# Making 'my own' T-shirt design tool



## Grevling4 (Oct 10, 2013)

Hi,

I've been looking at a lot of the online design tools and it seems a lot of them include monthly subscription fees and are linked with e-commerce sites.

I would, however, prefer to make 'my own' engine and link it with my own backoffice.

What kind of fees would I be looking at to design one from scratch? I've spoken with one designer and he says they charge an hourly rate but can't predict how many hours he will use which scares me a little.

Are there designers who sell these kind of solutions outright or does anyone know of any designers with experience in this field?


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## jennGO (Mar 11, 2014)

Try freelancer.com and get someone who will do it for a fixed rate. If they have absolutely no idea how long it will take them to do something they sound either very inexperienced or looking to milk you for money haha. I have had a good experience with someone who had good reviews on freelancer.com. They just made a website for me for a pet project but there are all sorts of talented people on there.


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## Grevling4 (Oct 10, 2013)

jennGO said:


> Try freelancer.com and get someone who will do it for a fixed rate. If they have absolutely no idea how long it will take them to do something they sound either very inexperienced or looking to milk you for money haha. I have had a good experience with someone who had good reviews on freelancer.com. They just made a website for me for a pet project but there are all sorts of talented people on there.


Thanks Jennifer - I was thinking the same as you. I know very little about website programming and design so I'm an easy target.


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## jennGO (Mar 11, 2014)

I think some e-commerce sites take a percentage. I built my own so the only cost per transaction is the merchant services.


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## nicefile (Nov 3, 2014)

Yes, I know many system is expensive. This script is full ecommerce system. You only install and use it. Price of it same 1 t-shirt


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## Grevling4 (Oct 10, 2013)

Thanks for the replies guys.

I will do some research before I make up my mind. I'd rather pay a larger fee in advance than pay a fee for every transaction if I can to be honest.


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## jennGO (Mar 11, 2014)

In the US every transaction requires a fee. The credit card processing is done by a 3rd party company. Every time you pay with a credit card online or at McDonald's, the grocery store, the gas station, etc... this happens. The only way to get around it would be to do cash only. Or maybe eChecks?


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## Grevling4 (Oct 10, 2013)

jennGO said:


> In the US every transaction requires a fee. The credit card processing is done by a 3rd party company. Every time you pay with a credit card online or at McDonald's, the grocery store, the gas station, etc... this happens. The only way to get around it would be to do cash only. Or maybe eChecks?


I know - but I was under the impression that a ready made and done e-commerce site would require a pretty hefty transaction fee compared to if you just make an agreement with a bank. I might be wrong though?

Making my own solution would most certainly be more expensive short term, but I was hoping it would be profitable a couple of years down the line in addition to me getting something with an original and customized feel to it.


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## jennGO (Mar 11, 2014)

I think it depends. Like ebay takes a percentage on top of normal fees. I'm not sure about shopify, big cartel etc. worth looking into


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## freebird1963 (Jan 21, 2007)

Have you looked at Toms Opensource OpenTshirts.org ?


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## Grevling4 (Oct 10, 2013)

jennGO said:


> I think it depends. Like ebay takes a percentage on top of normal fees. I'm not sure about shopify, big cartel etc. worth looking into


I will do 

Thanks!


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## Grevling4 (Oct 10, 2013)

freebird1963 said:


> Have you looked at Toms Opensource OpenTshirts.org ?


Yes I did a couple of weeks ago but I had trouble getting the generator to load. It got stuck somewhere around the 60% mark when I tried to load it.


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