# [starting a clothing line] I need someone who can sell..



## GeeFo (Mar 10, 2009)

I currently have my new clothing line up, with 5 designs, a website, and some inventory. I've sold some offline to friends and such, and a few on eBay. Now I'm at a standstill. Can anybody direct me where I can find people who could sell for me? (Whether it be in a store, or wherever)

Thanks for the help


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## deitrade (Jun 19, 2009)

I'm not really sure what market you are trying to reach, but I know locally a lot og boutiques will do consignment.


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## BrianTruong (Jun 19, 2009)

what's your clothing line called, can I get the website?


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## intercontex (Apr 6, 2009)

The best thing you can do at this point is to SELL YOURSELF. This is the only way you will know what makes your brand work and what doesn't. You need to get the feedback yourself directly from your potential/existing retailers. Once you have this feedback you will know if your product looks the way it needs to in order to be competitive in the market. You will also know whether it is priced right and you will develop a relationship with your stores. Without this info you will not be able to GROW your brand and improve. Not only that, but how do you expect to manage a sales force if you have not had direct experience with your market first? If you are looking to build a serious brand I would avoid eBay as it tends to cheapen the value of many brands.

Retail is tough these days (many stores are failing and unable to pay bills) and you should really focus on building a following online and managing your own eCommerce. It's the easiest and most cost effective way to build a company. If you want to play the retail game you are eventually going to have to invest in trade shows... that could seriously eat into your budget and does not guarantee any results. Do as much as possible to market and grow your business through your blog or web site.


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## GeeFo (Mar 10, 2009)

You can see my line in my sig. Thanks for any help.


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## tshirtsep (Feb 15, 2007)

Just 5 shirts with simple text is unlikely to keep selling.... make more designs... make 50 designs... make 100 designs... then keep marketing them... and keep saving up money from your "other" job to finance it... if you're serious about doing this for a living... in other words, it take lots of hard work.

If it was easy, everyone can get rich just making up a name and printing it on a shirt.

Some people manage to make good money with only a few designs but some people also win the lottery... odds are against most people from doing it.


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## GeeFo (Mar 10, 2009)

I appreciate your input, but I wouldn't able financially to do 100 designs, not even close. It costs me around $30 or more per design to get printed, you do the math.
I don't have an "other job"...I just graduated HS. Im basically looking to find ways to sell in this thread what I already have. Thanks.


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## intercontex (Apr 6, 2009)

The problem here is that you have a brand that means absolutely nothing to anyone but yourself. What meaning are you exactly giving to the word "GEEFO" and why will anyone want to buy the product. You have a subpar web site that is not consistent with your brand. Your branding and photography is all over the place too. 

Why don't you look at brands that are successful and model them? It does not take a lot of money to make your brand look successful to others. Before you even get to that you should look at your concept and see how that is even marketable to a broader audience.

I am not trying to thrash your efforts because it takes a lot to develop a brand. I commend you and congratulate you for giving it a shot, but you certainly need some direction and help if you want to make this profitable for you in the long/short run. I hope you take my critique as extra momentum to improve.

I absolutely DISAGREE with "tshirtsep" because it is not about quantity when it comes to starting a line... you need a focused theme that unifies your brand. Stick with 1 product category at first and develop it until you are doing significant volume and your market demands you get into other items. You should leverage social media to build a following and a community of like-minded people to find your potential audience... figure out what THEY want and like. 

Best of luck and hope you get to where you want to get to soon!


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## lburton3 (Aug 14, 2008)

Congratulations, you started a t-shirt company. Unfortunately, that's not what sells - a BRAND is what sells.

Check out this post for some tips:
http://www.t-shirtforums.com/general-t-shirt-selling-discussion/t88667.html


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## o rangutang (Mar 28, 2009)

the same energy you admirably used to begin your company and carry it thru thus far should be applied to your imagination. i'm referring to design. you need something that will immediately arouse interest and appeal. decide on your market type and tap into the million possibilities of shape and color. and iron your T's before you photograph them, apart from looking neat customers will clearly see the design. and speed up the loading of your site. i presume HS means high school so you are young, energetic and optimistic, GO for it.


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## PreClassics (Jun 19, 2009)

intercontex said:


> The problem here is that you have a brand that means absolutely nothing to anyone but yourself. What meaning are you exactly giving to the word "GEEFO" and why will anyone want to buy the product. You have a subpar web site that is not consistent with your brand. Your branding and photography is all over the place too.
> 
> Why don't you look at brands that are successful and model them? It does not take a lot of money to make your brand look successful to others. Before you even get to that you should look at your concept and see how that is even marketable to a broader audience.
> 
> ...



your totally correct.


