Is doing one off T/Polo Shirts worth it?

[easiprint]

Hi

We're mainly a printing company (paper based products), but a couple of years ago we added flex printing and dye sub as an add on service. As most of our customers are businesses, the intention was to supply in bulk, mainly with workwear - ideally businesses who need 10-20 polo shirts with their logo on. What we've found is that we're getting people coming in wanting one T shirt printing, which in reality is not worth us doing. I dont feel we can charge more than £9 for a printed T Shirt and when you factor in the T shirt at £1.50, flex at £0.50 and delivery from Ralawise at £7, you're at £9, so were working for nothing. I do it in the hope it will lead on to other jobs, but usually it's just another order for one T Shirt! This morning we've spent three hours doing 3 T Shirts, all for different customers. Total profit £14, and that's without taking into account time and electricity. So, Im at the point where I need to decide do I just stop doing clothing all together or impose a mimimum order quantity to ensure there's some money in an order, and if so what is a reasonable minimum order?

Anyone got any wise words??

Simon

[JMugs]

Charge more..... Obvious.
Or have I lost the plot?
Yours sincerely but confused.
Janners.

[easiprint]

Problem is, we have another business opposite us who only do printed clothing, hence have stocks of most things in, who are charging £7 a T Shirt, so even at our £9 we are quite a lot more expensive so do not feel I can charge more. I know there will always be someone willing to do something for a bit less, but if customers percieve our T Shirts to be expensive, they will associate us with high prices on everything else too, which is not the case. It's not a problem on the larger orders as the delivery is covered, which is why I thought a minimum order may be the way forward and let our competitor have the one's and two's. I think to make it worthwhile doing one offs, we would have to charge about £15 each, which is a lot for a FoTL T Shirt in my opinion.

[Paul]

delivery from ralavise is £7 but who is ordering only one tee?
if you order 50 of them then you split the cost and and tee will cost you £2 not £9

[easiprint]

I know Paul, which is why the initial plan was to supply workwear to businesses who need 20+ at a time, making it viable. Problem is, we are getting many one man band gardeners and the like in, who only want one T Shirt at a time. A few of them also have leaflets printed with us, so we make profit on those, but they then tell their friends where to go to get one T Shirt, and it causes issues like this. As this is only a side line, we could not even try to hold stocks of every size, colour, style, so we do order as needed. I know this cannot go on, so I need to decide if minimum orders are the right way forward, or to just stop doing clothing completely, or if I'm missing another option to help?

[socialgiraffe]

One off garments were, and still are, a royal pain in the neck. You either need to have £300-£500 worth of stock sitting there in the hope that someone will buy it, or you suffer the loss on one off orders. If you offer 5 different colours in 5 different sizes and kept stock of say 10 of each. That's 250 garments you need to keep in stock and for me was simply not worth it.

I see that opposite you there is a shop offering 1 offs for £7.00

Would it not be worth you putting a sign in your store offering one off garments for £6.50?

Get a range of sizes and colours in ready and see how it well it does over three months. If it works well at £6.50 you are making more than you do at £9.00 and you may even get customers from the other side of the road.

It it does not do well then sell the stock on here and cut your losses perhaps.

[easiprint]

I very much want to move away from one off's in some way. Not sure how long it takes most, but from start to finish, from setting artwork, to cutting, weeding and applying a one off takes the wife between 30-45 minutes, not much less than a run of 20 would take her. I feel her time could be better spent in other ways than one offs.

[socialgiraffe]

Simon, are you open tomorrow?

If I get chance (not sure yet) but I will pop down with some TMT white samples which may make life a lot easier and considerably quicker for you.

WOW paper is currently £3.00 a sheet, but that is changing very soon (I hear at about FESPA time) to about £1.00 a sheet. Dark garment tee will take 5mins from start to finish

[accdave]

Charge £9 get the people across the road to print it for £7 and you have made £2 for crossing the road

[arko]

accdave..... very naughty, but my way of thinking too!