# Do Iron On Transfers really sell?



## gazsta (Mar 24, 2010)

Hey everyone, im brand new to this forum so be gentle

My question is do iron on transfer tshirts really sell? I am thinking of starting by printing some and selling them on sites like Ebay and such but im worried people will think that the transfer will be crumby and wash out after a couple of washes, this will no doubt put people off buyin the tshirts i print?

I am currently using a Inkjet printer and this transfer paper too

A4 JET-Opaque II for DARKs

Im very worried that my items just wont sell on say Ebay, any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

don't want to be a wet blanket but your initial thoughts are probably accurate...iron on transfers do not rise to a commercial level. They will not last as you need constant, even heat and pressure to get a good transfer.

I know some will disagree with me but just look on ebay at the choices...and you will see what I mean


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## PMS PokerWear (Aug 19, 2009)

My entire business is done using Plastasol Transfers and I must say the quality and longevity of the product is 100%.


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## Ingridlaughs (Mar 25, 2010)

Gulp! I would love to hear from others here regarding this question. It seems to me there are plenty of successful heat-transfer businesses based on the posts I read. Am I wrong?


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## proworlded (Oct 3, 2006)

Sorry, but I totally (and respectfully) disagree with Charles. Professionally manufactured iron on transfers are of equal quality, and sometimes better, than screen printing. We have been selling heat applied graphics for 38 years to thousands of customers who reorder regularly. It is an industry that has stayed fairly constant during difficult times. In fact, there have been periods that transfer sales have increased in an economy such as we are experiencing now.


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## mikev98 (Mar 26, 2010)

buy a heat press and have yoru designs screen printed on plastinol transfer paper and then press yourself. You can't tell the difference. Looks the same as screen printed because they actually are screen printed. Good luck


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## Nick Horvath (Feb 26, 2010)

gazsta said:


> I am currently using a Inkjet printer and this transfer paper too
> 
> A4 JET-Opaque II for DARKs


I just wanted to add that there is a big difference between inkjet transfers and transfers that are created by screenprinting.

Inkjet transfers will vary depending on the manufacturer and type of printer/ink you are using, while the screenprinted transfers (if manufactured well) will usually look better and more like actual screenprinting.


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## PMS PokerWear (Aug 19, 2009)

Good point Nick!


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## brice (Mar 10, 2010)

Went to the local flea market here in town. There were 3 larger vendors with heat presses and transfers. They carried a LOT of inventory. Prices ranged from 3 for $10 to $8 each. 

They are giving them away at 3 for $10, but that's a different discussion. The middle of the road vendor (price at the mid point) was the busiest. Her press was constantly in motion. The cheapest vendor was not busy at all, but I did speak to him and he said he'd been there 2 years and was coming back for a third. $195 a day for rent. I was there 15 minutes and saw a lot of lookers, but no buyers... don't know where his business was coming from... The mid priced vendor had no time to talk to anyone. She had a lot of inventory on the tables, but people were getting shirts pressed. Most of what she was pressing were of the shirts for display only. Anything on the table was $3-5 each and there was no really higher markup for the shirts on display. She just had to make them to order. 

Crickets were feeding on the stock of the most expensive vendor. She had the best quality, IMHO, shirts, but didn't carry a lot of red neck and dixie products.  Hers were more inspirational and funny saying oriented. 

There's got to be something missing in the model that I'm just not privy too. These shirts have to be purchased on huge volumes, as would the transfers, make it worthwhile at these priceses. Assume $1.50 for a white shirt, $0.50 at the least for a transfer. 3 / $10 would just not be worth it unless you had customer beating your doors down. I guess I'm shopping for transfers in the wrong place. Even if I had my own transfer design done at someplace like transfer express, I'm not going to get it done in full color at that price if I ordered 500 of them.

What am I missing? Where are they getting these products that makes this affordable even in a flea market. Just buying someone else's out of date stock? Both were using $2300 Hix Air Automatic presses....


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## proworlded (Oct 3, 2006)

Were the shirts seconds with cut labels? Maybe closeout transfers for $.25 each?? And maybe she likes pasta and we like steak!!


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## brice (Mar 10, 2010)

Full label shirts for all 3 vendors. No cut tags. I checked. A couple of times at each location. I was trying to figure out how they could possibly do what they were doing.

Cheapest was primarily gildan, most expensive was FOL exclusively. Mid priced vendor, getting most of the business, was mix of gildan and hanes. 

Seemed that if you were a red neck, loved dixie, dogs, booze, or hated democrats, you were in the right place. Perhaps they were close out transfers as I saw little of what I thought was trendy, but heck red neck trendy isn't something with which I am familiar.

$0.25 closeout transfers might be part of the equation.


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## Ingridlaughs (Mar 25, 2010)

Up here in the North Country, dogs and booze are quite popular. (In fact, we have our share of alcoholic dogs.) Democrats are on the outs, at least currently. This means in order to become rich, I just need to crank out a few thousand t-shirts with drunk Beagles on snowboards giving a thumbs-down to that health care act.

What color shirt?


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## mrblfx (Feb 18, 2009)

OK down here in northern ky we can relate to booze,dogs,
hunting gun racks dixie and women in too short of shorts?

but they do sell at the right market place,,
gray or ash for t color

just my thoughts

jim


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## brice (Mar 10, 2010)

Saleability is not the issue. It's the price. I hope I can get my costs that low. I do plan a different marketplace. Not that there is anything wrong with booze, women, dogs, hunting, guns, trucks, Dixie, or red necks.


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