Discuss the fun task of marketing a t-shirt shop. Where to advertise, local marketing tips, word of mouth, press releases, search engine marketing, keyword advertising, magazines, etc.
i am about to launch a t-shirt line and my manufacturer has a 24 unit minimum per sku#. i wanted to find a strategy that allows me know what sizes people want b4 I pay for them to be made. i thought about pre-orders with marketing hype for initial launch, but what about on a ongoing basis (not just new design releases)? does that work or should i just bit the bullet and pay for the inventory and hope all sizes male/female sell?
if i create enough hype to get pre-orders but only 10 come in out of the 24 needed to place order, how much time should those 10 people wait to get their paid for shirts? cause i would at that point pay the difference for the remaining 14 shirts and have them in inventory.
Have you considered getting the printer to print you up Plastisol transfers? That way you can order the 24 or whatever. You will need a heat press (or access to one, someoen local may be willing to do the pressing for a minimal fee)
Then you can get away with either on time ordering of the garments you need, depending on the supplier and press the designs to the required size/colour/style as you need.
Have a definite date for when the items are shipping and if you don't get enough orders for the print I would give everyone a refund or at least ask them if they are interested in waiting longer.
Preorders are good when your starting out but once you have the money to print the shirts I would suggest on not doing preorders.
Also I have found that silk-screening is the best quality of shirt and I wouldn't do t-jet or plastisol transfers.
Because the plastisol (same ink used for plastisol screen printing) is screen printed on to a special release paper (the same way it would be screened on to a Tee) then partially dried.
This can then be heat pressed on to a Tee shirt. It is the same as screen printing only instead of screening it on to the tee directly it is screened on to the paper to be later pressed (eg becomes a "transfer")
This way you can just hold X number of the transfers ready to press to which ever garment you need as the orders come in. The end product is the same as a screen print because that is exactly what it is... and what it uses as opposed to an inkjet or laser style transfer which is a digital print not a screen print.
Now perhaps you would like to explain your statement "Also I have found that silk-screening is the best quality of shirt and I wouldn't do t-jet or plastisol transfers." when you clearly have no idea what a t-jet or a plastisol transfer is?
(To save you the next "smarty pants" question a T-Jet is actually a direct to garment printer and not a transfer at all. And has the same sort of feel as waterbased screen print, (most screen printing is done with plastisol not waterbased and actually has more of a "feel" than the T-Jet would).
"Because the plastisol (same ink used for plastisol screen printing) is screen printed ..."
alright I've got you up until this point, you are right they are exactly the same.
"...on to a special release paper (the same way it would be screened on to a Tee) then partially dried. This can then be heat pressed on to a Tee shirt."
and they are different hence why they have different names for them.
End result being the same. It is effectively a plastisol screen print and would suit the original posters needs quite well. Notice you left the T-Jet alone this time.....
perhaps you should stick with what you know, site design. You have some good looking designs.
my final comment on this jon "better to be thought of a fool than to open your mouth and prove it"
i am about to launch a t-shirt line and my manufacturer has a 24 unit minimum per sku#. i wanted to find a strategy that allows me know what sizes people want b4 I pay for them to be made. i thought about pre-orders with marketing hype for initial launch, but what about on a ongoing basis (not just new design releases)? does that work or should i just bit the bullet and pay for the inventory and hope all sizes male/female sell?
if i create enough hype to get pre-orders but only 10 come in out of the 24 needed to place order, how much time should those 10 people wait to get their paid for shirts? cause i would at that point pay the difference for the remaining 14 shirts and have them in inventory.
How are you marketing/selling?
Online, or face to face?
For online sales I do pre-orders a lot through online forums that fit my target market. I don't SPAM the forums, I follow the rules. I'll post a ship date and stick to it. If there is not enough pre-orders, I can always refund everyone (never had to do this). Just say there was a problem with production.
In your case where you are new at this people do not know who you are. So you might only get a few pre-orders. But I would still fill the orders cause someone might (you can ask) post up their shirt and say how good it is. This will get more orders for you.
Face to face sales you will need to bite the bullet and print the shirts. Most people when it comes to tees are impulse buyers. Need to find events close to you (200 miles radius) that again fit your target market. This is a great way to get fast feedback on your shirts, cause you can ask the person the question "why are you not buying".
to play the devil's advocate, I would avoid doing pre-orders, especially if you're a new company with no established customer base. if I came across a website I never heard of before and saw they were doing pre-orders I would immediately think, "these guys have no money and are trying to get enough orders for a minimum t-shirt order." but I guess it varies from person to person and of course on the quality of the design. I might pre-order a shirt from an unknown company if the design was cool enough and if they listed a specific ship-by date, but not from someone who gives no indication when they're gonna ship your t-shirt to you.
Gaseousclay makes some good points, I think you really should speak with your screen printer as to their ability to produce Plastisol Transfers for you. You can then meet their 24 minimum with small outlay, outlay a small amount on a collection of sizes/garments you intend to offer (generally think larger sizes for "male" designs, smaller sizes for "female" designs.) Then you need a heat press or access to one.
Order comes in you take your blank, press the design pack and send (can be same day) Customer doesn't need to know the process you use to achieve this (eg you don't need to tell them you have x number of larges in such and such a design sitting there, you just make them to order)
For this to work you will also need to look in to a couple of things... Blank supplies, what are the minimums and how long to get them (do they keep them in stock or ship from a warehouse?) Do you have a backup for blanks if you need one or two in a hurry? How long does it take the screen printer to fill your order if you need more?
I use the screen print to transfer method and it works great. I use a company called Artbrands out of Columbus Ohio and they are great to work with on customs. I generally try and print multiple designs at a time to save money. In general, each transfer costs me less than $0.50 and the quality is excellent. This way I can offer multiple shirt colors as well as sizes and styles for each design as I don't make the shirt until the order is placed. The quality is just like direct screen printing! I also use S&S Activewear as my garment supplier. If you order online there are no minimums and you get case pricing on single garment orders. I'm one shipping day away from one of their warehouses. This method allows me to basically have a Just In Time inventory system.
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Strategies on pre-order selling 
