Is the T-shirt industry still a viable option
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I would say that all depends on the target market/niche, demographic, and region you intend on selling to. I don't think you'd get wealthy but you can certainly make money. I'm small time for what its worth but I am sure some of the larger operations can chime in with more insight.
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Margins are low with POD because you aren't doing much of the work, so that makes it all about volume. To get a lot of volume, one will probably need to spend significant time and money on marketing, AND know how to do it effectively. Most people don't understand that last part of the puzzle, including me.
If you have a unique design approach to the niche, you might build a following ... of course, with the POD world being what it is, it will be a following of people selling their version of your ideas, or even just using your art.
It is not, and never was, a get rich quick scheme--despite what some have claimed along the way. I guess they made money selling How To Videos, so they at least got rich ;-)
All that said, lots of people buy pet related stuff. It is a large market. Of course, there are also a lot of people selling into that market. But if all you have is another Pug Life shirt, don't bother. For the price you'll need to charge for a POD produced shirt, you better have a somewhat unique idea/design that isn't already being mass produced and sold for less than you will be paying the POD.
If you have a unique design approach to the niche, you might build a following ... of course, with the POD world being what it is, it will be a following of people selling their version of your ideas, or even just using your art.
It is not, and never was, a get rich quick scheme--despite what some have claimed along the way. I guess they made money selling How To Videos, so they at least got rich ;-)
All that said, lots of people buy pet related stuff. It is a large market. Of course, there are also a lot of people selling into that market. But if all you have is another Pug Life shirt, don't bother. For the price you'll need to charge for a POD produced shirt, you better have a somewhat unique idea/design that isn't already being mass produced and sold for less than you will be paying the POD.
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Expect to work harder then you would have guessed. Establish a written list of how you plan to market your products. If that seems doable continue by writing a business plan. Get feedback on your plan.
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It's depend what you sell and how you sell, it should be something different than market or competitor, in future you can make it brand which will highlight in the market forever, you definitely make good money for the same.
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Lets clear this one a little bit...
75 millions of dog t-shirts... Customers have a lot to chose from. To buy from you, they need to find you in a search of 75 millions different t-shirts. Usually the recipe for sales would sound like that: do Instagram, do Facebook, do social network. Those networks are flooded with that t-shirt crap...
But lets think about this a little.
We both have the same crapy dog t-shirt which we would like to sell to the same customer.
Here is your take on this: Buy this nice looking, best material, fast delivery,satisfaction guaranteed t-shirt and all your friends would like it!
Here is my take on this: We love animals. We can't imagine how would it be without our dog saying hello each time when we come home with their happy tail wiggling all around and making noises when they see us. We can't imagine how lonely life would be without those sad eyes when we go to work in the morning. We can't imagine life without our dogs, cause we live for them and they live for us. We make this t-shirts to express our love and gratitude for them. We truly beleive in what we are doing and we show that on our products as well. Buy from us, show your love to dogs.
First of all, my english is crap. Second, from which one would you buy t-shirt? Third, people don't buy products, they buy stories. Forth, now we can open topic about branding.
It all depends what you would like to do, and in which direction you would like to go... But the question is still the same. From which one would you rather buy dog t-shirt?
75 millions of dog t-shirts... Customers have a lot to chose from. To buy from you, they need to find you in a search of 75 millions different t-shirts. Usually the recipe for sales would sound like that: do Instagram, do Facebook, do social network. Those networks are flooded with that t-shirt crap...
But lets think about this a little.
We both have the same crapy dog t-shirt which we would like to sell to the same customer.
Here is your take on this: Buy this nice looking, best material, fast delivery,satisfaction guaranteed t-shirt and all your friends would like it!
Here is my take on this: We love animals. We can't imagine how would it be without our dog saying hello each time when we come home with their happy tail wiggling all around and making noises when they see us. We can't imagine how lonely life would be without those sad eyes when we go to work in the morning. We can't imagine life without our dogs, cause we live for them and they live for us. We make this t-shirts to express our love and gratitude for them. We truly beleive in what we are doing and we show that on our products as well. Buy from us, show your love to dogs.
First of all, my english is crap. Second, from which one would you buy t-shirt? Third, people don't buy products, they buy stories. Forth, now we can open topic about branding.
It all depends what you would like to do, and in which direction you would like to go... But the question is still the same. From which one would you rather buy dog t-shirt?
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i've maybe seen one doggo wearing a tee in my life (maybe none, can't remember)
but what i have seen is doggo's with water packs, backpacks, etc.
think about other avenues to apply your brand to,
because i think tees could be part of it, but would be a hard slog
but what i have seen is doggo's with water packs, backpacks, etc.
think about other avenues to apply your brand to,
because i think tees could be part of it, but would be a hard slog
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Rain and cold weather gear for dogs?
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PorkChopHarry used to sell some of his designs on doggy clothing from American Apparel
@seacookie brings up good points. Most purchases in a popular niche will be low priced on cheap shirts, and largely the same designs/ideas no matter which of the millions of places you buy it.
To play that game you need low production costs, which means economy of scale, which means money to invest upfront on a sizeable screen printed batch of product.
The other approach is to go more "boutique" with designs, styles, story, and quality that has some personality and uniqueness. Higher quality shirts, prints, and price points. If you do a good job on all of that, you might get some product into mom&pop brick&mortar shops (at wholesale pricing). This path might slowly develop a following, especially if you can keep it moving forward with new designs that fit the brand and niche.
POD though? To me it is too expensive per unit for anything other than testing the waters for your designs and starting the ball rolling. Which is always a GREAT idea: test, test, test before investing in equipment or printed inventory.
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