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## tshirtsep (Feb 15, 2007)

intercontex said:


> I absolutely DISAGREE with "tshirtsep" because it is not about quantity when it comes to starting a line... !


uh, who says quantity in designs means low quality?

Someone can take 6 months and develop 5 low quality designed shirts while someone else can develop 30 high quality designed shirts in a month. 

That's like saying Toyota and Microsoft spend too much time and money on constantly creating new ideas and products.

All the major brands of clothing companies have design departments constantly creating new designs every day and they throw away hundreds of designs they feel aren't up to their standards... is that low quality?

If 5 designs don't sell, you need to create 5 more... and keep doing that until you create something people want, and then you still need to create more designs because the same people won't keep buying the same shirts over and over again.

As a professional designer who needs to work quickly to meet deadlines, I guarantee that someone who creates far fewer designs than I do does NOT mean they are doing better quality work.

Fashion trends change quickly in the tshirt market and constantly developing ideas and new designs is exactly what it takes to stay in business.

I don't know any successful clothing company that can stay in business with a few designs.. like I said... that would only be a lucky few and NOT the norm.


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## intercontex (Apr 6, 2009)

tshirtsep said:


> uh, who says quantity in designs means low quality?
> 
> Someone can take 6 months and develop 5 low quality designed shirts while someone else can develop 30 high quality designed shirts in a month.
> 
> ...


 
First of all, the quality of a shirt can refer to many things such as fabric, fit, packaging, construction details, etc. It does not necessarily refer to the graphic. Retail buyers and consumers look for different aspects when purchasing a garment for their store or closets. Go talk to brands like Splendid and Michael Stars about graphics.

Second, you stated the obvious... of course no one can stay in business with just 5 designs. That is why companies establish merchandise timelines and work within seasons in order to introduce new product. Companies merchandise lines according to how their supply chain is going to be orchestrated each season and with each change in trends. A lot depends on mood boards, color stories, and fabric availability established for the season by the design team... ask Ralph Lauren, James Perse, or the people at Abercrombie about this.

For new lines, it doesn't make sense from a logistical perspective to produce a wide collection because you will incur high development costs and open up Pandora's box to buyers by offering too many options. Not only will it dilute your brand's identity at retail, but you will increase your chances of a disaster during the production cycle as there are too many SKUs involved and your vendors are not yet familiar with your brand. 

An initial collection needs to be narrow and deep. The initial goal is to maximize your brand identity not dilute it with a ton of graphics and options. How then would you plan on meeting the minimums for screen printers and the minimums with other vendors (i.e. dye houses, cut & sew facilities, finishing facilities, etc.). New brands should focus on producing the best quality possible in order to set a standard with customers and keep them coming back. Part of your brand is the quality of your product and the experience you have buying it.

If YOUR strategy is to throw everything up on the wall and see what sticks you are welcome to do so (it's your money after all). The way established brands became "brands" is by developing their identity and growing it through a concentrated effort with consistency and quality. They cannot accomplish this by producing a smorgasbord of options to try and please as many people as possible from the start.

I am sure you are a talented designer and hope you have the pleasure of owning a brand some time. I am also sure you will eventually find out developing brands involves a different perspective of $$ and an understanding of merchandising, sourcing, production, marketing, and retail distribution.


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## tshirtsep (Feb 15, 2007)

intercontex said:


> Second, you stated the obvious... of course no one can stay in business with just 5 designs. .


Most of what you posted to the OP is pretty obvious too, so why do you say it?

Uh sorry, but its pretty obvious from this forum that many people actually DO think that its possible to keep selling a few designs or if it doesn't sell they think that it will eventually sell given the right circumstances so they just wait.
Many people actually think a T shirt clothing line is an easy get rich quick business.

People who "throw" themselves into a business and work tirelessly at it are the ones who have the greatest chance of success since it demonstrates a great work ethic along with ambition... if one truly intends to start a business and make it work, then they should work tirelessly at it.

Marketing more designs and then duplicating the successes rather than waiting for non selling designs to sell is a vastly superior recipe for success... hoping to hit the jackpot with what they have is pretty standard expectations amongst beginner t shirt business hopefuls.



intercontex said:


> An initial collection needs to be narrow and deep...


