[ssbriones87]

I would like to hear some opinions on just going with a fullfilment service and paying the $15/shirt overhead for all the benefits, OR, getting shirts and a local screen printer and getting a shopping cart for my website, and doing my own customer service and shipping and everything else myself.

does anyone have experience with trying both?

any opinions from people who are doing one or the other?

would it end up costing about the same, or more, per shirt to handle all the extra stuff that the fulfillment service would handle for me?


Thank you all in advance any input is greatly appreciated.

 

[Rodney]

There are a few posts about this in past threads, this should be a good start while you are waiting for more posts here: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/general-t-shirt-selling-discussion/t3181.html

 

[marcelolopez]

I started selling on Cafe Press, then moved to my basement,
bought a screen press, heat press, vinyl cutter, etc..
There is more work to be done that I expected, but I would not go back to rely just in Cafe Press. With all this said, I've just sold a small amount of t-shirts and mugs.
I do this as a part time. I'd rather get my hands dirty and screen print by myself than direct my customers CP.

 

[SBEMedia]

It really depends what you want the focal point of your business to be. If you are short staffed, i.e. you are the manager/printer/marketer, etc., then using a fulfillment center to produce your products and you focus on sales would probably be a good path, at least initially. This would allow you to experience fairly rapid growth with little to no capital outlay, other than what's required for marketing. Once you experience an uptick in sales then do a cost analysis on purchasing the equipment based upon proven sales. Budget it out and make a decision on more concrete information.

 

[burchb]

Well, to quote The Cat from Allice in Wonderland: "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."
IE - that is the goal of your "side business" ? Do you do it for friends and family or do you truly want to make a living from it?

I'm in the same situation, but am choosing to limit basement operations in favor of outsourcing.

My story vs. my plans....
I used to (even as recent at 10/4/08) did heat transfer from laser prints in my basement and been very happy, but very small. About 300 shirts a year from one customer and another 100 from other small runs.

HOW IT STARTED... In 2005 I explored t-shirts for a youth group my son and I belonged to. 100+ kids. CP & others were too expensive and required long lead times. Local print required longer lead times. I bought a Knight heatpress on eBay, some transfer paper from Airwaves (luckily I work 10 min from their warehouse) and t-shirts from a local logowear shop. Final product cost $1.50 tee + $.45 transfer = $1.95. I sold them from a table at an event for $10 and sold out all 100 shirts. They now automatically add $10 to all event registartions and everyone gets a shirt. For 2008-09 school year that would be about 400 shirts, or $3200 profit. I figure about 40+ hours of work. (Designing, printing, cutting, weeding, pressing.) $80/hr is nothing to sneeze at, but I want to expand this and this model isn't scalable.

MY PLANS.... I design, post to my website (not CP or others) and do target marketing to drive people to the website. Clients order and pay via PayPal. I would outsource printing and shipping. My goal is to sell to similar groups around the country. Shirts are bought online before they are even printed, so I'm not hunting down funds from someone across the country. I also spend 5 minutes customized the design for them with their name and or dates.

To compare recent order: 3 colors, 2 locations, white youth tee
Basement: $1.95 to produce & hand deliver for free = total cost $214.50. Revenue $1100 = $885.50 (8 hrs work = $110/hr)

Outsource: $1.50 for shirt + $3 for 3 colors/2 locations = $4.50 shirt. Free delivery = $495 - $1100 rev = $605 profit (1 hr work = $605/hr)

WHY GIVE UP THE PROFIT.... freedom of time and space. I can do all this from anywhere, don't have to spend all night doing it and can scale it to multiple clients. So, I focus on finding and keeping clients, let someone else be a t-shirt printing expert. FYI ... my inspriation is the book "The 4 Hour Work Week" where the author describes a similar plan for his nutritional suppliment. Take less profit (but still enough), own the business, but run it and use the money to finance your life.

Hope this helps.

 

[pjb84]

Well, to quote The Cat from Allice in Wonderland: "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."
IE - that is the goal of your "side business" ? Do you do it for friends and family or do you truly want to make a living from it?

