[BikerBill]

Hi, hope everyone is having a good holiday season! I currently sell tees with designs I have in stock in an online retail store setting. I use Hanes Beefy-T's for men because I think they are high quality.

However quality means a higher selling price. I know a lot of people use Gildan tees because they are one of the lowest cost shirts. I was wondering if I should offer customers the option to choose between the Hanes Beefy-T's or the Gildan tees as a drop down menu option?

The Hanes tees would sell for 4-5 bucks more than the Gildans. Do you think it would be worth the time and work to change my listings so they can choose between the 2 brands? Frankly the main reason I'm thinking of it is because I assume many might like the cheaper price of the Gildans.

I see tees selling on Amazon for 10-12 bucks each with free shipping and don't understand how they can do that. Hell it would cost me MORE than that for the products and shipping.

 

[jennGO]

Amazon stuff ships prime or no? If they are high volume they can get shipping discounts


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BikerBill]

Amazon stuff ships prime or no? If they are high volume they can get shipping discounts


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well yeah, I guess nobody can get prices as cheap as them. Plus many are China sellers that I can't come close to in price. Just wondering if selling Gildan tees for a few bucks less than my Hanes I have now will increase sales enough to be worth it?

 

[splathead]

Your price difference between a Hanes and a Gildan should not be $5. Are you buying your shirts through a wholesaler? Which model of Hanes and which model of Gildan are you seeing a $5 price difference?

 

[BikerBill]

Your price difference between a Hanes and a Gildan should not be $5. Are you buying your shirts through a wholesaler? Which model of Hanes and which model of Gildan are you seeing a $5 price difference?

Hi there. I buy mine from Alphabroder as they have a local warehouse right here in Orlando, Fl. So I can pick up my shirts same day and with no shipping charges.

A case of Gildan G200 ultra cotton black tees are [about $1.60 each less than] A case of Hanes beefy-Ts black tees. HOWEVER since the beefy-T's are thicker I find that sizes 3XL and up make my package go over 16 ounces.

That means they have to ship priority mail (I only use USPS) which adds 2-3 bucks more to the overall total. The Gildans I can ship first class package even up to 5XL. I sell to bikers so most want bigger size shirts.

 

[jennGO]

If you pick up your shirts why is AB charging you for shipping?

Anyways I don't feel like there is a big difference between Hanes and Gildan in quality but maybe I'm a minority. I would go with cheaper in this case


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BikerBill]

If you pick up your shirts why is AB charging you for shipping?

They don't. What I mean is the shipping I pay to ship the shirts to my customers. Hanes cost more plus it cost more to ship to customers because from size 2XL or 3XL they go over the 16 ounce weight limit for first class mail.

The gildans are lighter due to less thread count so I can use first class for all sizes. Plus buy them cheaper.

 

[jennGO]

Ohh I see what you mean! Definitely do the Gildan. I've never known anyone personally who wasn't in the biz to complain about receiving a Gildan and if you're not selling fashion shirts (i.e. Ring spun cotton and all that jazz) then cheaper is the ticket!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BikerBill]

Ohh I see what you mean! Definitely do the Gildan. I've never known anyone personally who wasn't in the biz to complain about receiving a Gildan and if you're not selling fashion shirts (i.e. Ring spun cotton and all that jazz) then cheaper is the ticket!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the advice. Personally I find Gildan shirts to be "boxy" and loose fitting in the arms. I prefer a trim form fitting shirt. But then again my customers are big bikers so perhaps they would want looser fitting shirts.

 

[NoXid]

...if you're not selling fashion shirts (i.e. Ring spun cotton and all that jazz) then cheaper is the ticket!!

Beefy-Ts are ringspun, just not a fashion cut. 6.1 oz of boxy cut ringspun.

Like you, I like using my local supplier for everything I can, but they don't carry Hanes anymore. As to Alpha, they do NOT have the best prices, especially on any size over 1XL.

Checkout some other suppliers, like S&S, and the everyday price for a Beefy-T is less than a dollar more than the Gildan price you mentioned ... and that's not considering that they put them on sale a few times a month. Shipping is FREE for an order of $200.

