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Virginia · July 1st, 2008

My first post here. I work for a small screen printing shop as a sales rep and I design shirts that I sell on the side.

I came up with a brilliant idea for a shirt, I have the art ready to go. All I need is some contact names of national sales reps who can sell it in the chain stores.

I could care less who prints it, all I want is an honest royalty. I believe it will sell at least one million wholesale and up. Trust me, the teens and the college kids will eat this one up.
Any help from anyone here.

Thanks

Jasonda · July 1st, 2008

Hi Bill,

I'll save you a little time here. Independent fashion sales reps don't work the same way as retail sales reps. They don't sell designs or ideas, they only sell lines of clothing which have samples made and are ready for production. They show your line and take orders from the stores, and you would be responsible for having the shirts produced and sent out to the stores.

If you don't have samples made (or don't want to make them) and you don't want to print the shirts, you probably don't want a sales rep. In fact, it might be very difficult to find a sales rep who will work with you if you only have one design and no printed samples.

Instead, maybe you should contact some t-shirt companies who are already selling similar designs and offer to sell the design to them. Keep in mind that not everyone works on the royalty system, some will do royalties and some will want to just buy the design outright. It depends on the company. Personally I think royalties are a bad idea because you really have no way to prove how many shirts they have sold.

Or, you could submit the design to a t-shirt competition like Threadless, if you win they will pay you and they will print the shirts. That might be the best option for you.

Virginia · July 1st, 2008

Thanks for replying. I have samples and I have access to print 10-50,000 at a clip. What I need is a hot sales rep who sells novelty shirts to the chains etc. Is there a website or does anybody know of such a rep who peddles T-shirt designs on a national level? I need contact information if possible. Threadless T is not what I want because it's small money for your design. I just contacted College Humor.Com who owns busted Tee's and I'm waiting for their response.

Thanks,

Bill

Sheepsalt · July 1st, 2008

Typically chains will only take on a new brand that has already reached $millions in annual sales by means of its own marketing. If you want to get into the larger, national mall chains, you'd better know someone on the inside if you're not already making those kinds of numbers.

I know a small, east-coast surf & board sports chain that only has a few stores up & down the shore, and they won't take on new brands until that brand has proven their viability by reaching $10M in annual sales.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!!

Virginia · July 1st, 2008

Thanks for the info. Very disappointing indeed. I'll have to think of another way then.

Bill

Sheepsalt · July 1st, 2008

Well, don't give up!! Put together a website & a marketing strategy - if the stuff is great, you should be able to get the product moving with the right plan.

Uncle John · July 1st, 2008

I was a sales rep for many years and if I took on a new line (like Yours) it would of had to have had an existing sales base of which you would pay me 5% of any sales in that territory. We spend our money to drive to or fly to these company's to sell them. We have built up trust with them and the products we represent. You may have the greatest ideas in the world, but sell some first. I' m not trying to put a damper on your idea, just telling you whats out there,
Good luck

AustinJeff · July 1st, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virginia


	I believe it will sell at least one million wholesale and up. Trust me, the teens and the college kids will eat this one up. Any help from anyone here.

Sounds like an idea ripe for viral marketing. Have you thought about setting up a website and doing your own marketing (or hiring someone to do it?)

Also, it's hard to tell since I don't know anything about the design, but you mentioned that it was a parody. This has the potential to cause intellectual property problems. Even if you are able to avoid legal problems from whoever or whatever you are parodying, you may find it very difficult to protect your own intellectual property. When your design begins to get popular, the big companies will notice it and some will probably copy it. This is hard to fight even with a completely original design, but with a parody, I think it would be nearly impossible.

Anyway, the web viral marketing thing might be a good way to get a good number of high-profit sales quickly, before the knock-offs appear. And you could add a few designs and use it as an opportunity to build a brand and a customer base.

tshirt0mania · July 1st, 2008

Have you tried submitting to sites like Threadless or shirts.woot.com? Firstly, you'll be able to know if the design is really going to be a hit. Secondly, they pay the designer by the piece sold, I think a great design would be able to make a decent income with that .

Just my 2 cents :-)
and welcome to t-shirtforums.com :-)

Virginia · July 2nd, 2008

Thanks for the reply. I'm already selling a few the first week on the net. I have a website. So, all I need is a connection to the hotshot sales rep on the inside like I mentioned earlier.

Thanks for all your help and welcome.

Billy