# $3.70 out the door per shirt?!?!?!?!



## aplusbowling (Dec 6, 2007)

300 shirts at the above stated price....one color front and one color back on yellow shirt. Local printer quoted this for a job. Kind of low if you ask me. What's your opinion...

Mine....this stinks!!!


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## A Perfect Pixel (Jul 4, 2008)

yeah, that's do-able...

Guy probably works out of his house and has no major overheads

my price is actually right around that


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## aplusbowling (Dec 6, 2007)

A Perfect Pixel said:


> my price is actually right around that


including the shirt?


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## A Perfect Pixel (Jul 4, 2008)

aplusbowling said:


> including the shirt?


yup... including the shirt


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## Robin (Aug 28, 2006)

what kind of shirt is it? 6.1oz etc?

Im not a screen printer, but 2 sides on a color t-shirt I would expect it to be quite a bit more. I know Id be wary.


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## aplusbowling (Dec 6, 2007)

Shirt is 5.6 oz. cotton. Black ink on front and black ink on back. Large image on both locations. I called a few other printers around town and most were between $5-$7. That's where my price point falls. All artwork is being provided.

I just think $3.70 seems awfully cheap....


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## knifemaker3 (Sep 8, 2006)

I just plugged this into a price calc. and came up with $4.33 pershirt before tax and wih $20 artwork fee but no screen set up fee.

With my setup I figure minimum of 6 hours to do job not counting screen drying time. Would be @ $50 / hour labor.

Not bad if I've done my figures right.

'course keep in mind that I haven't got my screenprint setup complete and haven't actually screened anything yet!!!!

so take what I say with a grain of salt!!!!


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

We would charge $4.50 per shirt for that job. Do you know what set up they have? Automatics? Actual shop or home based? Etc? Where are you located? Location can have a lot to do with it.

If you have compared other printers and they are higher, then this $3.70 guy may just be out of the norm and desperate to get a job.

Edit: we can finish the job in about 2.5 hours from film output to packaging.


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## out da box (May 1, 2007)

I cheated on my calculator and still ended up with 5.00/pc. I used to do "contract" work for some customers at a price like that OR LOWER. Been a while since I printed for that cheap, but then again I had WAAAAY less overhead back then, times have changed, but there are a lot of folks who are HUNGRY and 25-40 dollars/hr starts to sound good- go figure.
Honestly, we could do that whole job both sided in 3 hours on an auto. So at 2.00/pc profit * 300 pcs=600.00 or 200.00/hr profit-- hey now that you think about it- that ain't bad money... hmmmmmm!


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## aplusbowling (Dec 6, 2007)

Thanks for all the replies. I think this printer is probably using automatics. It's just kind of strange that several other printers were quite a bit higher. Maybe TeddyRocky and Out Da Box are right, this printer just wants the job.


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## TshirtGuru (Jul 9, 2008)

lol its people like you Out Da Box! Now let's stop that!!! 

A lot of people say hmm thats cheap, and the printer thinks, heyyy I can fill that empty slot in my schedule to make a couple hundred bucks. Why not right? 

Well that's how the toilet bowl effect starts happenining.


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## Sheepsalt (Sep 12, 2007)

Even at 300 pieces on the auto press that's pretty low... 

2 screen-use @ $20ea = $40
2 film-shots @ $10ea = $20
300 Gildan tees @ $1.99 ea X 1.45(markup) = $865.65
300 front prints @ $0.75ea = $225
300 back prints @ $0.75ea = $225
Total = $1,375.65
works out to $4.5855 each.

Whoever it is won't charge that price for long & be able to stay in business.


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## Reddawgs (Mar 26, 2008)

$3.70 is cheap auto or manual. I would ask what brand of shirts they will be using. ask to see some samples of previous work also.

Greg


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## Reddawgs (Mar 26, 2008)

> 2 screen-use @ $20ea = $40
> 2 film-shots @ $10ea = $20
> 300 Gildan tees @ $1.99 ea X 1.45(markup) = $865.65


Brian, I would say the printer is not charging for screens or film and is selling the shirts at cost.

