customer wants to bring in own blanks, how should I charge?
I've never done a job where the customer supplies me with their own blank shirts so I really don't know how to approach this.
It's a three colour front only on a dark shirt. I would normally charge for 24 shirts $9.00 each. How much would you guys suggest I charge if they gave me the blanks?
I'm thinking just subtract the cost that I get the blanks for from the price, or around that range. I just don't want to scare the customer off.
Re: customer wants to bring in own blanks, how should I charge?
I would charhe the same price you normally would minus the cost you pay for a shirt. I never like to do customer supplied garments,I tell them up front I don't replace garmnets that I don't sell. I tell them you order 30 shirts,I will give you 30 shirts. If they bring in 30 shirts and 4 get messed up, they get 26 shirts done correct and 4 messed up.I have in the past charged a surcharge for customer suplied garments. ... JB
Re: customer wants to bring in own blanks, how should I charge?
We do the same as JB. If one of our shirts gets messed up, it hits the OH CRAP file, we grab another and keep printing. If one of the customer supplied shirts messes up, the still get if and they still owe the total for the shirts. We are only human and try as we might still make mistakes.
Re: customer wants to bring in own blanks, how should I charge?
On a further note, in addition to JB's post... some printers do not like to work on customer supplied shirts because the unknown blanks can be "unpredictable" to work with and inferior quality.
Some printers do charge an up fee for customer supplied shirts, meaning they do not discount fully their own cost of blanks (for the inconvenience they have of working with an "unknown" shirt) and some just take the blank off the cost of the job. There are threads on the forum about it. Not everyone is in agreement how to handle it.
In addtion to JB's advice about having them supply you with a certain number of shirts over and above the number of finished shirts they order, because You Would Have supplied them with 30 finished shirts (if that's what they ordered) and they would not have known about the, for example, 2 "spoilage" shirts that were ruined, lol. Not saying you'lll ruin ANY, but it can happen.
Then I would also NOT warranty or quarentee customer supplied blanks -- if you normally give a satisfation guarentee becauseeee you are unfamiliar with the "wear" of the customer's blanks.
The choice is ultimately yours, but the problems I read about customer blanks is that 1. sometimes lint and things like that make them hard to work with and 2. they are usually cruddy shirts the customer got at a flea market type place and think they can save money by supplying them to you, the printer, but working with them just makes the printers job harder. It's usually easier for the printer to use their own familiar and proven "blank of choice." Note: If you normally supply a $2 - $2.50 blank, and they bring you a $1 - $1.25 blank, I personally would only discount the $1 - $1.25. But that's just me, I'd give them a discount for the value of the product they bring me.
Another thing I don't like about customer supplied blanks, and this happens to me every so often with heat press transfers is that if they give me a cruddy shirt, and the job comes out inferior because of it, it's my name on the line. They may say to their friend, "Yeah, this shirt isn't holding up at all... I won't use them again." Eh, customer supplied blanks are tricky, the shirt can make a big difference in the product, and we'll be judged on the finished work. A customer doesn't know to look for 50/50 (my preference), and pre-shrunk. The two biggies.
Good luck to you, I hope this goes smooth as silk and they bring you nice blanks.
Re: customer wants to bring in own blanks, how should I charge?
I dont have a problem with using customer supplied blanks as long as they supply the type of shirt my machine needs for printing, and I always have them supply me with 10% overage in quantity for any misprints. Alot of people that are trying to start their own labels will have their own custom sewn shirts, or they might just feel better supplying their own, anyways I have never had a problem with doing business this way. I also would just deduct your normal cost of the blank, as in reality that is the only difference for you and you will still be making the same money. When I am done with the job if I dont use the extra 10% garments supplied I return them to the customer.
__________________
Always do right; this will gratify some people and astonish the rest. ~~~Mark Twain BobbieLee
Re: customer wants to bring in own blanks, how should I charge?
I would charge your standard price minus the least expensive shirt you use price then add a small surcharge at your discretion. I personally dont print customer supplied shirts due to unpredictability.
__________________ Cards kill trees! Give a custom printed shirt.
Re: customer wants to bring in own blanks, how should I charge?
Quote:
Originally Posted by madaradio
I would normally charge for 24 shirts $9.00 each. How much would you guys suggest I charge if they gave me the blanks?
You've received several good answers but I'll add this: If you getting blanks dropped shipped to you or directly from the supplier (Sanmar, TSC, AA, Royal, whoever) then I wouldn't charge a surcharge. If the customer is bringing you crap from Wal-mart, flea markets or garage sales (don't laugh, it happens) then charge a surcharge. In all cases, recommend a 2-5% overage with the understanding you will deliver +-2% (or whatever you're comfortable with).
After this, do yourself a favor and recalculate your pricing so that it doesn't include the blank then just add in the cost for the blank when they order. That way, it doesn't matter if they order a $2 Anvil or a $10 burnout tee, your profit margin will be the same.
Re: customer wants to bring in own blanks, how should I charge?
The part that kills me is when people think they're getting a deal by doing this. It's one thing if you have a custom garment, or something I don't have access to or whatever. But when you order 100 shirts off ebay for 500$ and think they're getting a better deal is ridiculous.
Re: customer wants to bring in own blanks, how should I charge?
OK, what you're talking about is a form of contract printing. We have a price list, this is what it'll run you for say 36 2 color prints. We then add the shirt price (at, usually, a 40% markup from what we're paying). We do a lot of contract work (they supply the goods and info on what goes where), those guys get discounted rates, but that basic list applies to everything. When ink goes up and emulsion goes up, we just adjust the list.
We make lots more on orders that we sell the shirts on, but the contract stuff is there when nothing else is.
We work on Long Island, which for the geographically challenged, is right smack next to New York City, and I routinely see shirts that were bought streetside, downtown, for what usually isn't far off from what I would've charged anyway, and I ALWAYS tell them I'm not responsible for their crap, no BS some of this stuff won't make one wash cycle.
They pay me to put a print on a shirt.
If the shirt you got from me falls apart, I hang up on you and scream at a supplier for an hour. I'm Irish and I have anger issues, no BS, I will flip out, and then you get a new shirt.
If the shirt I got from you, with my magnificent print on it, falls apart 2 minutes after you put it on, I will laugh at your dumb *** on my way to the bank to deposit your check.
Last edited by Texafud; August 14th, 2008 at 10:19 PM.
Re: customer wants to bring in own blanks, how should I charge?
Ha! I like this guy (Mike). Yeah, I have customers who want to bring in blanks for 10-12 pc orders and somehow think they're gonna pay 50.00 to get them printed... right.
I let them know I make money by decorating the shirt, not selling plain tees, you're not going to save any money supplying your own shirts, hell I'm giving them to you cheaper than you can buy them, even with my 50% markup.
Re: customer wants to bring in own blanks, how should I charge?
Quote:
Originally Posted by out da box
Ha! I like this guy (Mike). Yeah, I have customers who want to bring in blanks for 10-12 pc orders and somehow think they're gonna pay 50.00 to get them printed... right.
I let them know I make money by decorating the shirt, not selling plain tees, you're not going to save any money supplying your own shirts, hell I'm giving them to you cheaper than you can buy them, even with my 50% markup.
I have no issue telling my customers that my goal is to succeed in business. I have made a sign for my office"PROFIT IS NOT A DIRTY WORD". If we remember this we can and will be successful. I have lots of friends, but when it comes to business I ONLY HAVE CUSTOMERS. ..... JB
customer wants to bring in own blanks, how should I charge? 
