[RatedOG]

Hi all,
I have a family member who is wanting me to print their designs to sell in their store. I'm excited to get some printing jobs because I need to start getting experience on the press. My only concern is that they are wanting to only pay upfront for my supplies and cost, and then pay me a percent as they sell. I'm worried that I'm relying on someone elses design to sell before I get any sort of money above my cost of printing.

I'm concerned and would like to hear your thoughts please. Has anyone done jobs like this with family? I know mixing friends and family isn't always a good idea.
And that if there are unsold items I would lose out on the time it took me to print. The plus is they are really good at marketing and they have a store front.
Thanks!

 

[wc33144]

If you do it. you are going to lose your time, money and family members

 

[ShirlandDesign]

Personally I hate to take responsibility with out control. If you have no control over the product it seems unfair that you have to assume the financial responsibility. Paying the freight for taking your own shots is life, paying for someone else to take their shots is just not fair. Also, working with family is really risky. If it all goes bad, they are still family and you can't distance yourself from the problem. I can understand that you have an opportunity to get some much needed real world experience, but I would at least want some input on design. Good luck, your choices are kind of a biotch.

 

[RatedOG]

Thanks for the replies, It is sounding more and more like a bad idea. I don't think I want to take the chance.

 

[csw]

If you don't have paying jobs to run this seems a no brainer to me. You aren't really out anything but your time. Run the shirts - if they don't sell you gained valuable experience running your press and allowed a family member to take a chance on an idea that they may not have been able to if they had to pay the full print price up front. If they do sell - then you get all of the above plus the bonus of getting a percentage of the sale.

 

[kimura-mma]

As a printer, you're providing a service and you deserve to get paid for the work you do. If at some point you want to launch your own clothing line, then it may make sense. You would be choosing to do work at cost with the potential benefit of profiting off retail sales. But it doesn't seem like that's what you're looking for right now. So don't get dragged into it just to appease family.

With that said, you don't want to pass up an opportunity to make money. If your family member has a legit profitable store front, then maybe there is a deal to be made. Just explain you can't afford to work for free. So maybe you get paid your costs plus whatever profit you feel is appropriate. Then agree on an appropriate split for after the shirts are sold (40/60, 30/70, etc).

Hope this helps and good luck with your venture!

 

[RatedOG]

Lol, after the first two replies I had almost convinced myself not to do it. Then the last posts make me feel like I am being a douche for considering not doing it.

I really need to get real world printing experience. Sigh.

I'm thinking of pitching the idea of a 50% deposit, then small monthly payments even if inventory isn't moving. Haha what would I repo the unsold shirts.

Thanks for all the replies. It helps!

 

[kimura-mma]

I really need to get real world printing experience. Sigh.

I think you answered your question right here.

If you're still learning, you're not really in position to do work for paying clients yet. Well, you can. But you would be risking returns if the quality isn't up to standard.

If you just did work for practice, where will all your printed shirts end up? In the garbage? In a closet? Giveaways to friends and family? Either way, you're eating the production costs.

So maybe doing some work at cost with the potential of profiting at retail isn't such a bad deal. You get the practice, your supplies are paid for, plus you get a chance to make some money if/when the shirts are sold.