# Meeting with the buyer of a big store, what prices should i sell for?



## tripleo (Apr 22, 2010)

Hey Everyone,

I have a potential buyer that I met with last week. He saw my shirts, loved them and told me to come back with a price per shirt which included:

"Shirt, folding, tagging, barcode tagging, and shipping"

So I am trying to figure out my costs now in order to give him a final price.

I have a price for 100 shirts = $8.00 (all included)
500 shirts = $6.00 (all included)

So my question is, what should I tell him is the final price that I want to sell to him for? 

He told me that he wants to sell the tees no more then $20.00 in his shop. And he told me his final price to buy would be $11.00.

Is he lying? 

If he buys 100 shirts off me...and it costs me $8.00 what should i charge him? $13.00?

I need to be prepared when I meet with him because its not a small shop, its the biggest shop in the city...

A major tourist attraction. I dont want to let this opportunity slip up. Please help!

Thank you all!


----------



## tpitman (Jul 30, 2007)

Stores almost always double their cost of merchandise, so no, he's not kidding. If he'll pay $11, you're going to get the difference between that and what you paid. You might also find out if he's BUYING the shirts from you for $11 outright, or he'll PAY you $11 if and when he sells any, and if they don't sell, he'll call you to come pick them up. No matter how much you love the shirts, and how much he loves the shirts, if the people who come into his store don't love the shirts, somebody's going to be stuck with 100 shirts, or 500 shirts. My guess is that it'll be you.
Get it all in writing.


----------



## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

As Tom said, retail stores typically double the wholesale price. So he is not lying.

In fact, the store owner has actually done you a huge favor by telling you what prices he expects. The guessing game is over. You should sell him the shirts for $11 each. If he orders 100, you will make $3 per shirt. If he orders 500, you will make $5 per shirt. And if you can go around to other stores and get more orders, the volume will be higher, the costs will be lower, making your profit even more.


----------



## curphey (May 25, 2009)

$11 seams pretty generous I am friends with the owner of a brand in Journeys they are only paying 8.50 a shirt. No matter how many colors or size of the print.


----------



## HMD10 (Feb 17, 2008)

I agree I wouldn't go higher than $11.00


----------



## adam.smsg (Oct 22, 2009)

IF he only wants to sell for $20 then definitely stay around the $11 range. Anything higher and he wont have any wiggle room for sales and such. 

Surprised hes starting at 20 though. Every store Ive tried out says they'll try and sell them for 30. Seems excessive if you ask me but whatevs.


----------



## PowerPromotions (Dec 31, 2010)

wow sounds like you have something going here. if this is the biggest in the city then there may be more opportunities in the future. definitely do not go over the $11.00 mark. you understand your cash cost which is good but what about your time cost? do you have 10 hours in 100 shirts or 20 hours per 100 shirts? figure out how much you are making per hour of your time. your time is very very valuable. with ten hours you can cold call alot of potential clients and maybe get several good leads. 

consider all of your costs and then move forward with everything in writing!!!


----------



## tripleo (Apr 22, 2010)

Thank you all for the tips, I am meeting with him for my second meeting next thursday. I have come up with my price list below. My question was, does he mean $11 max for 100 shirts, or more? 

*25 - T-shirts = My cost (all included) = $10.23 (SELL $15) *
*50 - T-shirts = My cost (all included) = $8.87 (SELL $14) *
*100 - T-shirts = My cost (all included) = $7.93 (SELL $13) *
*250 - T-shirts = My cost (all included) = $7.18 (SELL $12) *
*500 - T-shirts = My cost (all included) = $5.88 (SELL $11) *
*1000 - T-shirts = My cost (all included) = $4.58 (SELL $10) *


*I was going to give him this list and then we can make a deal? Or is this still too high? Any help/tips would be appreciated.*


*Thank you so much!
*


----------



## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

Often times, retail store owners do not like to see tiered pricing. They want to get the product for the lowest price possible so they have the best chance at meeting their profit margin requirements.

A savvy store owner will not pay $15 for something they know they can get for $10. They will simply tell you to go out and get more stores to commit to placing an order. And when the total volume of all stores reach 1000, then they can order whatever they want for $10 each.

And on top of all that, there is a catch 22 involved... what will the price be if you get orders that total 5000 units? You're basically telling your customers that the price could possibly be even lower than your current lowest price.

In my opinion, it's best to establish one wholesale price and stick to it regardless of the volume of the order. But every situation is different so you will have to gauge the situation based on your conversation with this owner.


----------



## tripleo (Apr 22, 2010)

Oh I understand what you mean, so basically just tell him it will be $11 per shirt no matter if you order 25, or 1000?


----------



## Smckee21 (Jul 23, 2010)

I agree with Kimura, it sounds like you alreday have had some shirts or samples made so all you need to do now is grab the sale. I think $11 is extremely Generous so if you can make $3.00 each based on 100 shirts that is pretty good. If they sell well or if have more designs and prices and they seel well you'll be sitting pretty.


----------



## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

tripleo said:


> Oh I understand what you mean, so basically just tell him it will be $11 per shirt no matter if you order 25, or 1000?


Yes, stick to one price regardless of volume.

Then try to go to other stores and get more orders to help bring your costs down and your profits up.


----------



## tripleo (Apr 22, 2010)

Great thanks! Also you guys say that $3 per shirt is a good profit. But what about if its a hoodie?

