[heidiopickles]

HI I'm trying to get opinions on the Chouinard T shirt line (also known as Comfort Colors). They are pigment and direct reactive dyed t's. I like the colors but am not sure the shirt is priced low enough for someone just starting a new line of silk screened t's.

After talking with them directly, I like the fact that they're in the US and are flexible with case/ quantity /and color selection (much more than Hanes). Does anyone have an opinion - should I try to keep my pricing lower or go for the quality and see how the first shirts sell?? thanks!

 

[Rodney]

The quality of the blank is pretty important when selling t-shirts. People just don't want to wear uncomfortable, itchy, low quality tees.

What your target market sees as "quality" could vary pretty greatly though. Some markets feel a heavyweight unisex cut tee is "quality" while others feel a lightweight vintage slimmer cut tee is "quality".

I would pick the quality shirt over the cheapest t-shirt.

 

[Monkey]

Step back and think of the t-shirt from the buyers' point of view. When you shop for a shirt, what's the first thing you look for; the color or the price tag. If the color and design are the right combo for you, you will pay the price. However, if you can get a similar color that does not compromise the design and it's cheaper; bingo! Win, win situation.

 

[Preston]

You can get quality t’s and other shirts without spending a fortune. That said, if you sell a junk shirt the word of your low quality would spread like wild fire.

I’m going to take a little side step pit stop here. Not knowing if you are a printer, printer wanna be, pre-print line seller or any one of the numerous other things one could be in the t-shirt biz, it makes it hard to reply with the correct aspect of an issue as it can very depending on what part of the biz you are it.

If all you are doing is selling pre-prints online, then really all you need to worry about is a good shirt with a good price and fast shipping. That’s about it.

However, if you are in the actual production of printed apparel or even pre-print sales to retail outlets, this starts to add more issues to be taken into consideration.

Take us. We are a custom printer for the most part. Someone calls, says they want this or that on some shirts and we create the magic to make it happen. We have a shop house brand of shirt that we provide unless a customer specifies another brand. Our house brand is Gildan 6.1oz Ultra Cotton and is one of the best shirts you can get for the price. The entire Gildan line is outstanding from basic t’s to pigment dyed to ringers. It is because we provide the higher quality of shirt that our customers know they will always get a quality produce from us.

Now the shirt is just one part of the puzzle. Add to the shirt durable high quality prints and customer service that cannot be matched and you have just put together a recipe for success.

The beauty is that we provide a quality shirt that can stand right along side of the beefy-T’s but at a fraction of the cost. To be honest there have been times we have paid as little as $0.77 for 6.1oz 100% cotton shirts in any color. I don’t get those deals often but they do come around from time to time.

I guess what I am saying is get several brands of shirts. Pick the top quality style from each of those manufactures and then compare the shirts yourself. Out of those, pick one brand/style to be your house brand and use the other as alternatives at the customer’s request. The trick here is to pick only from the high quality shirts. Never sell junk even if the customer wants to get out cheap. Remember it’s your name associated with that shirt when all goes bad. If a customer want’s cheaper than you will provide, send them walking to someone else.

 

[heidiopickles]

Thanks For The Info Preston - I Think I've Decided On The Pigment Dyed Shirt That's A Bit More Expensive But I Like The Quality And Colors It's Offered In. Hopefully So Will My Customers!!

 

[pinchnickel]

Preston, that was a very informative post. I am new to this biz, and I have been looking at shorts. I am leaning towards GIldan heavywieght, 5.4oz shirts. So would they be conisdered quality? then again, Like rodney mentioned its all preference, but i guess the real real question is would Gildan be considered subpar quality?

thanks,
Brian

 

[identityburn]

Again, this is just personal preference, but I really dislike the cut of Gildan shirts. I own a few and they just don't fit right. Hanes Beefy-T seems to be a good middle ground, comfortable and a good fit, but may be too heavy for some people. They are pretty affordable also, at around $2.50 per shirt depending on where you buy. Personally, I like American Apparel for myself, but because they are a fitted shirt I don't think a mainstream audience would accept them as much. Plus they are about twice the price of a Hanes Beefy-T.

But again, like everyone said it's all personal preference and knowing your audience as far as picking what shirt to use. And who knows, you may get feedback from customers and have to change again, or at least add another brand as an option.

 

[speedmaster123]

thanks for your info identityburn

 

[Stylin' Free]

I was using Hanes Beefy-T for a while without ever checking out any of the other brands. I liked the thickness, but I found them cut a bit weird. They're kind of short at the bottom and wide. I personally need 3X for myself with Beefy-T but I recently got the Gildan 100% cottom and I'm able to wear 2X. Maybe they just make me feel better about myself? Lol