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.
well, in new york at least, i think flea markets CAN be brand-friendly. there used to be a "flea market" on 6th avenue and 24th street that sold lots of original, cool stuff and some of the more traditional flea market paraphernalia. they sold furniture that was made by local designers as well as antiques. i'm mentioning this because i found out from one of the TV design show that designers would get stuff there. they would come at, like, 12:30am, flashlights in hand, and grab up lots of good stuff before the general public got there. a LOT of this stuff ended up on TV. some ended in up antique stores.
maybe it was a kind of mix of flea market and craft fair. now would retailers look down on stuff they found at THIS type of "flea market"?
Not really, not all brands will sell their designs at a flea market.
For example, you probably won't see "ed hardy", "johnny cupcakes", "threadless", "affliction" type designs at a fleamarket.
That's not saying that it's bad to sell there, it's just not a fit for everyone that sells t-shirts
No Rodney, you are absolutely right when you look at it that way, it all depends on what you are carrying and who your target market is. What works for one brand or business is not always right for another.
And no, I doubt I will ever see an affliction shirt at a flea market, though that would be nice! lol
happy new year! well, after some unavoidable delays, i received the stock for my new privately-owned baby line and i'm ready to start doing flea markets/street fairs/designer co-ops here in new york.
the merchandise came out great! i'm WAY happy with everything and now i just need to get the products in front of people. i ordered mostly long-sleeve tees because i had hoped to start doing shows in december. so now my only real concern is that i have too much LS inventory this close to spring. but since the line is completely new, i guess i can still sell the stuff new fall.
i'll write another update after i do my first show. i'm also seriously thinking about approaching retailers, but i have to figure out if i can do both since the general thinking on this thread is that this may not be a good idea.
thanks, karl! sorry this update took so long, but things have been sooo hectic!
i actually did my first flea market in nyc on february 2nd. big mistake in way. well, it was supposed to be 50 degrees and sunny, but i don't think it even got up to 40. brrrr! there wasn't much traffic, but people laughed at the slogans and "ooo"ed and "ahhh"ed all day, so there was positive reinforcement. but i knew i wasn't going to do it again until after the weather got better.
well, i had to wait a while for my spring private label merchandise came in. i did my second flea market yesterday at a bigger and better market. thanks, everyone, for help with the list of what i needed! it turns out i had everything i needed but one thing. the wind tends to blow, so one vendor at the first flea market gave me some bungee chords so i could keep my display from falling over so much. that REALLY helped! so get some bungee chords.
the flea market yesterday had a lot more traffic and it was a beautiful, hot day. i still didn't sell much, but the other vendors said sometimes it takes a while for people to know you. so i'll try to do another one soon.
the type of stuff for sale at this market really is high quality and not like the type of flea markets some people think of. great stuff! the vendors were very friendly.
if you have a private label and you're able to find an upscale market, this may be a way to go, but it may take time to build up a customer base.
Re: Fleamarkets vs. Retailers 
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