I'm in the same situation, but am choosing to limit basement operations in favor of outsourcing.

My story vs. my plans....
I used to (even as recent at 10/4/08) did heat transfer from laser prints in my basement and been very happy, but very small. About 300 shirts a year from one customer and another 100 from other small runs.

HOW IT STARTED... In 2005 I explored t-shirts for a youth group my son and I belonged to. 100+ kids. CP & others were too expensive and required long lead times. Local print required longer lead times. I bought a Knight heatpress on eBay, some transfer paper from Airwaves (luckily I work 10 min from their warehouse) and t-shirts from a local logowear shop. Final product cost $1.50 tee + $.45 transfer = $1.95. I sold them from a table at an event for $10 and sold out all 100 shirts. They now automatically add $10 to all event registartions and everyone gets a shirt. For 2008-09 school year that would be about 400 shirts, or $3200 profit. I figure about 40+ hours of work. (Designing, printing, cutting, weeding, pressing.) $80/hr is nothing to sneeze at, but I want to expand this and this model isn't scalable.

MY PLANS.... I design, post to my website (not CP or others) and do target marketing to drive people to the website. Clients order and pay via PayPal. I would outsource printing and shipping. My goal is to sell to similar groups around the country. Shirts are bought online before they are even printed, so I'm not hunting down funds from someone across the country. I also spend 5 minutes customized the design for them with their name and or dates.

To compare recent order: 3 colors, 2 locations, white youth tee
Basement: $1.95 to produce & hand deliver for free = total cost $214.50. Revenue $1100 = $885.50 (8 hrs work = $110/hr)

Outsource: $1.50 for shirt + $3 for 3 colors/2 locations = $4.50 shirt. Free delivery = $495 - $1100 rev = $605 profit (1 hr work = $605/hr)

WHY GIVE UP THE PROFIT.... freedom of time and space. I can do all this from anywhere, don't have to spend all night doing it and can scale it to multiple clients. So, I focus on finding and keeping clients, let someone else be a t-shirt printing expert. FYI ... my inspriation is the book "The 4 Hour Work Week" where the author describes a similar plan for his nutritional suppliment. Take less profit (but still enough), own the business, but run it and use the money to finance your life.

Hope this helps.

Great info, but I was wondering who you are planning on using for outsourceing with these numbers?

You make a good point.

 

[Daniel Slatkin]

I always advise people to start with a fulfillment service this way you can test the waters so to say without shelling out thousands of dollars on your set up. Once you know that your designs sell and that your marketing is in place then go out on your own. Most fulfillment services offer you a Zero risk way to see if you have what it takes to Succeed in the T-shirt design business. Just make sure you use an affiliate service that gives you accesses to your customers contact information, that way if you do move on to using your own system you can take your loyal customers with you.

I started out using fulfillment services and had great success, so I decided to go out on my own. Now just over two years later I am starting to see my investment pay off and have moved into the profit zone, but it did take just about two years to pay off the start up cost of equipment, Web site, Wearhouse full of inventory, etc. etc etc.... . On the other hand depending on the fulfillment service you hit profit on your first sale or two. In my personal opinion you have nothing to loose by using severial fulfillment services the more places people can find your designs the better chance you have to sell them. I still have severial sites set up with other fulfillment services and just look at it as free money.

 

[jkoman]

This post is just what I was looking for... I am about to go online with my website, T-shirts will be available through my Printfection store linked to my site. I will also have a page on my website for bulk items with an order sheet featuring prices, products with codes, and colors...that shouldn't be an issue with the fulfillment company should it?
I am using 32 units and above as a bulk order. I have a local printer who will do T-shirts for me at roughly seven dollars apiece printed on two sides any color T-shirt up to XXL...72 minimum order... two color changes...one design. Does that sound like a good deal? Any ideas wold be appreciated. I am hoping to sell enough in advance to allow bulk orders as I have limited capital.