At S&S, online orders get case pricing, even if you order just one shirt.

I offer Beefy-Ts as my boxy cut shirt. Being ringspun they feel softer than a Gildan 2000, and are about an inch longer. I wouldn't bother offering Gildan as a lower priced shirt, as the difference in cost to you is too small to bring the price down a noticeable amount, while the difference in feel is apparent.

I do offer another men's shirt option: Next Level Apparel 3600. This is a slimmer style "fashion" cut and 4.3 oz (basically an American Apparel copy). I do this because some people like heavy boxy shirts, and some people don't. That choice may not be right for your niche, but if you do offer another choice, I would focus on offering a shirt with different features that people are willing to pay more for (cut, weight, tri-blend) rather than going after a lower price point.

Low price high volume, high price low volume, or somewhere between? I know I want nothing to do with the first option. In my own pricing experiments, price does not seem to matter. But I suppose it depends on what other options they have for buying a shirt that fills the same need.

All that said, I'm not trashing on Alpha or Gildan. Gildan 2000s are my backup, and are available in some size/color combos that the 5180s are not. And Alpha Flex Shipping is fantastic ($4.99, and you pick it up at your local FedEx store; but you have to have a credit card associated with your account in order to see this option at checkout).

 

[splathead]

Hi there. I buy mine from Alphabroder as they have a local warehouse right here in Orlando, Fl. So I can pick up my shirts same day and with no shipping charges.

A case of Gildan G200 ultra cotton black tees are [about $1.60 each less than] A case of Hanes beefy-Ts black tees. HOWEVER since the beefy-T's are thicker I find that sizes 3XL and up make my package go over 16 ounces.

That means they have to ship priority mail (I only use USPS) which adds 2-3 bucks more to the overall total. The Gildans I can ship first class package even up to 5XL. I sell to bikers so most want bigger size shirts.

I had to remove specific wholesale pricing as it's against forum rules to post specific prices from a wholesalers confidential pricelist.

You should check around with other wholesalers besides Alpha. The price you gave-which I had to remove, is high.

Your customers aren't going to know the difference between a Gildan G200 ( I had to look it up) and a beefy T.

Instead of offering 2 different shirts simply for shipping considerations, why not instead charge shipping based on weight. 3X folks know they have to pay more for their size anyway, so shouldn't be a big issue.

 

[BikerBill]

Beefy-Ts are ringspun, just not a fashion cut. 6.1 oz of boxy cut ringspun.

Like you, I like using my local supplier for everything I can, but they don't carry Hanes anymore. As to Alpha, they do NOT have the best prices, especially on any size over 1XL.

Checkout some other suppliers, like S&S, and the everyday price for a Beefy-T is less than a dollar more than the Gildan price you mentioned ... and that's not considering that they put them on sale a few times a month. Shipping is FREE for an order of $200.

At S&S, online orders get case pricing, even if you order just one shirt.

I offer Beefy-Ts as my boxy cut shirt. Being ringspun they feel softer than a Gildan 2000, and are about an inch longer. I wouldn't bother offering Gildan as a lower priced shirt, as the difference in cost to you is too small to bring the price down a noticeable amount, while the difference in feel is apparent.

I do offer another men's shirt option: Next Level Apparel 3600. This is a slimmer style "fashion" cut and 4.3 oz (basically an American Apparel copy). I do this because some people like heavy boxy shirts, and some people don't. That choice may not be right for your niche, but if you do offer another choice, I would focus on offering a shirt with different features that people are willing to pay more for (cut, weight, tri-blend) rather than going after a lower price point.

Low price high volume, high price low volume, or somewhere between? I know I want nothing to do with the first option. In my own pricing experiments, price does not seem to matter. But I suppose it depends on what other options they have for buying a shirt that fills the same need.

All that said, I'm not trashing on Alpha or Gildan. Gildan 2000s are my backup, and are available in some size/color combos that the 5180s are not. And Alpha Flex Shipping is fantastic ($4.99, and you pick it up at your local FedEx store; but you have to have a credit card associated with your account in order to see this option at checkout).

