Omaggio Fratelli

I'm sure this question has been answered a trillion times but as a newbie I would definitely appreciate hearing the answer. For the people who wish to sell their t-shirts to stores, how do you set the price for the t-shirts? I'm asking because I was looking into purhcasing luxe-t t-shirts, which go for about $12-18 a shirt, and wanted to see what a reasonble mark up would be to make my money back from the shirt, designs, tags, & packaging.

Any help would be appreciated. I know there are a lot of tangibles to consider, but if you could give me a ball park figure of how much would be reasonable so that I can see if I have to find a more cost efficient shirt, or whether this is a good purchase.

Basically I want the suggested retail price for the shirts to be $40 - $60 and want to ensure that I get the best material and quality to justify that price.

 

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Rodney

Quote: I'm sure this question has been answered a trillion times but as a newbie I would definitely appreciate hearing the answer

You can find the answer by doing a forum search for retailers or wholesale pricing

All those "asked a trillion times" questions are all saved here so that people can easily access them with a search to find the answers they need. That's the beauty of a forum. We also have a whole section of the forum for selling offline to stores: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/offline-retail-tradeshows/

To answer your question though, generally the wholesale price you sell to stores is about half of what your retail selling price is (because the store wants to mark it up at least 100%)

Quote: I'm asking because I was looking into purhcasing luxe-t t-shirts, which go for about $12-18 a shirt

I don't think you're looking at the right price for luxe-t t-shirts. I'm 99.9% positive that the wholesale price isn't $12-18 per shirt. What you saw was probably the RETAIL price.

Quote: Basically I want the suggested retail price for the shirts to be $40 - $60 and want to ensure that I get the best material and quality to justify that price.

If you are selling to high end boutiques and you have a quality garment, it's possible to set that as your suggested retail. Your wholesale cost (what the stores pay) would then be aroun $20-$30. That means you would have to make sure that your cost to make the t-shirts is less than $20-$30 so you have room for profit.


PS: I changed the thread title from "The Exciting Part" to a more descriptive title so that when other people are searching for answers about how to price shirts, they will be able to quickly look at the topic TITLE and know what kind of answers will be inside

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wiscot

Quote: Originally Posted by Omaggio Fratelli Basically I want the suggested retail price for the shirts to be $40 - $60 and want to ensure that I get the best material and quality to justify that price.

As a retailer, I would say you're going to have one helluva time finding a market for that high of a price point. Even for high end, that is especially high end.

 

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paulo

You want to basically have the same pricepoint as the your competitors, then the retail markup is about 2x to 2.5x for high end shirts.

 

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Omaggio Fratelli

Thank you all for your help. & Wiscot I was saying that the "suggested retail" price should be $40-60, that's not the price I would sell to the retailer for, I'm saying I would want them to sell my shirts for that price.

 

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wiscot

Quote: Originally Posted by Omaggio Fratelli Thank you all for your help. & Wiscot I was saying that the "suggested retail" price should be $40-60, that's not the price I would sell to the retailer for, I'm saying I would want them to sell my shirts for that price.

That's what I understood, and as a retailer, I was suggesting that short of Gucci-esque name recognition, you might have a hard time pitching that price point. As a retailer, I'm curious to know what would warrant that msrp for a tee. Is it tech tee/organic/peached/etc.?

 

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Omaggio Fratelli

You know what, I've given it some thought and discussed it with my partner, and you're right, it would probably be a good idea to rethink our pricing. I definitely appreciate your help on this. What would you suggest as a retailer, for someone who is starting out with a quality shirt and original designs. I want to have the price commensurate with the quality of our clothing, which can be likened to a Sean John, LRG, or Phat Farm.

 

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Rodney

Quote: Originally Posted by Omaggio Fratelli You know what, I've given it some thought and discussed it with my partner, and you're right, it would probably be a good idea to rethink our pricing. I definitely appreciate your help on this. What would you suggest as a retailer, for someone who is starting out with a quality shirt and original designs. I want to have the price commensurate with the quality of our clothing, which can be likened to a Sean John, LRG, or Phat Farm.

Before you go changing your whole business plan, keep in mind that there are lines that start out selling out at the $40 - $60 price range based on the quality of the design and garment.

These designs sell to the higher end boutiques and stores and get exhibited at fashion tradeshows to attract those type buyers.

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wiscot

Quote: Originally Posted by Rodney Before you go changing your whole business plan, keep in mind that there are lines that start out selling out at the $40 - $60 price range based on the quality of the design and garment. These designs sell to the higher end boutiques and stores and get exhibited at fashion tradeshows to attract those type buyers.

I agree, but it should also be noted that to do so might require a great deal of capital and staying power, to promote and build an image and name recognition. I would think that selling a product at such a high msrp might be difficult, if there is no proven track record of success.

 

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wiscot

Quote: Originally Posted by Omaggio Fratelli You know what, I've given it some thought and discussed it with my partner, and you're right, it would probably be a good idea to rethink our pricing. I definitely appreciate your help on this. What would you suggest as a retailer, for someone who is starting out with a quality shirt and original designs. I want to have the price commensurate with the quality of our clothing, which can be likened to a Sean John, LRG, or Phat Farm.

From my experience, an msrp of $25-30 would make a statement that you are selling something of greater quality than the average $10-15 tee, without pricing yourselves out of the market. It also would give you room to grow toward your end-goal pricing, without creating sticker shock. As an example, Life is good pre-prices their basic tees at $20, with some of their "high-end" items priced at $30. They have done this with great success, creating an almost cult-like following. Next spring, they will be bumping prices to $25 for basics, and $35 for high end.

 

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Omaggio Fratelli

All extremely good points. Wiscot that is exactly what I was thinking. I want to ensure that I'm giving consumers the best quality that I can, and I want to ensure that my brand is not just another "t-shirt" but can be a quality garment. So I do feel that the $20 - 30 range is more reasonable since I don't have a "track" record, and it does leave room for growth. I love this forum!! Thank you all for your unselfish help.

Rodney, great idea on using trade/fashion shows as a means to attract my target demographics.

 

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paulo

MSRP would depend on quality and name recognition.

Affliction MSRP $40-$60
Ed Hardy MSRP $60-$80
Christian Audigier MSRP $80-$200

 

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Omaggio Fratelli

Wow, that's definitely the path I want to go down. Thanks Paulo!!

 

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Rodney

Quote: Originally Posted by wiscot I agree, but it should also be noted that to do so might require a great deal of capital and staying power, to promote and build an image and name recognition. I would think that selling a product at such a high msrp might be difficult, if there is no proven track record of success.

Very good point. It does take a good marketing budget and business plan to make sure you can consistently deliver shirts, new designs of that quality.

Those brands that Paulo listed have big budgets to pay for the top blank t-shirts custom made to their specs, the top finishing, the top of the line printing and they do it in large quantities (1000s of shirts at a time per design).

Not saying it's impossible to compete in that market, but you really need to think about how you will be able to set yourself apart with the budget you have.

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Omaggio Fratelli

Any words from people who are able to successful do this as a career as to what a newcomer can do to not reinvent the wheel but still bring a uniqueness that will allow the brand to succeed?

 

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