line of tees to sell online and, hopefully, to wholesale. While I'm not looking at a street market, I am looking to make a high quality product, i.e., ringspun blank, discharge printing, etc. The designs are cohesive and the idea and the brand is quite evident on first look. That said, what price will the current market pay for a quality shirt? Since I'm not printing, I'm encountering an additional level of mark-up and am coming up with a cost of goods at $7.50 - 9.00@. A 100% mark-up to wholesale would, to me, seem to make the retail price dangerously high, especially in the current economy. I'm willing to take a smaller mark-up, if necessary, to do my launch at a reasonable price, especially with the realization that my cost of goods will go down if I'm ordering larger quantities in the future. I don't want to make some huge pricing blunder that will do in my sales and/or my profits. But that's where you all come in-- you know the market. Help?
I have been kind of in the same think tank. I have been planing on charging a little more for my shirts because of my cost and the quality of my product but I am worried about going to high. I follow fashion very closely. I know that there is no such thing as priced to high depending on the brand following. when I look at yellow man, Ed Hardy and brands like that I feel like I should be able to charge atleast 45 to 50.00 every pinter that has seen my work imediatle assume that I am planing to sell them for 60. and up. in this economy, i dont want to target those who have to pinch pennies because i feel that they will all ways go for the cheapest or even worse not buy at all. I guess it really comes down to what your marketing plan is and your target consumers. I have a DKNY tshirt that cost me 62 dollars and its no where as nice as a vintage great gatsby shirt i got on sale for 28.00. i think you have to have faith in your brand and marketing. hell, i saw an Armani Tshirt for 600.00 the other day and it looked like crap.lol
You don't want to overprice but you should be careful about pricing too low because it compromises the value of your brand. Sometimes people tend to think that if an item is too inexpensive then it is cheap & not of good quality. I know people that would much rather spend the few extra dollars for something that they think is better quality than to buy the lower priced item for fear that it won't wear as long.
Hmm $60.00 t-shirts! Where were they made? Where did the yarn come from? What kind of cotton? Where were they printed? Consumers ask themselves a lot of questions when they look at a higher priced garment. The bell shaped curve can have a lot to do with the selling of higher priced items. What makes a shirt worth $60.00 compared to a $7.50 shirt? Sometimes it has to do with the volume produced. Once market saturation is reached, the price consumers are willing to pay, drops. I was amazed recently to find top 1980's designer's label clothing for sale at a regional discount chain.
The first mistake? Using imported t shirts. When a consumer notices the imported country of origin, that $60.00 shirt, by magic can become a $7.50 rag, it's just a matter of waiting on the price to drop. For clothing to maintain that high level of pricing, it has to be justified on multiple levels.
When producing domestically, which generally fits into the comfort zone of many people who start t-shirt brands, costs can get up there real fast. And it's hard to sacrifice your profit margins, cause after all, the supplier, printer and retailer are sticking to their markup standards, so why shouldn't the brand owner.
But here's what I have learned the last few months... Consumers have their own comfort zones. Especially now, when disposable dollars are at a low. Many consumers know where they are going to buy before they know what they are going to buy. They remain loyal to what they know. They know the 3, 5 or 10 stores they like and find what they like within those stores. It's hard to get many consumers to stray from that comfort zone.
So how do new brands compete? Marketing and/or Shopping Experience. The truly successful brands do one, or both, very well. Affliction became successful because they marketed towards the MMA crowd. They paid fighters to where their shirts, they had a quality product and it all came together. Metropark and Hollister (and the other Abercrombie brands) build their brand through the shopping experience. When you walk in, you walk into their culture. And people love that. And while Hollister doesn't sell $60 shirts, they generally sell several at a time, so it all adds up to big dollars.
