Discuss the various t-shirt fulfillment services in this general fulfillment forum. Newer companies like RedBubble, etc can be discussed in this main forum.
Companies that have been around 2+ years (CafePress.com, Zazzle.com, Spreadshirt.com, PrintMojo.com, PrintFection, etc), may have their own separate subforums below (as demand permits).
I have been reading the threads and am learning so much. I am currently working outside of the US while planning a t-shirt business. I am considering using cafepress to start because of convenience. I have incorportated, an currently have 3 designs. My question is; do you think using cafepress in the beginning then switching to having them custom made would be a smart move or should I start with a small amount of custom and grow from there?
Thanks
I think with just three designs, you will get swallowed up in the marketplace of cafepress. Your 3 designs vs the millions of stuff already on cafepress, you will hardly stand a chance! So unless you can do you own heavy promotions, I would take your designs to a smaller marketplace like printfection or zazzle.
have you ordered a sample of your designs on a t-shirt from cafepress, zazzle, etc.?
i ordered some samples from zazzle an was not impressed by the quality. the ease and delivery were great but the product was not what i imagined it to be.
some were crooked and i had to send it back. customer serivce was good.
some were not in the location i thought they were going to be. maybe my fault but when i put it on the model, it looked good and when it came it was either too high or low at times.
i bought a women's ditressed shirt and the whole rectangle shape of whatever process they use came out on the shirt! the colour actually was different on the fron and back!
the front where the print was on was way darker!
anyways my 2 cents,
sample the products first,
andy
Thanks Andy. I'm now considering taking the time to have the shirts custom made to ensure the product is what I want before opening a store online and having low quality merchandise delivered to customers. It may take a little longer but the first impression is more important than rushing to begin selling a product that's not as good as it could/should be. And being in Iraq doesn't help with having to return items for correction. Thank you very much for your 2 cents
cafepress to start, then switch? 