Greg


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## Sheepsalt (Sep 12, 2007)

You have to be right, Greg. Even working out of his house a guy can't make a living like that. Unless it's his mom's house & he has no bills - that could be.


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## A Perfect Pixel (Jul 4, 2008)

Sheepsalt said:


> You have to be right, Greg. Even working out of his house a guy can't make a living like that. Unless it's his mom's house & he has no bills - that could be.


hobbyist... 

I'm not a screen printer full-time... during the day, i'm a graphic and web designer... been doing it 15+ years now...

I got into screen printing to make t-shirts for my members of my "other" site, instead of paying somebody else...

then I advanced into this to make some extra cash... i'm a single dad of two kids, so extra money don't come easy...

I started off with a one-color starter kit, now I have a 4 color press and the original one color...

If i were doing this as my primary money making job, i'm sure my prices would go up too, but, I don't have the client base for it just yet


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## Uncle John (Mar 11, 2007)

Brian, find out or visit the printer and see if he's a contract printer. We are a contract printer and would love to make this kind of profit. We charge $10.00 per screen to cover emulsion and reclaim. We buy about 60,000 6.1oz 100% Gildan a month our cost is just over $1.20 ea. unless on sale. One color front and back is simple. If the costumer supply's us a vector art we print it out on velum and no art charge. We have four auto machines that can turn out about 600 shirts per hour. 
Its a good quote, but get more information, visit samples etc
Good luck, John.


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## HMD10 (Feb 17, 2008)

we would charge $3.50ea


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## out da box (May 1, 2007)

i agree that 3.70 is cheap. I guess t depends on the customer and your shop's volume. If I had 3 of those jobs a day, even at 3.70/pc I would be paid. Of course I dont run those types of jobs day in and day out, so even a good paying job's profits last NO time with my current overhead. 4.50-5.50 is plenty fair for a walk in customer.


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## Reddawgs (Mar 26, 2008)

> we would charge $3.50ea


Jamie, I went to your site and was going to order 300 Gildan ultra 6.1 oz shirts but your site quoted $6.32 per shirt need to get that fixed.

Greg


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## HMD10 (Feb 17, 2008)

Not to bad a profit shirts $1.25ea ink about $0.75 and about 45min of your time...Screens reclaim no loss, film $5.00...you will make $1.50ea in less than an hour ($450.00) do a couple of those a day and your in business


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## HMD10 (Feb 17, 2008)

That is in Beta the quote form isn't updated we have an Automatic now


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## Sheepsalt (Sep 12, 2007)

Uncle John said:


> We are a contract printer and would love to make this kind of profit.


Really? Wow, I find that surprising - in surveying the shops around Phoenix, the cheapest I've found for 300 pieces, 1-color is $0.75 per side on the auto. $0.50 for 1,000 pieces.

Do you mark up your blanks?


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## Uncle John (Mar 11, 2007)

No not in most cases, our customers also have the shirts shipped to us that they buy. Large volume the know shirt prices.


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

Our price would have been $5.56 per shirt with no setup or screen charges. And, we are considered the cheapest in our area! However, I'm revamping our price list and considering going up a bit. 

We run a 4 color / 1 station manuel press and are trying to make a name for ourselves in the area and starting to gain some traction with local reunions and events.


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## Sheepsalt (Sep 12, 2007)

True... we have a policy about a client buying the blanks. We don't pre-inspect them, except a quick visual as they come out of the box & go on the press, so whatever they send get's printed & they have to pay for it even if the blank was bad. Also, if we mess up any prints we don't re-imburse the cost of the blanks. So, under those conditions I can see such a low price, but if we're providing the blanks we inspect them & guarantee their quality, and we charge a markup for that service - high or low volume.


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## Reddawgs (Mar 26, 2008)

I guess different markets and more competition but makes it great for the consumer. I would be at about $4.50-$4.75 per shirt that’s about what that job would bring in my area.