Not too many years ago, it was dscovered that a brand of mens swimming trunks that was selling for $79.00 a pair, were made in China for less than $1.00. Somebody had some pretty high standards for their markups. A consumer that buys high end clothing can have some high standards too! They expect that everything from the very start of the materials that become the garment, to have all been made under first rate conditions. Anything less, could possibly have an effect on how long a brand is viable, at a certain price.
We all like the idea of making money. It's not a crime to make a profit. Many of us sit around wondering if it's possible to get from where we are now, to the point that some sellers of designer t shirts have gone. The Camster store might just be a little too much for some people. Hmm.....maybe a 21 and up ID required mall t shirt store! Time for that 4th cup of coffee, gotta run.
Hmm $60.00 t-shirts! Where were they made? Where did the yarn come from? What kind of cotton? Where were they printed? Consumers ask themselves a lot of questions when they look at a higher priced garment. The bell shaped curve can have a lot to do with the selling of higher priced items. What makes a shirt worth $60.00 compared to a $7.50 shirt? Sometimes it has to do with the volume produced. Once market saturation is reached, the price consumers are willing to pay, drops. I was amazed recently to find top 1980's designer's label clothing for sale at a regional discount chain.
The first mistake? Using imported t shirts. When a consumer notices the imported country of origin, that $60.00 shirt, by magic can become a $7.50 rag, it's just a matter of waiting on the price to drop. For clothing to maintain that high level of pricing, it has to be justified on multiple levels.
Yes!
Quote:
Originally Posted by kimura-mma
When producing domestically, which generally fits into the comfort zone of many people who start t-shirt brands, costs can get up there real fast. And it's hard to sacrifice your profit margins, cause after all, the supplier, printer and retailer are sticking to their markup standards, so why shouldn't the brand owner.
But here's what I have learned the last few months... Consumers have their own comfort zones. Especially now, when disposable dollars are at a low. Many consumers know where they are going to buy before they know what they are going to buy. They remain loyal to what they know. They know the 3, 5 or 10 stores they like and find what they like within those stores. It's hard to get many consumers to stray from that comfort zone.
So how do new brands compete? Marketing and/or Shopping Experience. The truly successful brands do one, or both, very well. Affliction became successful because they marketed towards the MMA crowd. They paid fighters to where their shirts, they had a quality product and it all came together. Metropark and Hollister (and the other Abercrombie brands) build their brand through the shopping experience. When you walk in, you walk into their culture. And people love that. And while Hollister doesn't sell $60 shirts, they generally sell several at a time, so it all adds up to big dollars.
Yes!
You really need to target who will be wearing your product and then follow the 2 statements above.
I was at first going to use over seas stuff, but I think since I plain on having a medium price range on my shirts 25-35$, that I will try to do all usa based business, even if the cost is a little more.
I was at first going to use over seas stuff, but I think since I plain on having a medium price range on my shirts 25-35$, that I will try to do all usa based business, even if the cost is a little more.
Make sure your market can handle that price range. It's tough out there right now.
IMO, the decision should be more about volume than price range. If you are doing low volume, then you need to stay domestic. If you are doing high volume and can get the benefit of better pricing overseas, then do it.
Out of curiosity, are you looking to sell to retailers or direct to consumer?
Make sure your market can handle that price range. It's tough out there right now.
IMO, the decision should be more about volume than price range. If you are doing low volume, then you need to stay domestic. If you are doing high volume and can get the benefit of better pricing overseas, then do it.
Out of curiosity, are you looking to sell to retailers or direct to consumer?
I plain to sell direct to consumer and my volume will be low as well.
i would identify the specific market that you are in, and base your price on factors like "cost, competitor's price, mark up...etc". if your price doesn't have a reason as to why it cost what it cost then it will be hard for you to convince people to buy it for that price.
i would identify the specific market that you are in, and base your price on factors like "cost, competitor's price, mark up...etc". if your price doesn't have a reason as to why it cost what it cost then it will be hard for you to convince people to buy it for that price.
How do I price for the current market? 
Except mine....
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