Well, that's pretty obvious... and it's also obvious that if your initial collection ISN'T as narrow and deep as you thought it was and noone wants to buy them... you have to create more.

Any small "narrow & deep" collection that is successful was likely the result of a much "wider" effort from early failures so my philosophy of creating "many" designs still holds true when many small collections did not succeed initially until new designs were created based on what they learned everytime they failed.



intercontex said:


> If YOUR strategy is to throw everything up on the wall and see what sticks you are welcome to do so (it's your money after all)


Once again.. who said that???

In the following post I specifically mentioned "FASHION TRENDS" which "obviously" means to study the market and create designs accordingly.... not just throwing out a bunch of random designs until one hits.
Besides, how many people who would actually spend the time and money to create and market 50-100 designs are going to do it "randomly"?????

I am not over exaggerating anything about keeping an eye on fashion trends and constantly working and designing more to keep up with the market since clothing companies are CONSTANTLY begging for more designs by buying or stealing them.

Maybe you shouldn't keep reading more into a post than there is or assuming you know so much about me based on mis- reading that post.

ASSUMING I meant "lower quality" or throwing out lots of junk t -shirts simply because I told him to make a greater effort into producing MORE designs was wrong, nor is it a fact that prolific designers create inferior designs to those who create few... in fact, it is usually the opposite.



intercontex said:


> I am sure you are a talented designer and hope you have the pleasure of owning a brand some time. I am also sure you will eventually find out developing brands involves a different perspective of $$ and an understanding of merchandising, sourcing, production, marketing, and retail distribution.


Oh really?
I design and do color separations for all major licensors, I design for many private clothing lines, I sell my own printed designs without creating a brand name and I also provide sampling services for clients from my own silkscreen press... maybe I'll figure it out this tshirt business some day.


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## CvellDesigns (Jun 26, 2009)

I have some friends that use myspace as a medium to sell and advertise their Products.
If you have a website and know Html you should have no problem getting your product out there.


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## RM5 (May 6, 2009)

GeeFo said:


> I appreciate your input, but I wouldn't able financially to do 100 designs, not even close. It costs me around $30 or more per design to get printed, you do the math.
> I don't have an "other job"...I just graduated HS. Im basically looking to find ways to sell in this thread what I already have. Thanks.


I hesitate to give you more advice. Looks like you already have plenty in this thread. I just took a quick look at your site and one thing you need to do if you are going to sell them online is fix your images. I use firefox 90% of the time. On FF the images don't enlarge. Had a look at them on IE and they are also screwy. Could be wrong just had a quick look. But it looks like you are using Osc or an Osc fork. If so you might want to play around with some contribs. / mods that would fix them. Not to overload you with info. If you are using Osc have a look at one the easy populate mods for your attributes.

Anyway, good luck.


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## intercontex (Apr 6, 2009)

tshirtsep said:


> I design and do color separations for all major licensors, I design for many private clothing lines, I sell my own printed designs without creating a brand name and I also provide sampling services for clients from my own silkscreen press...


Thank you for your resume. We will make sure to keep it on file.


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## GeeFo (Mar 10, 2009)

tshirtsep said:


> Marketing more designs and then duplicating the successes rather than waiting for non selling designs to sell is a vastly superior recipe for success... hoping to hit the jackpot with what they have is pretty standard expectations amongst beginner t shirt business hopefuls.


With all due respect, you need to read what *I* say. After all, this is my post.

I believe that what intercontex said is very very truthful, in my case.
Of course, if someone who has thousands of dollars to throw at this, then go ahead with making tons of designs.
In my case, as I stated, I do not have the funds to do this. So I appreciate what intercontex has said to me, it's very useful.



tshirtsep said:


> Oh really?
> I design and do color separations for all major licensors, I design for many private clothing lines, I sell my own printed designs without creating a brand name and I also provide sampling services for clients from my own silkscreen press... maybe I'll figure it out this tshirt business some day.


Even though I'm a kid fresh out of high school, I know better than to go on another person's thread and toot my own horn. 
If you really are that successful and need to fill your ego THAT badly, go by yourself a lambo. 
Please post information relevant to my topic, thanks.


