Discuss the different methods of adding some bling to your designs. Rhinestone and rhinestud transfers, templates, equipment, software and supplies are inlcuded in this forum.
I created 4 rhinestone transfers for a customer which I will actually add to my stock designs. There is about $1.50 for my cost and the customer supplied the shirts. How much should I charge the customer for the transfers and application?
Diana, you should come up with an hourly rate for your time, since you already seem to have accounted for your materials. The $1.50 covers the stones or the stones AND the transfer tape for each design? How long did it take you to create the design, make the transfers and press the transfers? Those are the things that you need to get paid for now. If you don't want to do it on an hourly rate, you can do something simple like determine how much profit you think you earned for that job. Let's say you want to make a 50% profit for everything you do. Then your 1.50x4x150% would recover your total costs of $6.00 and give you a $3.00 profit for that job.
I would just take your regular price you would charge if you had supplied the shirt....Say 24.99 minus $6.00 (cost of shirt you would have supplied ) and charge $18.99. I let them know the cost is really in the bling (which it is, in designing, stones etc)
We like to discourage the use of customer bought apparel.....what if you mess it up? Then you have to replace their garment. That's a bummer if they paid $20.00 for the shirt!
I just don't do customer supplied shirts because if I mess one up...now I have to pay retail..normally...for a replacement if available.
But if you do..don't forget the cost of the template material and you should charge a setup fee if you have to design and cut the template. Don't sell yourself short
For transfer only purchases plus application, we create the transfer price on a per rhinestone basis and then charge and application fee per item to apply the transfer to the customer's garments depending on how large or intricate the design is.... anywhere from $1.00 - $3.00 per item.
Once you feel confident in the application process, you should open up to offering the option of applying your rhinestone transfer to the customer's garment. Lots of wholesale customers that are interested in applying rhinestones to garments are involved in specific athletics (ex: colleges) or industries in which it will require that the rhinestones are applied to their specific garments.
I would like to know then, what you would roughly guess the average cost you charge to create the transfer and apply it to the customer's garment. I just felt that the money wouldn't be enough and the fear of destroying their garment and having to pay retail to replace it. Has that happened, and if so, how did you make it right? Thanks!
I would like to know then, what you would roughly guess the average cost you charge to create the transfer and apply it to the customer's garment. I just felt that the money wouldn't be enough and the fear of destroying their garment and having to pay retail to replace it. Has that happened, and if so, how did you make it right? Thanks!
These are very real possibilities but you forgot the most likely problem your likely to run into. A lot of people that buy high end clothes are buying things with some kind of treatment applied to them that can make the applique not adhere properly.
I would like to know then, what you would roughly guess the average cost you charge to create the transfer and apply it to the customer's garment. I just felt that the money wouldn't be enough and the fear of destroying their garment and having to pay retail to replace it. Has that happened, and if so, how did you make it right? Thanks!
Hi Vicki, A good rule of thumb would be to ask the customer the brand name and material content of the garments they would like to send to see if you would feel comfortable working with that brand / material. If you work with more than one wholesale apparel vendor, you may be able to replace an item easily if there is a mishap. We have applied to hundreds of customer supplied items and have not had a problem with applying to garments they supply yet.
What to charge if customer supplied shirt? 