Greg


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## staned (Feb 25, 2007)

at 300pcs you are not just a walk-in customer and should get special pricing. gildan 2000s went up this week so i would be at 3.99 for 12x12" or 5.65 for a 20x28" one color both sides done in matsui water base ink for that no hand feel (10%more for ink thirsty designs). i'm going to raise my rates 15% this fall because of natural gas prices and consumables. at these contract printer prices the customer supplies or pays for film positives. there are no screen charges. have to go now ,mom says it's time for bed. no hand stan


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

I disagree, a 300 piece order shouldn't automatically considered a special customer. I consider all first time customers as a walk-in customer. Two time customers as re-order customers. Three + times is considered a special loyal customer regardless of quantity.

Charities, organizations often order 500+ pieces. But are they loyal? Rarely. They just want the lowest bid to fit into their budget. So should they be considered a special customer? Why? They aren't any different from a customer who orders 24 pieces if they are not repeat customers. I'd rather have 20 orders from the 24 piece customer, then just one order for a 500. Or at least this is how our company views things.


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## Unik Ink (Nov 21, 2006)

^^^Agreed 100%. Repeat business puts food on the table


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## xbrandon408x (Jan 24, 2008)

wow that is cheap i came up with 5.24 per shirt not including the screen fee which would probably be like $20.


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## Matto (Sep 28, 2007)

That price would be an ultimate last act of despiration for me. I work out of my house and my business is actually a hobby that pays for itself. I would not even talk that job for under 5.50 a shirt. 

People that charge lowball prices like that dont just hurt themselves they hurt all of us. 

Manual or automatic It should not matter technically. Yeah auto is faster and more efficient but that is the gravy on the shops plate.

I would be skeptical of the quality also. Shirts and print.

Thats not to say I could not make money at that price but that price point is in the thousands of shirts for me.


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## ScreenMeister (Jun 5, 2007)

Sheepsalt said:


> You have to be right, Greg. Even working out of his house a guy can't make a living like that. Unless it's his mom's house & he has no bills - that could be.


That was a great line! Yes...I did laugh out loud. Now my Sunday is complete!


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## Sheepsalt (Sep 12, 2007)

Thx, ScreenMeister. Glad to help, haha!



Matto said:


> Manual or automatic It should not matter technically. Yeah auto is faster and more efficient but that is the gravy on the shops plate.


Well, from my view, each shop is going to have it's hourly rate figured that it needs to make to cover overhead, expenses & make a profit. If you're running a manual press, your amortization & overhead are lower, so the hourly rate you need to earn is probably lower, too. Say you can make 100 shirts an hour, you need to charge enough per shirt to make your rate. 

But if you have an auto press, your amortization & overhead are probably allot higher, so your hourly rate will need to be higher to cover it. But you might make 400 or even 900 shirts an hour on that puppy, so calculated with your higher hourly rate the cost per shirt to cover that rate is probably lower than with the manual if the order is large enough quantity to fill at least a couple hours.

300 pieces is kind of right at the threshold of savings with the auto, though, I think. Including the setup time the cost per shirt printing only one color is probably not a huge step lower on the auto than on the manual when you consider all the factors... maybe $0.20 - $0.40.


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## out da box (May 1, 2007)

3.70/pc for a colored tee is way cheap. 900pcs..... maybe. 300-NO. Should be 5.00+ per shirt. Everybody is hungry and anxious to cover bills I guess. If you work, you have to make money, It's better to stick to good-fair pricing than take every low-ball order that comes your way. A lot of low paying jobs are the most work customer service wise anyway- oddly enough.


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## ffokazak (Feb 23, 2006)

You Get What You Pay For!


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## staned (Feb 25, 2007)

emvsilkscreen said:


> i meant to say 3.50 a shirt, I'am also running a auto so normally a hundred shirts take me 35 min to do one side. if anyone ever needs to broker out anithing , i could do it for a very good price.


how could you do this to us, snivel- whimper -whine. we're going to starve. i'm telling mom she's got to up my allowance. lol. no really if you can run a special that cheap more power to you. i would not assume that a cheaper price means a crappy product. more often it's the really good printers that can pull a decent profit out of a low bid. the rest of you dry your eyes and sharpen your pencil. this is the real world and price fixing won't work. it's every man(ladies too) for themselves, so gear up your shop for production if your looking to make a decent hourly rate. my two rips on the bong. stan


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## kriscad (Dec 18, 2006)

A Perfect Pixel said:


> yeah, that's do-able...
> 
> Guy probably works out of his house and has no major overheads
> 
> my price is actually right around that



are you still using a blow dryer to cure your shirts??