My hoodies are costing me about $20 per 100 hoodies. Is a $3 profit good for that too? Or should it be higher since its more money? 


Thanks.


----------



## TimeWithoutTheE (Mar 31, 2007)

I think you have to ask yourself is there anyway I can cut cost without changing the quality of my brand and products? To me $8 seems a little high but that also depends on the amount of colors on a design and what garment you are printing on and tagging etc.


----------



## acmeprinting (Jun 4, 2007)

Hey guys,

I apologize if I sound like a knuckle head.

I will soon be approaching retailers and came across your post. I too have some questions. I feel stuck on wholesale pricing as well. Before I read this post I started a rough draft on tier pricing but you guys recommend not to do that. I will have to agree after reading this thread. 

To Tripelo: Those prices that you listed is that what cost you to have them printed by the screenprinter or do you print them yourself? Is this one design or for multipule designs?

I know when you go to a screen printer they will charge you per color and depending on the amount you order the more the product the less per shirt you pay (tier pricing from the screen printer). Now, say someone is interested in your 3 designs. First design has 1 color. Second design has 3 colors. Third design has 5 colors. The screenprinter will charge you per color so you rack up quite a bit of screen charges. Would you in turn price EACH design to reflect what you were charged or do you still want to make it simple and charge just one price for each shirt and just charge him across the board what it cost for the 5 color design. 

Are there different prices per design to the retailer? I have seen in some stores one shirt with 1 color and one shirt with 3 colors and both are same price.

I have always done festivals and this is so new to me. I swear there should be a "Selling to Retailers" for Dummies Book. If there is one this dummy doesn't know about it. If not, KIMURA-MMA should write one.


----------



## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

Hi Sandy.

The bottom line is, most consumers do not understand (or care, for that matter) about screen fees, cost per print, etc. They just see the finished goods. So consumers expect some consistency in pricing, therefore retailers expect consistency in pricing, therefore you need to structure your pricing with that in mind.

Let's say you have three designs and each has a different cost per print ($4, $6, $7). Set your wholesale price in the $10-12 range and you should be fine. Your profit margin will be different for each shirt, but it will average out in the end and allow your retailer to sell at consistent price points.


----------



## acmeprinting (Jun 4, 2007)

Ah ok. That helps alot! Thanks Tim! I so need to do some changes to my pricing sheet. Makes it alot easier that way. I was trying to figure each and every design. Not that I was trying to squeeze every last dime but because I was trying to make sure I was getting all my costs in. When I started this I would try to get advice from business owners that I know and everyone would say "make sure you get your cost back on everything and then some". Unfortunately, I know not one person in retail to ask what a retailer expects or to get any information on how buyers/store owners work etc. So this is very very golden information for me. Thanks again, Tim!


----------



## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

When I had a retail store I looked at every product offered to me and came up with a price I could sell it for....And then work backwards from there....So when pricng a shirt and/or line you should do the same....

So say you and your retailers figure out they can sell your line for 25.00 each.....You should work backwards from that starting point...And these days retailers have lots of product to choose from....So do not be surprised if they are not interested or want more than 50% off retail...

My friend who has a sporting goods store just booked a shirt line for fall to Christmas selling season and they got 25.00 retail shirts for 10.00 each...Delivery will be late September and invoice is not due until Jan 2012...

So not only are you competing against lots of product you also have to deal with other vendors who are well capitalized and can offer lower pricing and better terms than you....Big stores will take a lot of effort...

But if your line is unique you can do it....Good luck....


----------



## tripleo (Apr 22, 2010)

Hey Acmeprinting



> To Tripelo: Those prices that you listed is that what cost you to have them printed by the screenprinter or do you print them yourself? Is this one design or for multipule designs?


I dont print them myself. Those prices are from my printer which includes the print, the folding, the tagging and the shipping. And in terms of colors. I have 3 different colors of the same logo. Each color change is $10.00 extra, and each screen change is $25.00 (but im pretty sure the screen change is a one time cost). Anyways I didnt add those costs into my t-shirts. They are extra, for me, but I will mention it to the retailer, just in case we do more than 3 different colors. And its only one design, and that design can come in 3 or more colors. 

I hope you get your pricing figured out, I am going to be presenting him with 2 options. Option A: Tiered Pricing and Option B: Fixed Pricing...

and see where that goes. =) Good luck!


----------



## acmeprinting (Jun 4, 2007)

This is great information. Thank you so much, guys!


----------



## mistacash (May 3, 2010)

interesting topic, really gave me a new understanding on prices, so 2 more question. if i am selling my shirts my self, should i aim for double my cost as my sale price? and how would u guys calculate time used to design and print your own shirts, and make a price for that?


----------



## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

Yes you should be able to at least double your costs........But....And a big but.....

If your shirts can sell retail for 25.00 and best case you can get 12.50 wholesale you need to get your costs under 6.25 to double your money.....But if you are only doing small runs this cost price point may not be possible in the short term......So then you have to throw out the idea of doubling your costs until your sales reach a point where your production costs can get to this price point....

If you add in all your costs you may price yourself out of the market when competing against other lines....You can not sell your shirts for more just because you are starting out and your costs are too high.....


----------



## mistacash (May 3, 2010)

thanks man, i understand what your saying


----------