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## MiamiSol (Nov 26, 2008)

Some of this information has been very enlightening, thanks


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## tshirtsep (Feb 15, 2007)

GeeFo said:


> With all due respect, you need to read what *I* say. After all, this is my post.
> 
> I believe that what intercontex said is very very truthful, in my case.
> Of course, if someone who has thousands of dollars to throw at this, then go ahead with making tons of designs.
> ...


Actually you posted a thread for responses and you got it... did you want a private thread?

Basically, You wanted someone to sell your shirts which isn't selling well but it's "impossible" to create more shirts that might sell better.

It takes money to make money, if you don't have enough money to start a business, then you get a job to earn that money.... there's not any other reasonable alternative.
How do you think most people start a business?
By using money they saved and getting real world work experience while doing it.

You may not like what i have to say, and I am hardly tooting my own horn when confronted by another who claims I will one day "learn" something different than from my actual experience in the business.

I gave you info on exactly what you should do and I make a living out of DESIGNING AND PRINTING sample tshirts for corporate and private clients... and I work 12 hours a day thru a daytime job and freelance jobs.
Can you compete with someone who puts that much effort and time in the same business?
I made thousands of designs since college and I keep making more to keep the money coming.... if I stopped at 5 designs that aren't selling... what do you think I'd be doing now?

What do you think my competition is doing?
Working as hard as I am, maybe even harder.

Obviously, I don't expect you to create as many designs as I do, but 5 simple text designs is hardly even breaking a sweat.
I said you aren't putting enough work and effort into the business to make it a success and I meant it... that has nothing to do with having money.
Why don't you learn to design so it won't cost you a penny for making more designs?

You are one of millions who have a few designs and unsold boxes of printed shirts wondering why you aren't making money... you think that's new?
Read all those tshirt forum threads where someone claims to have started a clothing line with a few designs and when they don't sell, they ask how to "make" people want to buy them.

Those people pretty much disappear from here along with their tshirt dreams because advice to spending more money by saving or working harder and creating more than what they've already done is "unreasonable" & "impossible" for them.

Everyone wants people to just buy what they make.... rather than to make something people want to buy which takes a lot of effort (time and money) to find out thru trial and error.

I've worked at silkscreen companies where customers are always starting clothing lines... the ones who are more successful are the ones who keep coming back with more designs to sample even if their initial designs didn't sell well.

A job at McDonald's can help you earn money.... I did that thru high school and college and I worked 2 jobs while going to school at the same time until I was able to exclusively do this for a living.

Thats reality... you need to work hard as hell to get rewards.

You can appreciate what anyone says all you want... that won't help you unless you actually do something to change what you're doing WRONG.

My advice is to help you "earn a living" in this business and that is far more attainable and affordable for you than running a clothing company.

I've been "pushed" all my life to get better grades, to work harder, etc... and even though I'm not rich, all that effort has made me marketable even in this current economy.


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## poker (May 27, 2009)

MiamiSol said:


> Some of this information has been very enlightening, thanks


Oh hell yeah! I'm printing this one out and I'm gonna read it again and again.




My 2 cents: I respect the OPs motivation and I wish him the best of luck. Don't give up. Think big and hustle. When there isn't a lot of money to work with then you need to push yourself even harder. The experience will pay off.


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## GeeFo (Mar 10, 2009)

I appreciate your response, if in fact your motive is to help.



tshirtsep said:


> Why don't you learn to design so it won't cost you a penny for making more designs?


It's not the designs that's costing me, its the setup/printing costs to get them produced. What's a design without a finished product?


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## tshirtsep (Feb 15, 2007)

GeeFo said:


> I appreciate your response, if in fact your motive is to help.
> 
> 
> It's not the designs that's costing me, its the setup/printing costs to get them produced. What's a design without a finished product?


Then you should learn to screenprint thru schooloing or looking for an entry level job at a silkscreen factory... or save for the cost of a used press... even if you end up not liking screenprinting, you will gain knowledge and skills that can keep you employed in that business.

You are just out of high school, so if you are still living at home then even a fast food job can earn you good money for school or save up for a used press

Then you will also have the option of making money by printing for others and not rely on sales for your own shirts..

Knowledge and hard work is the key to success in whatever you do.

Like I said, what i say sounds harsh but if you are still trying to sell the same 5 designs a year from now, you will have wasted one year of your life... what else could you have done or learned in that same year?


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## poker (May 27, 2009)

Yeah....get a part time job to build up your capital. Just don't blow it on a car and other silly things like I did at your age. You have business sense and that's your foundation (or edge) for great things to come. Don't give up.


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