# Starting up a line



## bboxer87 (Jun 25, 2008)

How much money do you think i need to invest to start up a line of say 6 different designs of about 10 shirts each? I just want to get some shirts printed to get out onto the streets to start promoting my line.


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## acanvas (Sep 27, 2007)

Find a local printer, show them the art and let them show you tee shirt options and they will then be able to tell you how much. Most likely you will need to start with a minimum of at least 12 shirts per design, it is very rare to find a printer who will spend the time setting up an image for anything less than 12 shirts. Also, we charge based on cost of shirt blank plus how many colors in the design, how many placements on the shirt, whether any are over seams or other places that cause us to spend more time than usual on printing each shirt.

Keep it simple, check with local or online printers, they should all be close in price when quoting on such a small order.
Good luck with your dream!


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

Can you be more specific? What type of shirts? How many colors in the designs? Will you provide print-ready artwork?


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## Robert H (Mar 27, 2007)

I would suggest writing up a business plan before anything. When this is done you will know how much money you will need to start. If you do not spend the time on a business plan you may as well be an overnight shirt vendor because yours dooming yourself to becoming swallowed by the market.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

I'd be inclined not to have ANY tees printed up, till you get some feedback on your designs. That is independent feedback from someone other than family and friends. You need to ensure you have potential customers, before you start laying any hard cash down.


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## msabas (Aug 13, 2008)

DREAMGLASS said:


> I'd be inclined not to have ANY tees printed up, till you get some feedback on your designs. That is independent feedback from someone other than family and friends. You need to ensure you have potential customers, before you start laying any hard cash down.


 
that's a really good suggestion, You should post a few samples of your work here for feedback.


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## acanvas (Sep 27, 2007)

These are all awesom post. Definatly soak in the advice you recieve on this forum. You have many people who did it right from the get go and many who did not but hadthe finances and brains to quickly turn things around and make it happen! There are millions of new tee companies starting every year...clearly most fail, soak in the advice here and it may take you longer than you prefer but the neccesary preliminary foot work will make your dreams that much more attainable!


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## Chaka (Aug 13, 2008)

Business plan is a must or at least an idea of how and what exactly you are selling.

10 shirts of 6 designs, are these something you will be showing to potential retailers to purchase large orders or just to start off by selling them and hopefully spread the word?

How much do you plan on selling each shirt for?

Some sell to retailers without ever printing one shirt prior to placing an order. It all depends on where you want to take this and how you manage to get there.


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## bboxer87 (Jun 25, 2008)

I would post my work on here but I am a bit concerned with the possibility of someone trying to steal my designs. I was thinking of just getting a small first shipment to give out to people to wear just to get my designs out on the street, Im not really concerned with making money on these first shirts I just want to promote the line. If 12 shirts is better I can definitely do that. I have gotten alot of feedback on my shirts from many people within the industry, I know I have a good product, Im just trying to get things in motion by getting some shirts printed out.


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## bboxer87 (Jun 25, 2008)

SunEmbroidery said:


> Can you be more specific? What type of shirts? How many colors in the designs? Will you provide print-ready artwork?


I need to learn more on what types of shirts, but I have shirt designs with colors ranging from 1 to 5 different colors, and I can provide print-ready artwork.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

bboxer87 said:


> I have gotten a lot of feedback on my shirts from many people within the industry,


The next and perhaps more difficult stage, is to get people to part with their money and purchase your product.

Unless a product is genuinely awful, mosts folks will generally give positive comments about a new line. Getting them to dip their hands in their pockets and buy, is the *real* test for any new enterprise. As with the rest of us, you only get to know if a new design is a success, when it reflects in your sales figures.

Good luck with it all.


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## Chaka (Aug 13, 2008)

DREAMGLASS said:


> The next and perhaps more difficult stage, is to get people to part with their money and purchase your product.
> 
> Unless a product is genuinely awful, mosts folks will generally give positive comments about a new line. Getting them to dip their hands in their pockets and buy, is the *real* test for any new enterprise. As with the rest of us, you only get to know if a new design is a success, when it reflects in your sales figures.
> 
> Good luck with it all.


that is so true. When we first gauged interest we had over 100 people emailing us that they can't wait for a shirt. Once our shirts actually finished production we only sold 20 shirts the first couple of weeks. When its free everyone wants one and will tell you its great. Shell out the $ and its a different tune.

I personally would not giveaway a shirt unless I thought I would see a return investment on that. If your friends really want and like your shirt they should be more than happy to give you money for it. A very poor way to gauge your product IMO.


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## bboxer87 (Jun 25, 2008)

Chaka said:


> that is so true. When we first gauged interest we had over 100 people emailing us that they can't wait for a shirt. Once our shirts actually finished production we only sold 20 shirts the first couple of weeks. When its free everyone wants one and will tell you its great. Shell out the $ and its a different tune.
> 
> I personally would not giveaway a shirt unless I thought I would see a return investment on that. If your friends really want and like your shirt they should be more than happy to give you money for it. A very poor way to gauge your product IMO.


Im not planning on giving the shirts out to my friends, I plan on handing them out on college campuses. I guess I could try to get money for them, but i really feel personally that the shirts are good enough to sell themselves when they are seen on the street. That's my plan anyways I am open to suggestions if that doesn't seem smart.


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## Chaka (Aug 13, 2008)

bboxer87 said:


> Im not planning on giving the shirts out to my friends, I plan on handing them out on college campuses. I guess I could try to get money for them, but i really feel personally that the shirts are good enough to sell themselves when they are seen on the street. That's my plan anyways I am open to suggestions if that doesn't seem smart.


Well that doesn't sound all that great either. College kids will take anything for free. Hell they will sign up for a credit card for a free Citibank tshirt. So what happens if you have that one person that sees your shirt on someone and ask "where did you get it?" He got it for free, why would the other guy assume its worth anything? Think of a way to sell your product and execute that. People will not be banging down your door for a tshirt.


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## bboxer87 (Jun 25, 2008)

Chaka said:


> Well that doesn't sound all that great either. College kids will take anything for free. Hell they will sign up for a credit card for a free Citibank tshirt. So what happens if you have that one person that sees your shirt on someone and ask "where did you get it?" He got it for free, why would the other guy assume its worth anything? Think of a way to sell your product and execute that. People will not be banging down your door for a tshirt.


Im going to have a website for my shirts and Im going to have the address on the shirts, so my plan is to have the kids like the shirts and visit the site. College kids may take anything for free but them actually wearing the shirts is an entirely different thing altogether. If they wear them then I have walking billboards. They are also my target market. Does that make the plan sound any better? Thanks for your comments, any advice is greatly appreciated.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

bboxer87 said:


> If they wear them then I have walking billboards.


Chaka makes a good point though: when the answer to "Where did you get it?" is "I got it for free" you're not really off to a great start.



bboxer87 said:


> Does that make the plan sound any better?


Not really. As a general rule, sales models that rely on giving your product away to make money are pretty shaky.


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## Jasonda (Aug 16, 2006)

Instead of giving shirts away, why not help sponsor a small concert or other event at your local campus and then get permission to sell shirts at the event? You will get exposure by being a sponsor and hopefully some sales from selling at the event.


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## bboxer87 (Jun 25, 2008)

Jasonda said:


> Instead of giving shirts away, why not help sponsor a small concert or other event at your local campus and then get permission to sell shirts at the event? You will get exposure by being a sponsor and hopefully some sales from selling at the event.


That's a great idea! Thanks alot. Im also in the fight industry and plan on sponsoring some of my teammates in their upcoming fights, but that is a great idea. I will definitely look into that. Thanks again!


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