[Ray's Custom Tee]

hello everyone. i have been in the t-shirt printing industry for about 6 months, and am glad to say i am in the green now. I use an epson c86 to print my transfers. i want to expand to a larger format epson printer. any suggestions? i would prefer one that uses the same ink cartridges as the c86, the four color one. also, im having troubles selling shirts. i work in an urban area, and sell mostly hip-hop shirts. i want to expand to meet all tastes. i am looking to sell shirts on the internet now. whats the best way to do that? open up my own domain? i was looking at ebay, but the market seems oversaturated. any help would be appreciated. thanks for reading.

 

[Rinkukun]

I have a site, and I use paypal. Its nice, the buyer doesn't have to have paypal either, just a credit card.

This is where I am too, finding places to sell, if you find something out tell me.

 

[skulltshirts]

I would say that starting a website is very time consuming, but worth it once it starts getting traffic. If you can do your own website, you are better off. Then you wont have to pay a web developer.
Buying and hosting a website is so common place now, but getting traffic is the hard part.
You can set your site up with paypal's shopping cart. Its pretty simple and free to use if you have a business account with them.

Do you make you own designs? Or do you purchase designs already printed?
Good luck on your ventures.
Thomas

 

[badalou]

Hi, If your using the c86 it uses a diffrent ink than the wide format (I am an Ex epson Rep) The 1280 and now the 1800 use a dye ink (8 colors) you c86 has been replace by the c88 which uses the pigment ink. Actually better than dye because it is more water resistant thena the dye. In order to sell shirts you need to get out and do it. How are you approcing the business. Retail? Wholesale? I do both but better at the wholesale end. what kind of designs are you doing? Lou

 

[Ray's Custom Tee]

^ Thanks for the responses. My pops runs a grocery store, and he sells them behind the counter for me. I have been averaging about 12 shirts a week in sales, at $15 a pop. You have to understand that I have been in this business for less than 6 months, and do it part time, so I'd like to think thats not too bad. I mostly sell my shirts to the urban market (rappers, athletes, any pop culture thats in right now). I'm basically looking to sell wholesale, but I don't have any connections. Also, I am having trouble securing images. To be totally honest, I am just getting pics off of search engines, and using PS to resize and touch it up. I'm pretty sure this is illegal, and plan to go legit, but do not know where I can purchase images. I want to be as professional as I can. Any suggestions? Thanks everyone, for all your input.

 

[Rinkukun]

Yeah thats illigal on a few levels. 12 shirts a week? Wow, thats pretty tight.
You could be a reseller, pick some people from this site, buy shirts from them and then resell them.

 

[suzieh]

Ray I really suggest you read some business books. You are off to a great start.

I've suggested a few books here and so has someone else if you search my user id "suzieh". The Guerilla series of marketing books are a quick read. There's plenty of free information on how to market or promote your business or website available online.

Try "about.com" or Entrepreneur magazine, the US Small Business Administration. Your library is a great resource. There are books from Nolo Press that are easy to read books on trademarks and copyrights.

Just some suggestions to get you going. Oh, how about selling to other little stores (by they way, our family had a corner market for decades).

Maybe you can do some flyers if you're willing to do some custom t-shirts?