[Major_Grooves]

I'd like to sell my t-shirts in Australia, but the postage costs from Spreadshirt.com are a little high.

US$10.99 = AUS$14.89 = £5.94

Which would be enough to put some people off.

My brother is in Oz just now and reckons the backpackers would love the designs. He said that if I got some posters made up, he would put them round the backpackers hostels.

So, should I mention on the poster what the postage costs are and say something along the lines of 'I know the postage is pricey - so you should buy 2 to make it worthwhile'?

or should I just not mention it on the poster and allow them to visit the site then work it out once they go to the checkout?

I would also have to mention the fact that prices are in US$ (see other thread re this)

 

[monkeylantern]

That is pricey! You can send from Oz to the US for about $AUS6-7,

The problem with backpackers is they usually don't have a fixed address....2 weeks postal + no fixed address seems like chargebacks waiting to happen, claiming no goods arrived.

And usually backpackers are a) poor, b) the sort of people who are out to see the world, not go to Sydney then import US tshirts.

 

[Solmu]

I agree with monkeylantern - to be perfectly honest I don't think it's going to work.

 

[Major_Grooves]

I agree with monkeylantern - to be perfectly honest I don't think it's going to work.

Aye you're right. I've already emailed my brother to say so. Could get some regular sales there... maybe.

 

[funtimesx]

Aye you're right. I've already emailed my brother to say so. Could get some regular sales there... maybe.

Maybe you should keep it in mind though as a "back burner" idea? If you could partner with someone here to produce the shirts "on demand" for that market then you could kind use two different fulfilment services for your two different markets?

Just a thought.

 

[Solmu]

Yeah, I was thinking along the same lines as Kath - Australian sales are certainly an option for you at some point, I just don't think this method will work.

You're probably better off concentrating on the local market, then if that works out you can look into getting shirts printed in Australia and distributed to local retail outlets to sell, if that's something you're interested in. If you're established in the UK first that will give you 1) The capital, and 2) The sales record to have people want to stock your stuff.

Also, if you move away from spreadshirt at some point you'll be able to do regular internet sales to Australia more easily, as your shipping cost will decrease a little.

 

[Rodney]

So, should I mention on the poster what the postage costs are and say something along the lines of 'I know the postage is pricey - so you should buy 2 to make it worthwhile'?

As a general rule, you shouldn't mention negative language or tell your customer something on your site is too pricey.

You could offend your potential customers (not all customers are who you think they are, so telling them they can't afford something could put them off before they even reach your shop).

People are smart enough to visit a shop and decide whether the shipping costs are too much on their own. They will weigh the costs of shipping with how cool your design is (and how they can't get it anywhere else in the world) and make their own decision. If you weigh in on that decision with "yes, it's pricey", you could tip the tables in the wrong direction

 

[Major_Grooves]

Maybe you should keep it in mind though as a "back burner" idea? If you could partner with someone here to produce the shirts "on demand" for that market then you could kind use two different fulfilment services for your two different markets?

Just a thought.

Unfortunately the back burner goes out in a few weeks, as he is returning from his year-long trip to Oz!

Maybe if sales go well here I could team up with one of you guys for Oz. Afterall, about half the people I have interacted with on the forum so far seem to be from Melbourne! That place must be swimming in cool t-shirts!

 

[Rodney]

half the people I have interacted with on the forum so far seem to be from Melbourne! That place must be swimming in cool t-shirts!

I know...makes me want to take a vacation Australia (not just for the t-shirts of course, but it seems like a nice bonus )

 

[monkeylantern]

Melbourne is the lovliest place I've ever been. And I been around....

And we are, apparently, a Tshirt Mecca.

 

[Rodney]

I just reread the pricing conversions in the original post. I charge $12 USD for international shipping and haven't had any problem with it. That's just about the actual cost for USPS Global Priority Mail (by weight).

 

[Solmu]

It costs $5.25 for a small Global Priority flat rate envelope, and if you're a packing god you can fit a 3XL in that. A large envelope is $9.50, and you can easily fit at least three shirts of any size in that - more if they're smaller sizes.

Speaking for myself, I won't pay USD $11-$12 to ship a shirt. Two, maybe (I just did pay Jinx $11 for two) - but not one.

