# What colour tee shirts sell best ?



## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

Hi. I currently sell sublimation on white shirts and heat pressed vinyl on black shirts. I currently don't offer any other colour shirts for sale.

Was thinking of perhaps offering more colours for the vinyl, but don't know how the different colours sell.

If one of the larger volume sellers could help out by pointing out what colours sell well and roughly what percentages the different colours represent in sales.

Ideally am only looking for a couple of extra colours to offer, to keep my inventory down.  Any help appreciated.... thanks.


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## badalou (Mar 19, 2006)

white, Black, navy, red, ash.. for me..


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## Robin (Aug 28, 2006)

white, ash, black and red (in that order) for me. Most of my stuff is done on the brother gt541, the black is cut vinyl.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

Thanks for that guys. As I like wearing black tee shirts all the time, I have to be careful that my own inventory isn't coloured (pun) by own own personal preferences. (and before anyone asks, yes we do put a u in the word coloured in the UK).

Definitely been looking at the white shirts for vinyl, as although sublimation produces a great image, I don't think the polyester in the shirts feels anything like as good, as pure cotton does.


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## gorilladuck (Jan 28, 2008)

I personally think that the color of the shirt should be part of the design. If not PART of the design, I think it should at least compliment the design, and the color should be chosen with that in mind. It seems to me, black is probably the most popular, and white the least popular. The problem for me is you can usually see through white shirts unless they are especially thick, and I prefer softer fabrics which tend to be thinner. White shirts also sometimes just seem like undershirts. Some people really like white shirts, I'm sure, but most of the people I know, and most people in my market prefer dark colors. That said, if you focus on choosing the shirt color based on the design, I think you'll find that it doesn't matter about preferences because the design matters more. I'd be willing to buy a white shirt if the shirt was cleverly part of the design. Maybe in some negative space-positive space kind of way. If you want to make sure you have a variety of shirt colors (which probably does help the appearance of an on-line store), then come up with designs that work specifically on certain colors.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

*Hi. Thanks for your perspective on the colours. As I use cut vinyl for the cotton tee shirts, I find it quite easy to change the vinyl colours to match the shirt. Have to keep less of a shirt inventory that way too.*

*Have now added white shirts in the cotton, to go with the black tees. Hey, my customers now have a choice!!!*


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## onesielady (May 1, 2008)

Although I work with infant, baby and toddler - Black is the new white I think. We get requests for black all the time and I see that black t-shirts are very popular with adults too.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

*To see future trends, you simply look back at past trends. Look back in films and shows going back to the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's. Two colours that have always been there in tees, are black and white. Fashion designers state that everything goes around in circles. If you keep things long enough, they'll inevitably be fashionable again.*

*As folks that make tee shirts and other stuff, we have to keep our fabric materials to base colours. Designs we can adapt, but we cannot hold dead stock of something, that's no longer fashionable.*

*What are other folks take on this? How do we keep a minimum inventory?*


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## Progeny (Jul 28, 2007)

I don't personally ever wear black or white t-shirts, i tend to go with khaki, greys, blues and as Ryan said I do my best to make the colour of the shirt part of the design for my own brand.

I obviously offer black and white to my customers and they always sell well. I get Gildan/Hanes t's from Ralawise so i don't actually hold a stock as such, just get them as and when i need them.

Have a look at all the brands at the moment and see what the in colours are, check out reem clothing or mainline menswear to see what the big brands are doing.

Lee


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

Black Gray,Red ,Royal and white in that order. .... JB


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## ino (Jan 23, 2007)

LAST WEEK I SAW ABOUT 40000 ORANGE SHIRTS ALL AT ONE GO. THEY WERE ALL DUTCH FANS WATCHING THEIR SOCCER TEAM. SO I SUPPOSE THAT ORANGE MUST BE A POPULAR COLOUR IN hOLLAND.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

*Hi. The best market is where they DON'T have the shirts already*.  

