# Transitioning from $15 tees to designer tees



## farennikov (Sep 4, 2006)

Has anyone here had an experience of transitioning from being a $15/tee vendor to a designer tshirt company (i.e. Affliction, Obey etc)?


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## batfink (Aug 5, 2006)

Wow, Niiiiiiiiiiiice tees man.

Do you ship internationally??


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## farennikov (Sep 4, 2006)

batfink said:


> Wow, Niiiiiiiiiiiice tees man.
> 
> Do you ship internationally??


hey thanks a lot! Well I never did ship internationally, and the checkout option does not provide that option. If you can pay via Paypal then I can ship I guess. So far that would be by request only, because right now I am trying to develop continental US market.

Where are you by the way?


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## IKyoungBumI (Aug 31, 2006)

that is some nice shirts I must say so myself...

wiLL


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## Twinge (Apr 26, 2005)

farennikov said:


> Has anyone here had an experience of transitioning from being a $15/tee vendor to a designer tshirt company (i.e. Affliction, Obey etc)?


I don't have any experience here, but I imagine that it would be best to keep them seperate for the most part - i.e. don't try to sell high-end and regular shirts on the same website.



farennikov said:


> hey thanks a lot! Well I never did ship internationally, and the checkout option does not provide that option. If you can pay via Paypal then I can ship I guess. So far that would be by request only, because right now I am trying to develop continental US market.


Since you're shipping USPS, you can ship internationally to most major countries fairly easily; it will of course cost $10-12 or so for shipping, though.

Two other notes: You're targeting a US market, so I really expect that you'd be able to sell more larges than smalls; larges have been our largest sellers overall, though of course it will vary a bit depending on the target market.

Also, I don't think enough people are using Google Checkout yet t offer it as your only purchasing option on the site. Paypal still has the advantage of letting people purchase without signing up for an account, so you may want to offer both.


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## farennikov (Sep 4, 2006)

Twinge said:


> Also, I don't think enough people are using Google Checkout yet t offer it as your only purchasing option on the site. Paypal still has the advantage of letting people purchase without signing up for an account, so you may want to offer both.


Well that might be a good idea but having to checkout options - isn't it a little weird?


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## hongkongdmz (Jun 29, 2006)

Your website and designs look cool, but I personally don't like flash as a consumer. I don't like waiting even one second. I think if you wanted to sell designer brand t-shirts you'd need to focus on a few things. One would be fashion in addition to your designs. I'd expand your product line, you'd need a professional and high-quality website. Your t-shirt materials would also have to be good quality. If you wanted to make your t-shirts into a designer brand, it'd take fashion contacts as well. Simply having a t with a design wouldnt work, so again fashion trends are a must. The rest would be through your product branding and promotion. It could be possible for a start-up brand to portray themselves as a designer brand. You'd need to show quality and good designs. Also depends on your target market, you want to sell to most people then sell it as $15. You want to make more money and become a designer brand then charge more cash. People seem to think that a higher-priced t-shirt can mean quality. And the last thing you need is time and hard work....hope that helps a little. 

Good luck now,

Nick.


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## farennikov (Sep 4, 2006)

hongkongdmz said:


> ...


Hey Nick, thanks. Well one thing, it's not Flash. I would not use Flash on my site. It's the 'Lightbox' javascript module for displaying images. At least it's better then pop-up image windows.

Well thing is that I want to start a designer line of clothing one day, maybe in a couple of years when I get to know the industry better and get some contacts. It will be definitely done under another name, too. All the things you say are good and helpful, thanks. Also when I do that I will probably get my stuff made on custom made prime cotton somewhere on a high end facility, and it probably won't be sold from my own website. And yes, trend research is a big thing, and costly, I know. Even thought I am going to try to find these trend researches somewhere either online or through friends to utilize in my current line. Right now I pretty much look around and see what's hot and try to do something similar, basically following others, but with the designer apparel line it will be the other way around, I'd probably have to be the one to pitch new hot stuff to the market.

Anyway, I guess my main objective in this thread is to talk with people who own or work for designer brands. Not necessarily those who actually transitioned or re-branded into one.


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## Twinge (Apr 26, 2005)

farennikov said:


> Well that might be a good idea but having to checkout options - isn't it a little weird?


Not at all. Is it odd to offer both Visa and Master Card for example? Or to also offer Check or Money order? Generally, the more options you have available for people to make purchases with, the more people will be willing to depart with their money =)


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## ZOKU (Sep 8, 2006)

Nice shirts!!


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