FatHamsterGirl

I'm in a bit of a wholesale bind. Recently I've been getting a few e-mails about wholesaling my tees out. They cost me a lot to screen print right now (I haven't yet mastered my heat press) so I only sell them about $10 over what it costs me to print them.....about $13-15 per shirt (selling at $24-25). I was thinking of selling them wholesale at $15 per shirt, but this seems high to me. However, if I go any lower I will be paying them to buy them from me.

If I get the heat press up and running beautifully I will be able to sell them cheaper....should I give an option? How would I do that professionally?

Any ideas?

 

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DickTees.net

Retailers are not going to buy shirts at wholesale for $15. It is my experience that a lot even scoff at $6-7 each, but that is more in the price range of what they are looking for. Here's a suggestion. I would look into options of outsourcing larger orders. Hook up with a screen printer that will give you good bulk prices. Then you can offer a more realistic wholesale price to the retailer. Granted you will be making less money off of the merchandise, but at the same time you will getting larger numbers of your product out to the public. I guess you'd have to look at it as a trade off for heightened exposure.

 

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jdr8271

$15 is too much for wholesale. Wholesale should be around $10 for your shirts in my opinion.

Who screen prints your shirts? $13-$15 for screen printed shirts is too high. how many shirts are you ordering at a time? I guess it must have been a small order? What type of shirts are you printing on? I would try to find a cheaper way to produce your shirts if I were you.

I wouldn't give wholesale customers an option of screen printed vs heat transfer...in my opinion that is unprofessional. Just sell them one or the other. Looking at your designs however, you will not be able to use inkjet/laserjet heat transfers on most of your designs since you print on dark t-shirts. You would have to invest in plasticol transfers. You would have to buy quite a few transfers of each design (to keep the price down), since you're shirts seem to be up to 5 colors.

Another thing that you might consider doing, is offering a drop ship program for online and mail order stores to sell your products, since $15 may be more than most companies would like to pay for a t-shirt.

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FatHamsterGirl

Thank you! I really appreciate your help.

I've looked through several local screen printers but I can't seem to find the quality that I'm looking for in the screens. The tees that I have printed now are soft and smooth, they feel like transfers but slightly thicker. They also do a great job if getting the detail in my designs without any bleeding (they look *exactly* like the computer image). Does anyone know of a screen printer (on or offline) that can create this same look and feel?

 

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Ptees.com

How much would a high end retailer (i.e. Urban Outfitters) be willing to pay for wholesale printed shirts?

 

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AeonTees

Hey there,


I have to concur with the earlier suggestion that you give plastisol transfers a shot. What problems are you having with the transfer press? Once you get around that, you can order plastisol transfers from places like silver mountain graphics and others for a fraction of the price you are currently paying. Also, you will be quite amazed by the feel and quality of the transfers once applied.

If you would like to offer wholesale rates, this really might be the best option for you until you can find a screenprinter who will give you the quality you seek at the price you need.

Peace out,
Chris.

 

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DickTees.net

Quote: Originally Posted by Ptees.com How much would a high end retailer (i.e. Urban Outfitters) be willing to pay for wholesale printed shirts?

Probably a lot less than lower end retailers. my partner printed shirts up that would ultimately be for sale in Hot Topic. They wanted some insanely low wholesale price per shirt. Something like $3-4 a shirt. Huge corporate entities do their best to get things for next to nothing.

 

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jdr8271

The way to counter that $3 - $4 price is to offer low minimums. Artsy little boutique shops, and online stores (the two groups I wholesale to) will pay $7 a shirt, I have found. With them, the bigger issue is that most people have high minimums that they can't afford.

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FatHamsterGirl

Thank you! I think I will give those plastisol transfers a looking into.

Quote: Originally Posted by DickTees.net Probably a lot less than lower end retailers. my partner printed shirts up that would ultimately be for sale in Hot Topic. They wanted some insanely low wholesale price per shirt. Something like $3-4 a shirt. Huge corporate entities do their best to get things for next to nothing.

I've actually been thinking about approaching Hot Topic and Newbury Comics. At least in the near future. Would you recommend just calling and asking to speak with a buyer? How would I get in touch with a headquarters office?

 

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