*Saw a wonderful tee the other week, that had been printed in 1930's trains, automobiles and aircraft. The whole thing was printed, including the sleeves. Fabulous colours and graphics that all complemented each other.*


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## funkymunky (Dec 8, 2007)

Well heres my pennies worth!

Light and bright in the summer months sell well.

Darker shades through the winter months including black, grey, khaki and brown.

Gildan do a lovely shade of LIME which I found not too popular this summer, but stuck a decent design on it and 'hey presto' it sold. Maybe i'm a little brave with my colours currently selling orange and yellow reasonably well but I know I have to shift these before the weather turns!

Colour also makes the website a little brighter! Black will always sell well but a little dull if it is all you offer.

Phil


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## FJV11 (Oct 15, 2007)

I keep a lot of different color samples available in order to offer a wide selection, even if it's just 1 shirt of that color, I can always order more. Some people go with one of the odd colors but most stick to the white, ash, gray, or black.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

*Hi. Thanks for all the input on this topic so far. *

*Three main colours that seem to keep popping up are black, white and ash. Too early to say whether these are the three top selling colours, but keep your suggestions rolling in, as I'm sure this topic will be of interest to lots of other folks on here.*


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## gorilladuck (Jan 28, 2008)

I think, when it comes down to it, different markets prefer different color shirts just as they refer different fits and types of fabric. My approach to all of this is to design shirts that _I _would want to wear, on colors I like, on fabrics I like. After that, it's all a matter of finding the people out there who are like me!


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

*In my case Ryan, that would mean everyone wearing black cotton items with colour graphics.*  

*I do have to hold my hand up and state that I don't currently sell anything in women's sizes. Think that down to a vanity issue though. At least guys order the next size up with pride.  Someone I know has an awful lot of returns from their female customers, stating wrong size supplied. Not being sexist - just cautious (honest).  *


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## Sharra (May 26, 2008)

I have to say size is a concern for me - I'm thinking about sticking to men's sizes as well, although one of the reasons I started this was because I could never get the great designs I wanted in women's clothing.. Women always underestimate their weight. Guy's tend to exaggerate their height.. go figure!!


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

*Apart from potential colour choices, we all have to stock garments in more than one size. I only print up a garment when someone actually buys one. ALL my stock is unprinted until purchase.*

*If a customer decides they want to return a garment for being a wrong size, I am then left with a printed garment, on a particular colour and a particular size. It may be a considerable time before that garment then re-sells.*

*Multiply that dilemma by a large colour inventory and you could really be creating a lot of problems for yourself.*


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## Progeny (Jul 28, 2007)

For the orders i do face to face or over the internet I always have one line at the bottom of the order form i send, next to the customers signature stating the process is permanent and therefore i can't refund on personalised decorated garments.

It's different with an e-shop, i suppose someone will by a t-shirt and have no contact with the retailer until they get the shirt delivered and find it's too small/big and want an exchange.

Lee


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## khay (Jul 6, 2008)

In my opinion, white is a solid contender for shirts selling best. White tees can really go with anything and can be mixed and matched with other things depending on the graphics.


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## gorilladuck (Jan 28, 2008)

Since my store is tied to Printmojo, I don't really have to worry too much about returns since they handle all of that. To be safe, I let people know what brand of shirts I use and then have a pretty detailed size chart. American Apparel is a pretty standard brand, so many people already know what size works for them. Continental Bamboo runs larger, and are also really stretchy, so people aren't likely to get anything too small. I have both men's and women's styles for each of those brands, but men's are selling at a much higher rate. I only recently started getting sales, so I don't know yet if people will need to send them back for a different size. I think for the most part, the market for the style of designs will be people who want more fitted shirts, but I could be wrong. I am just basing that on my friends who wear my shirts. One problem with going through Printmojo is that I get no information about the people buying my shirts, aside from what they bought. I don't even know where the sales are coming from unless it is California because then they are charged sales tax.


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