# 6700 stitches



## TshirtGuru (Jul 9, 2008)

The contract embroidery shop we've been using has been giving us retail prices and I just want to double check that these truly aren't contract prices.

For instance a logo that is 6700 stitches on the front of a baseball cap, & small text on the back of the cap with a website address on it, he is charging $7.00 per cap. (I am supplying 40 caps).

Sounds high for contract prices to me, am I wrong?


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## Dan K (Nov 15, 2006)

Sounds high to me. We just contracted an embroidery job that was estimated at 5000 stitches, $2 per piece, $90 digitizing, 100 pieces. The last one I sent out was estimated at 8000 stitches, $2.25 per piece, $144 digitizing, 105 pieces. This is to a contract only embroiderer, they don't sell to the end user ever...


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## out da box (May 1, 2007)

It's 2 locations and only 40pcs. 7.00 is not that bad 6.00 would be better, but again it's 2 locations.


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## imeccentric (May 13, 2007)

Henry,
I agree with Ridgley on this one. $7 isn't that bad for two locations but 6 would be better if you are a regular customer. Also, what is his quality? Some contract shops don't bother to trim jumps and run all of their text together. I charge a little more than others, but the designs are clean when they leave here. Also, take into account if there is a set up charge or digitizing fee. I always waive both if it is a good customer or the order isn't a really small one. Type of cap also comes into my equation. I prefer structured caps because of no stabilizer needed, and ones with a stretch back are always a little more. Every shop is different. At any rate, if I were retailing these, they would be in the neighborhood of 15 bucks each. An individual cap in that range should retail for around $25 so are you really going to kick on $7?


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## amy_schutt (May 29, 2007)

I pay $1 per thousand stitches. I am happy to pay that. IMO, embroidery work stunk. Glad to get rid of that piece of equipt. Glad to drop it off and let them do it.


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## holcomb (Dec 5, 2007)

We do contract embroidery as well as retail. we would charge $75.00 to digitize, $3.50 for the front, and $2.00 for the back.


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## mrsc5inla (May 17, 2008)

You didn't mention if your contract shop was a private party or an actual business. 

If they are private, then the charge is good. If it is a large business, then it should be cheaper.

MAry


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## bungy (Aug 24, 2006)

The 6700 I take it is for front design only?

On qty 40 we would charge around:
Front - AUD $ 6.60, USD $4.50 approx
Back - AUD$3.85, USD $2.50 approx

I think the quantity is the main thing - 40 units (less than 2 boxes - 24/box) is a small order for any contract embroiderer.

So $7.00 is not bad. You will always find someone to do it cheaper (after the fact). As long as you are happy with the quality and price, that is all that matters.


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## rndubow (Feb 18, 2007)

_You didn't mention if your contract shop was a private party or an actual business. 

If they are private, then the charge is good. If it is a large business, then it should be cheaper._ 

In my opinion this statement is just the opposite of reality. An "actual business" has higher costs associated with it than a "private party". There are employees, fixed overhead, higher amortization costs, depreciation, rent and of course taxes amongst many other things that need to be paid for in a commercial setting. 

However with that said, as an "actual business" we also have better and more equipment, more process management skills, higher production ratios and more services. With that said, as an exclusive contract decorator, we would charge $3.20 for the hat front and $1.75 for the hat back, a total of $4.95 each.


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## digembroidery (Oct 28, 2007)

$7.00 is a steal, if the quality of the work is good, and you only want 40 pices, embroidered in 2 locations.


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

Sounds high if that doesn't include set-up.


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## Reddawgs (Mar 26, 2008)

I just got 25 caps embroidered with 10000 stitches the caps included plus shipping for less then $4.00 per cap. the caps are heavy brushed cotton made in china. Email me and I will give you some info if you like.


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## TshirtGuru (Jul 9, 2008)

The quality is just okay. Nothing great. We are regular customers, but this time around I am a bit upset that they didn't bother trimming the loose ends on the inside of the hats.

I compared their rates to the retail rates of a larger embroidery shop around here, the company I use charged about $2 more per hat, but the reason I went with them is that they had already done these last year and I already paid for digitizing. $2 x 40 = $80 is a big difference. What upsets me about it isn't the extra $2, but that they make it seem like they are giving me "contract prices." I am looking at buying my own 1 head machine.


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## imeccentric (May 13, 2007)

Henry,
Let us know how that works out. Twenty grand for a decent set up, a big learning curve, about ten minutes / design to sew and all to save seven bucks??? I really do hope it works, but there is lots to embroidery that folks don't know about. With just one machine, I think you will quickly find that it is impossible to even pay for expenses at that rate, let alone make a profit. Of course I've been known to be wrong before Good luck.


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## EXTouch (Mar 22, 2007)

I just checked with a company that I contract with sometimes and we would have gotten charged about $5.25 for the same hats. Hope this helps.


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## dandi (Feb 3, 2009)

_I send all my caps out. I order the caps, have them drop shipped to the contractor, he ships them to me, I call the customer to pick them up and take the check to the bank. That's easy money. _
_If I could do that with everything, I could sell this 25K+ machine and watch soaps all day._
_Dandi_
_Dandi Designs_


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