Discuss the process of getting your t-shirt line into brick and mortar stores and selling offline. Topics include industry tradeshows, events, line sheets, sales reps and other retailing tips and advice.
has anyone sold shirts at an outdoor swap meet, such as the bel air swap meet in fontana? im not sure how much inventory i should bring or how much to expect to sell.
Re: how many shirts should i bring to the swap meet?
to ask the original question is like how long is a piece of rope...You just dont know...the tee at most swap meets are imported by large volume and will hardly last to the first wash...or so was my experience before I started
if you are doing quality printing, you cannot complete with the cheap stuff at swap meets. I would not waste my time at those
Re: how many shirts should i bring to the swap meet?
Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenJumpSuit
how do they sell them that cheap? i've seen swap meets like that where i live and it boggles my mind!!! it crazy i tell you!
I was wondering the same thing and then it came to me...........they are probably buying in such high bulk amounts that the can sell them for that price but it still just doesn't seem like they would have much profit.
Re: how many shirts should i bring to the swap meet?
I know this is old, but I have to have my say...maybe it will help with the autumn swap meeters!
I've attended swap meets in my area, Salt Lake City and surrounding area, and all the people wanted was junk! We took odd ball stuff from our store and knocked it down to just 10% over wholesale...all new stuff and very nice for the price... they didn't even look....another time we took SMC products... they are a very hard sale at swap meets...and you can buy that stuff at a very good wholesale price...didn't look twice!! My daughter tried to sell '60's stuff, incense, incense holders, patches, beaded curtains, tshirts, necklaces etc...a woman told her daughter, we'll go to the mall and buy "new stuff"... my daughter was selling new stuff, everything was new and sealed in the original packages! One day, I don't know if this is ethical, we went to our local thrift store. We bought $100 worth of "junk". Some good pieces, some mostly broken. Just odds and ends, dog brushes, tool holders, some small plant shelves...we couldn't get that stuff out of our car FAST enough! We doubled the price of what we paid, and sold every last item we brought. Mainly we took junk, or what I would call junk! We did that as an experiment..never went back again.
I would "spring clean" my house and try to sell that at a swap meet. You might try selling your shirts at the same time. People here, seem to not want to buy used clothing, only new and CHEAP.
Those "other" people selling cheap tshirts, etc. are working as big families, not individuals. They pool their money and buy huge lots, even liquidation lots, VERY cheaply...thats why they can outsell the ordinary joe at those swap meets. There maybe one big family, broken up throughout the meet all selling different items, toys, clothing, pots and pans...
What I call a swap meet is, a parking lot, in the heat of the day, at $15 a space...some people go to a "boutique" and call it a swap meet. A boutique is a little nicer, runs for a few days and cost a little more....all new items are sold at a boutique and hand made crafts....no JUNK! Sometimes they are held in a school, in a city park or recreation center.
Anyway, its all very tempting...the price is right, from sunup to sundown...but sitting there watching people buy junk and then come to you and hagger to buy your hardworked tshirt for a dollar really ticks me off!!!!
This is a discussion about how many shirts should i bring to the swap meet? that was posted in the Offline Retail and Tradeshows section of the forums.
how many shirts should i bring to the swap meet? 
