What to Consider When Buying Wholesale
If you are in the business of designing or selling t-shirts, or are thinking about starting, you should consider buying your shirts wholesale. Buying a large quantity at a low price is great way to not only save money, but also design more shirts to sell. But, buying wholesale might not be the best option for every business or company. Before you go out and buy 500 blank t-shirts, there are certain things that you should consider.
The Fabric
There are many different types of fabric that can be used for t-shirts, which can play a big part in a number of different aspects of your product. The fabric is going to affect the price of the shirt, the type of printing that you can do, and the overall quality of the shirt. One downfall to buying wholesale is that you normally don’t get the chance to touch or feel the shirt before you purchase it. You don’t know exactly what the material is, and you don’t know how comfortable it will be.
Before you buy a shirt, regardless whether it is wholesale or for individual sale, you need to find out the exact fabric that it is made of. If you don’t know what type of fabric you are getting, it can cause chaos for your business. It is important that you read the descriptions provided online. If you are still unsure of exactly the product they are selling, contact them and ask for more information on the product and the fabric.
Printing
After you find out the fabric of the shirt, you need to find out about what type of printing is going to work best with it. Some types of fabric are going to do better with certain types of printing and dyes. You don’t want to already have a printer lined up and have planned around one type of printing, only to find out last minute that the fabric won’t allow it.
The Design
You want to make sure that you have a good grip on the overall design of the shirt before you start buying shirts in bulk. This doesn’t mean that you have to have the design 100% done and ready to print, but you want to have an idea of the design.
Take into consideration color. Some colors aren’t going to print very well on similarly colored shirts. If you know beforehand that your design is going to be pink, then you can pick a color that will work with that. You don’t want to not have a design, buy pink shirts, and then find out that your design is going to clash or not show up on the pink shirt.
Another aspect is sizing. Maybe you don’t have an idea on how big your design is going to be or the placement of it, and you buy a t-shirt that has pockets. What if your design is too big and prints half of it on the pocket and ruins the overall design? You are either going to have a lot of leftover t-shirts with pockets that you can’t use, or you are going to have to go back to the drawing board for the design. But, if you had planned this out ahead of time, you wouldn’t have had to waste the time or money.
The Budget
Speaking of money, if you are in the t-shirt business, you know the importance of sticking to a budget. This is one way that wholesale can definitely help you. Buying shirts in bulk can save you quite a bit in the long run. Wholesale distributors are going to charge less per shirt than if you were to buy them individually.
Still, it is important that you understand that this will require more of an upfront cost than buying one shirt at a time. If you don’t have the available funds to front the money for the shirts, this might not be the best option for you. You need to sit down and look at your budget before you think about buying wholesale. And, as with anything else, you need to make sure that you get the best price for your shirts, and that it works within your financial constraints.