[Binary01]

i'm thinking that a 24 min per graphic/shirt color should be fine..... or should i make it 12 this way they can pick more designs

also figured that $1200 would be the min at which an order should be placed...... simply because i dont print my gear so i have to deal with the printers mins..... and still make a few bucks...

curious at what amount to stores usually buy at....like a small "urban" store..you think that a $1200 min would scare them?.....

b

 

[Comin'OutSwingin]

It depends on what the terms were.

If you're expecting up-front payment (payment when you ship), then I think $1200 is a little high for a new brand.

But, if you're giving them terms, then it might be ok. Still high, but they might be more willing to take a chance on your stuff if they know that they don't have to pay for it before they get it.

Our minimums are very small. 4 pieces per style with an order minimum of $250. But we also require payment up front.

This lets a retailer test the waters, pick out several designs, then see how they sell. All of our re-orders are much larger, and we have great success getting our foot in the door by having the low minimums.

 

[Binary01]

yeah... i understand that......

but i have the whole issue with mins for the printer...... 12min per plus setup....plus 3 setup locations/etc.... it adds up real quick....


and i would require payment upfront simply because i'm not a bank.... i cant afford to print and then get a cancel and be screwed....... maybe a 75/25 payment would work....

i just dont want to scare anyway the little guys but still give the impression that my line is out there..... i have a strong catalog and looks professional 9at least i think so)....... along with the other promo/marketing things that i'm doing....

hmmm..... maybe i'll lower it to 800 per order or so.......it's pointless for me to do anything lower due to my charges from the printer....

b

 

[Jasonda]

but i have the whole issue with mins for the printer...... 12min per plus setup....plus 3 setup locations/etc.... it adds up real quick....

You're not going to be printing each order as it comes in, right? So set a goal for minimums and do your best to get the sales before the deadline. If you don't get enough sales for a certain design to justify printing it, you can drop the style and just call the stores to say you're not going to be printing that one. It's not uncommon to do that.

 

[Binary01]

hmm......

i guess another issue is that i know i might be marketing my line late also.... not sure when the best times are to push t-shirts....or is it like a yearly thing?...... or more like a certain date per season...... i know tshirts can be wore all year round...but do most stores usually buy in the early spring to get the summer boom?....

i figured that i would need orders/payment in by the first of the month and then it would be 4-6 weeks depending on qtys..... the plan here is to utilize the extra funds and grow a stock of shirts this way i can fulfill the smaller orders....but for right now, i need to get a little boost going
thanks

 

[Binary01]

yeah.... i'm trying to push my brand into the stores..... i dont see why i have to give payment breaks/terms.... if they want the product dont you think that 100%payment should be the way to go.... because once i process and print the shirts, it then because a custom product per order.....

just trying to make sure i'm not coming off as an idiot to a buyer but yet want to make sure i cant get burned on orders.....

b

 

[DTFuqua]

Where you get things wrong is the timing IMNSHO.You need to find suppliers that will accept lower minimums and then you take all the different styles and combine the different styles and give the stores lower minimums per style and lower minimums total. There is SOME RISK to wholesale to retailers if you haven't got an established product. Heck theres some risk in taking a deep breath sometimes.The only person I know of willing to pay first for something of questionable marketability was my mother and shes dead .If you can't get your shirts into stores your way, you might try taking them to the streets and get customers to try to help get your name out.

 

[Binary01]

true.... maybe i can figure out that the costs will be covered on first payment then once they receive the product then the final payment is due.....

i look at it this way...... i go to the store to buy some milk...... i go to the counter to buy it and have to pay in full right there...........

not really a fan of taking the risk of losing money..... been burned before in a professional field.....

 

[DTFuqua]

Find a different way to look at it The relationship between a supplier and a store is just about always different than the relationship between a store and its customers

 

[moral]

This thread has been a huge help for me. I was actually going to post a very similar question, but I figure I'll just ask here.
We're about to attend our first trade show. It's kind of a big unknown for us, as we don't know how many orders to expect or how much each order will be worth. We feel like we have a good product that people will want to buy, but we know we're at a disadvantage because no one's heard of us. We can't change that, but we want to make sure we're doing everything else right. Our blanks come from American Apparel, and they require an order of 12 per color per size for a discount. We think we're just going to make that our minimum, but we might be able to do less and still reach the minimum across multiple orders. I don't think we're going to have a price minimum, since our printer is being pretty fair about that, but what is a reasonable price to expect per order?
Also, we're planning on having them pay up front for the same reason as 237am, but we could look at changing that if it would mean more orders. I guess I'm just looking for a general evaluation of our approach and suggestions for any changes. Thanks

 

[Rodney]

Our blanks come from American Apparel, and they require an order of 12 per color per size for a discount.

Order the AA blanks for TSCApparel.com instead to get the same price with no minimum.

Also, we're planning on having them pay up front for the same reason as 237am, but we could look at changing that if it would mean more orders. I guess I'm just looking for a general evaluation of our approach and suggestions for any changes.

This thread has a good discussion on having retailers pay up front (and how they feel about it):
http://www.t-shirtforums.com/t-shirt-marketing/t57376.html

 

[Mark_S]

Why can't you screen your retail store ? I thought about this some and their are always risks - I think you should look to build relationships with Retails stores you can trust and who are on your side.

As you said when you got burned with the models you saw it coming - if you do your research and target stores you know then the risk is reduced seems to me - the wholesale buyer has literally thousands of T's coming their way the ball is in their court. But you could screen your stores.

- another way to look at the situation.

Also what is your cost for a min run of one design? Just curious