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.
Hi,just moved to florida and would like to set up a kiosk in a mall to do on the sopt custom graphics,on tees,signs and licence plates;anything customers would like to have on them. I'm new to this,still doing some researches and gathering as much informations as possible. Is this a good business?Is a mall a good place to start(there are lots of busy mall here in central florida).And what kind of machines do i need? All replies with info would really,really be appreciated.
You need a Heatpress, a vinyl cutter, a computer and sign or vector software. You will need sign vinyl, transfer tape, banner material, coroplast, exacto knives and a work area large enough to weed and lay tape.
Thanx a bunch David,I think a mall kiosk will be enough as a work area,cause i've seen someone doing it.What's the best way to buy a heat press,vinyl cutter?
Again is this a good idea?business wise,i mean i'm willing to take chances,but i was hoping someone in this forum is doing the same exact concept.
Again thankyou David.
Some advice with your heat press. First, figure out weather or not your equipment will be secure during off hours. I hate leaving my stuff to other people to keep track of, especially when they will not accept responsibility (pay for its replacement) if it comes up missing. If you need to transport the bulk of your valuable equipment in and out everyday, make sure you can handle the weight. I figured 'Get what will do the most things (biggest heat press I could afford) and I got a 16X20 clamshell that weighs a real 100 Lbs. Its still in the living room floor. Thats as far as I could move it. Find somewhere you can get the weight of the press you are considering getting and then go somewhere you can find weights (gym) and see if you can comfortably lift and move that much weight. after doing that, consider that the heat press is a lot more awkward to carry or transfer from a dolly to your vehicle. Then get the largest one you think you can handle and be honest with yourself. I used to work in salvage and wasn't anything to sling around transmissions and engine blocks but I'm a lot older and not as capable (bad back) as I used to be.
Thanx for the advice Terry...I won't have to move my equipments in&out of the mall everyday!Once i set them up on the kiosk,they are there to stay as long as i'm doing business in the mall.
Very good. Have you researched weather there had ever been a similar vendor to get an idea of revenues? Are you going to be locked into a long term agreement with the mall people? I wish you the best of luck. I just don't have the faith to get into high priced real estate and definitely don't leave my equipment vulnerable , but I probably won't get rich either.
No i won't be locked into a long term lease agreement cuz i'm offered a short term lease(3 months).I asked around the mall and was told that 3 years ago someone did something similar for few years and made lots of money,yet nobody knows why he left!
Good for you. Having done your homework, I'ld say you should do it. If I were in a different lace, I'ld think about trying it but this isn't a safe area on MS to be around the malls late at night.
As a starter in mall kiosk,is it better to use a heat transfer and a vinyl cutter or use a direct to garment machine? or a sublimation? ps:i will be averaging between 15 to 30 t-shirts a day.
A DTG machine is #1 expensive #2 large. What is the foot print size of your kiosk? With that kind of investment(DTG printer)I would go for all three or four, Inkjet on darks. The dtg is great if you get the right kind. If you don't, You won't like the results on dark shirts. Sublimation is ONLY for light (white mostly) colors and the material needs to be a large percent poly or all poly. vinyl is great but hard to do many colors and no pics(unless you get an even more expensive machine than the DTG). Ink jet is ok for pics but the transfers for darks are supposed to be at best, OK and worst, terrible. You might want to get a full, though maybe small, store. Up side of the store is better security. You can lock it up tight. These are just a few things to take into consideration, I'm sure there are many more.
Thanks Terry,your replies are appreciated...I think i'm gonna go with vinyl...it's practical for a kiosk...Good thing about doing this in mall kiosk is that you are RIGHT THERE in middle of the mall,you get lots of attention,everybody can see you.Terry,i've done mall kiosks before(retail)the mall is a very safe place,they have security&cameras et c...Besides i get to lock the kiosk just like a store.But thanks for the advices.
Cool choice. Since your going to do vinyl, think about some of the other things you can do with vinyl cutters. I wish I had started with a vinyl cutter first. I would already be in business instead of looking for more funding to get more equipment. I didn't know you could get kiosks that were secure. The ones I've seen didn't look secure. Good luck and be happy with what you do.
i live in central Florida and i know there are a couple of people are doing that already at malls but they come out during Christmas season. They have T-shirt printing and embroidery place at Altamonte mall already. overall it seems like a good idea but only seasonal.
...Besides i get to lock the kiosk just like a store.But thanks for the advices.[/b]
How does that work? I have never seen one that you can lock like a store. We looked into these but I did not want to move my equipment back and forth everyday and for the store the woman wanted a long term lease but when I talked to other owners they told me they were lied to and that the store I was looking at had flooded and she didn't even mention it after I had even told here I had over $50,000 in equipment I checked out the story and they were right it had flooded many times.
Good luck to you on your venture, I just didn't know you could lock a kiosk like you do a store an have all of your equipment secured.
Hope you make lots of money, just check with a few of the owners to make sure everything the manager is telling you is correct.
On the spot custom graphics biz 
Re: On the spot custom graphics biz 
Re: On the spot custom graphics biz 
Re: On the spot custom graphics biz 
I checked out the story and they were right it had flooded many times.