 

[Rodney]

A large envelope is $9.50, and you can easily fit at least three shirts of any size in that - more if they're smaller sizes.

A large flatrate or a large tyvek? I was talking about a large tyvek by weight (not the flatrate kind).

I do sometimes ship in the flatrate envelopes, but I don't like trying to squeeze shirts into small envelopes that were made for paper. I'll sometimes ship one via flatrate envelope, but never 2 or more (hoodies are just out of the question )

 

[monkeylantern]

It's not an enormous obstacle to aim for 2-3 sales a day....then you can cut a 1/3rd or more off those rates at business rates. A good short-medium goal for a small seller.


EDIT: Of course, being an idiot, I'm talking about the other way around. You can safely ignore me.

 

[Solmu]

A large flatrate or a large tyvek? I was talking about a large tyvek by weight (not the flatrate kind).

The large/small cardboard flat-rate.

I do sometimes ship in the flatrate envelopes, but I don't like trying to squeeze shirts into small envelopes that were made for paper. I'll sometimes ship one via flatrate envelope, but never 2 or more (hoodies are just out of the question )

While I agree that tyvek is better, I think the cardboard is good enough, and saves the customer money. I've had lots of books sent in those envelopes (without a problem), which are a lot more vulnerable than t-shirts. Just the other week someone sent me 17 books spread across 5 envelopes - by far the cheapest and most effective way to get them here (surface would have only been 20% cheaper, and taken 2-3 months (USPS will tell you 4-6 weeks, but that is an outright lie) instead of 7 days).

When packed full they do sometimes get small tears at the corners (although I don't recall that ever happening with t-shirts), which is arguably not the best for your image - but on the other hand I think most people would just say "bloody postal service, never takes care of my package" and leave it at that. It's not like the t-shirt will be harmed.

I could see a hoodie being a problem, but haven't tried it.

Basically I agree that tyvek presents better (although I also know a lot of people who hate tyvek and incorrectly perceive it as flimsy because it is so thin), but I think the priority is to save the customer the most money you can while still delivering a quality product - flat-rate envelopes still allow you to deliver a quality product, but at a better price.

I'm not talking as a seller here, but as the stingy customer who hates paying more for postage than he has to. It's less relevant at the large size (where we're talking a price difference of about $2 - $2 I'd still rather save if possible, $2 that could be the difference between me buying or not buying), and more with sites that don't use the small size at all (so one girl's t-shirt costs $12 to ship... great).

If we wanted to get back to "What Would Amazon.com Do?" - Threadless use the flat rate envelopes

 

[monkeylantern]

If we wanted to get back to "What Would Amazon.com Do?" - Threadless use the flat rate envelopes

Order more than 5 shirts from Threadless, and they way they jam them into a flat rate, scrunched up and crinkled, I think has a lot to be desired.

 

[Solmu]

Order more than 5 shirts from Threadless, and they way they jam them into a flat rate, scrunched up and crinkled, I think has a lot to be desired.

It didn't particularly bother me, but I can see how it would leave a bad impression.

The thing that annoyed me when they did that was that they fit all the t-shirts into one large flat rate envelope... and charged me as if they hadn't (I think I paid about $18... so twice what it cost them).

 

[monkeylantern]

The thing that annoyed me when they did that was that they fit all the t-shirts into one large flat rate envelope... and charged me as if they hadn't (I think I paid about $18... so twice what it cost them).

Agreed. Postage hiking is fine for a small amount to cover packaging....but not when the packaging is free, and the hike is $15.

 

[Rodney]

Order more than 5 shirts from Threadless, and they way they jam them into a flat rate, scrunched up and crinkled, I think has a lot to be desired.

I just loaded up at threadless (more than 5 tees) recently with their new site design and $10 sale and I wasn't too impressed with the packaging...and I'm in the US!

I guess thinking back at it though, the poor packaging doesn't make me less likely to shop at threadless...although their site is an exception because of they way it is structured.

 

[monkeylantern]

I just loaded up at threadless (more than 5 tees) recently with their new site design and $10 sale and I wasn't too impressed with the packaging...and I'm in the US!

Especially when their rivals are doing things like this: