# To fulfill or not to fulfill?



## davey72 (Nov 16, 2009)

Hey everyone!

I need some advice. I think I've established what type of business model I want to set up:

-The designs to be printed on my shirts are simply words using a font I purchased.
-I want to use a high quality t-shirt such as the ones I see at www.royalapparel.net.
-I would like to provide crew neck and v-neck t-shirts.
-I want the shirts to be relabelled, either tagless or embroidered tags.
-I will handle my own website and shopping cart.
-I would prefer to have someone inventory, print, relabel and ship my shirts as well as provide customer service.
-I want to include a card when the shirt is sent to the client as well as have my own packaging.

Any advice on what company would work best with this type of business model? Also, do you feel that it's worthwhile to use a fulfillment company to inventory, print, relabel and ship the shirts to start or would you recommend storing and shipping at your home until you have a lot of orders?


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## yodude711 (Feb 20, 2010)

I tell you, managing an inventory is the biggest hassle of selling t-shirts. The fulfillment is the 2nd biggest hassle. 

When I started selling t-shirts online 8 years ago, there wasn't any print-on-demand type services, and my business wasn't big enough to afford a fulfillment company. So of course I did it all myself. 

Then when digital printing came around, I tried out this type of printing, but was less than impressed with the quality of print. I mean, it does have the one advantage of being able to print in full color with ease, but the print felt like a heat transfer instead of the professional screen printed feeling and look I was going for. 

It took me a while but I finally found a screen printer to partner with to have my shirts screen printed on demand and drop shipped out to my customer. For me, this is the best way I've found to run an online t-shirt biz. The orders come in on my own website (I use e-junkie for the shopping cart, wouldn't recommend any other service over theirs), the orders get automatically sent to the printer, he prints them up and then ships them out to my customer. All I do is keep up the website (which is minimal of course), do the marketing, and monitor bank transactions. It's sort of like the "4-hour workweek" style of doing things. 

Anyway, it's the only way I would ever want to sell t-shirts.


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## zanthetshirtman (Apr 22, 2008)

Hey,

I have the same question, however it seems like it still hasn't been answered! 

Well Davey, I've researched a few options for fulfillment that I'm still up in the air with.

District Lines | Home
Full Color Offset Printing, Apparel Printing & Embroidery, Sticker Printing, Wide Format Printing | Jakprints, Inc
Merchspin | Home | An Orlando, Florida based merch printing, merchandise, apparel and t-shirt screen printing, foil, oversize print, order fulfillment and graphic design company

I'm gonna see what the pros and cons are between them all and get back to ya.

Hope this helps



davey72 said:


> Hey everyone!
> 
> I need some advice. I think I've established what type of business model I want to set up:
> 
> ...


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## dptk (Aug 14, 2009)

I use fulfillment for 80% of my orders, keep in mind you have to have all the inventory sitting there and paid for, plus fulfillment has a monthly fee, plus my fulfillment costs are about $7-$8 ea/ order + about $1 for ea additional shirt, so not a lot of profit left on a $20 shirt after paying for the shirt, credit card fee, etc. so you need to move volume, but I wouldn't do it any other way.


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## zanthetshirtman (Apr 22, 2008)

Hey DP,

Thanks for the post. I'm in between districtlines and jakprints or DIY (from home until I have enough $ and orders to warrant outsourcing)

What company do you use for your fulfillment? Districtlines just takes 25% of the full purchase price of each item and does not charge for credit card fees and fulfillment.


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## dptk (Aug 14, 2009)

i just use a public warehouse co. that also does fufillment , they charge monthly storage (per pallet) and set rate per order shipped + $ per item. I'm not going to post specific details on the contract since it is a private contract. I have the merch printed at a printer, stickered, barcode and sent to fulfillment warehouse. I then send the order instruction to the fulfillment warehouse as needed.


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## LynxFulfillment (Sep 16, 2010)

After reading DP's post, I wanted to comment. The rates mentioned are outrageous. But even worse is that I have a bigger concern. 

I'd suggest avoiding any fulfillment provider that requires a contract. This is a red flag to me as should the fulfillment company not be all they are supposed to be then you have no way out. A service agreement, outlining pricing for fulfillment services is acceptable, but do not ever enter into an agreement that requires a time commitment. 

In addition, the rates mentioned by DP seem to be very high. Picking a shirt from inventory, folding it and placing it in a poly mailer or box should cost no more than a couple of dollars. And even then it's a bit on the high side. The pick charges (picking an additional item) is also very high. I'd suggest companies that either offer "per line" charges or pick charges in the range of $.30. 

Remember that there are a lot of options out there for fulfillment providers. Shop around to find one that makes economical sense.


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## Don Recapo (May 20, 2010)

I am in the same boat. I want to fulfill, but I am afraid I won't make any money after all the overhead, but if I don't what are my alternatives. I gotta start somewhere.


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## LynxFulfillment (Sep 16, 2010)

Don,

There are companies that work with start-ups/small businesses. There are others like mine, but it's best to explore all options. Print On Demand might be an option, but if you are going to hold inventory then outsourcing from the start or starting out fulfilling on your own are definite options. Keep in mind that shipping and handling can be an additional revenue stream. I often see start-ups or early phase businesses charging too low for shipping and handling. It's not unreasonable to cover your costs for these things.

Patrick


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