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## Uncle John (Mar 11, 2007)

Matto said:


> That price would be an ultimate last act of despiration for me. I work out of my house and my business is actually a hobby that pays for itself. I would not even talk that job for under 5.50 a shirt.
> 
> 
> > People that charge lowball prices like that dont just hurt themselves they hurt all of us.
> ...


Its called Free enterprise. That's why there is a nitch for small medium and large volume printers


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## A Perfect Pixel (Jul 4, 2008)

kriscad said:


> are you still using a blow dryer to cure your shirts??


wtf?

when did i ever say that?

I use a small oven thats just big enuff to hold a shirt


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## mtmob (Apr 21, 2007)

Ive also fallen victim to the toilet bowl effect I had a good customer who wanted 400 tshirts done and the lowest i was willing to go was $4 a shirt then all of a sudden he came and told me he wasnt gonna go with my price because he found some guy that was willing to do it for $2.40 but im sorry I wont break my back or my bank for anyone. The way i look at it is either this person has a major hook up price for the blanks or he was dealing with stolen or bootleg blanks but if he was willing to do em then much love to him now im wondering if hes in still in business.


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## TshirtGuru (Jul 9, 2008)

mtmob said:


> Ive also fallen victim to the toilet bowl effect I had a good customer who wanted 400 tshirts done and the lowest i was willing to go was $4 a shirt then all of a sudden he came and told me he wasnt gonna go with my price because he found some guy that was willing to do it for $2.40 but im sorry I wont break my back or my bank for anyone. The way i look at it is either this person has a major hook up price for the blanks or he was dealing with stolen or bootleg blanks but if he was willing to do em then much love to him now im wondering if hes in still in business.


Your main goal for longevity is to find loyal customers who respect your work and trust your prices.

Customers that jump around to the lowest bid, are not worth it to invest time into. Yeah, everyone wants the best price, but there comes a time where that customer will need you back, and he doesn't realize the bridge he burned.


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## Uncle John (Mar 11, 2007)

OK let me say it another way, If you buy ink in 30 gallon drums, have production all the time. You price it to that. Were not undercutting just in the marketplace we have to be in.


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## out da box (May 1, 2007)

You've got to do what you gotta do. It really helps to find customers who are willing to pay your price. 
T-shirt guru has it locked, find loyal, good paying customers, you'll live longer. A lot of people are going to start printing for really low rates to try and stay in motion. Good luck to all who have the stomach to survive.


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## Sheepsalt (Sep 12, 2007)

Uncle John said:


> OK let me say it another way, If you buy ink in 30 gallon drums, have production all the time. You price it to that. Were not undercutting just in the marketplace we have to be in.


Very good point - when you are running high volume and your presses are spinning all day, you costs per shirt are lower so you can charge a lower price.



TshirtGuru said:


> Customers that jump around to the lowest bid, are not worth it to invest time into.


Also very true - I'm a strong believer in setting your prices & never budging. Customers like that will "negotiate" you down on everything until you make nothing, & you can't survive off that.


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## aplusbowling (Dec 6, 2007)

Sheepsalt said:


> Very good point - when you are running high volume and your presses are spinning all day, you costs per shirt are lower so you can charge a lower price.


But if the average price in your area is $1-$2 more per shirt for the same thing, why would you cut your profits by that much. Sure, lower the price a little, but not by nearly half. If your prices are $.20 - $.30 cheaper, the customer will still probably use you. Look how people will go to different gas stations all the time because it's $.02 cheaper.

I just have a hard time understanding why people cut their own throat by lowering their prices so drastically compared to the local competition.


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## bsig03 (Apr 23, 2007)

We would print those shirts for $3.75 on a 6.1oz with free shipping...


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