Thank you so much for all the info. I will check out S&S and some other places.

 

[BikerBill]

I had to remove specific wholesale pricing as it's against forum rules to post specific prices from a wholesalers confidential pricelist.

You should check around with other wholesalers besides Alpha. The price you gave-which I had to remove, is high.

Your customers aren't going to know the difference between a Gildan G200 ( I had to look it up) and a beefy T.

Instead of offering 2 different shirts simply for shipping considerations, why not instead charge shipping based on weight. 3X folks know they have to pay more for their size anyway, so shouldn't be a big issue.

Sorry about that, I was not thinking. Yeah I will do some looking around and see what others charge. Thank you.

 

[NoXid]

Oh, I forgot to mention ...

I use poly mailers that I source from a shop on eBay. I can stick a label on that and stuff a 5XL Beefy-T in there with a paper receipt and still be under 15.99 oz.

12" x 9" is my default go-to poly bag. Bag, receipt, label, and two business cards weigh in at 0.60 oz. I show the shirt itself at just over 13 oz (but that various a bit shirt to shirt).

I end up using Flat Rate or Flat Rate Legal mailers if someone orders several jumbo-sized shirts, but if it is just one it goes First Class.

 

[BikerBill]

Oh, I forgot to mention ...

I use poly mailers that I source from a shop on eBay. I can stick a label on that and stuff a 5XL Beefy-T in there with a paper receipt and still be under 15.99 oz.

12" x 9" is my default go-to poly bag. Bag, receipt, label, and two business cards weigh in at 0.60 oz. I show the shirt itself at just over 13 oz (but that various a bit shirt to shirt).

I end up using Flat Rate or Flat Rate Legal mailers if someone orders several jumbo-sized shirts, but if it is just one it goes First Class.

Cool, thanks again for all the tips!

 

[BikerBill]

I made an account at S&S. The prices are a bit cheaper. But what is really great is how the price stays the same even buying only a few shirts each. Buying a full case of every size in a new shirt style is really expensive. So I really like how I can buy say 10 of each size and still get case pricing. Thanks!!

 

[NoXid]

I made an account at S&S. The prices are a bit cheaper. But what is really great is how the price stays the same even buying only a few shirts each. Buying a full case of every size in a new shirt style is really expensive. So I really like how I can buy say 10 of each size and still get case pricing. Thanks!!

I've found that each distributor tends to have certain brands/styles for which it has better than average pricing, and others for which it has worse. But Alpha pretty consistently exceeds the average price for 2XL and larger on everything.

You can request case pricing at Alpha regardless of order size if you call in your order. It's an order-by-order courtesy. You can also get them to change your account to permanent case pricing. It took me two tries to get that done--it apparently depends a bit on who you are talking to. I'm not the pushy type, and only know about this because others told me.

Even if S&S beats Alpha's price on what you buy, it is always nice to have a backup supplier, especially one that is local.

Enjoy

 

[Industryps]

HOWEVER since the beefy-T's are thicker I find that sizes 3XL and up make my package go over 16 ounces. That means they have to ship priority mail (I only use USPS) which adds 2-3 bucks more to the overall total. The Gildans I can ship first class package even up to 5XL.

Why not just ship everything USPS Priority and charge a flat rate shipping per item? We found that most of our online orders can arrive to the customer within 1-3 days for less than $10 as opposed to First Class which can take up to a week or more for almost the same price.
You can also add the shipping cost to the total item price and then offer "free" shipping.

 

[splathead]

Why not just ship everything USPS Priority and charge a flat rate shipping per item?

Because first class mail could be half the cost of Priority. And it usually gets to your customer no more than a day later than Priority. Most times the same day as priority.

We can ship a smaller sized shirt for $2.61 first class. Flat rate priority is $6.

 

[BikerBill]

I actually do have free shipping for everything I sell inside the USA. I just add it into my prices. But yeah, it's cheaper first class so those are priced less than the ones I know will be priority. First class seems pretty fast these days, unless they get misdirected to the wrong postal hub.