Expert: Marvinator - 2/21/2007

Question
Hi there, thanks for your time.  We have a side gig designing & selling T-shirts.  We produced a batch of 100 shirts with our first design & were able to get them in a couple independent stores on consignment, but that’s going slow.  The bigger stores won’t even think about it.  I looked into selling them on the streets downtown, but you need to get a license & that has to be approved by the councilman & there are restrictions.  Also events like carnivals cost too much for a booth.  I was asking around about selling them on the internet, but no one I know really does that.  How can I attract web surfers to view the shirts & possibly buy them?  Hopefully I can make a deal with someone who can sell them & concentrate on shirt producing.  I have a press & can offer to put the buyer’s name, nickname, group or business on the sleeve, or really anywhere on the shirt.  Also, would eBay work?  Can you think of anything else?

Answer
It sounds as if you are trying to be a business without being IN business.  Before I answer your question about Ebay, let's take a moment to see about your "business'.  

You have bought t-shirts, but won't pay for a booth in a fair.  You have paid for a t-shirt making machine or press (or is this Ink-Jet Iron on designs?) and yet won't pay for a business license.  (Business licenses cost very little overall.  In the large metro city I live in, they are only $40.) So you have put an investment into a business but are skirting the option of actually doing business.  Not in a fair, and not on a street corner.  

Ok, enough of that.  Let's hope I at least put a bee in your ear about creating a business.  

Ebay. Yes, tee-shirts sell on Ebay. How well depends on how well you  create an auction ad and how good your tee-shirts really are.  A thought to consider, go to Ebay and do a search on the terms tee-shirt and t-shirt.  I did this and found over 145,000 listings. But this includes non printed Tees and old collectible Tees. Adding the term "Custom" still gave me over 1100 listings. I point this out to show you that a) tee-shirts do sell on Ebay and B) you won't be alone.  

What I suggest is that you create a good looking auction and set up a half dozen auctions and run them for a month or so. (4 weeks of 7 day listings.) Now, again, this means putting out money. Remember that for each shirt or design you advertise you will need one (1) listing which will cost you a whopping 40¢. (listings starting at under $9.99 cost only 40¢ to list. 6 listings times 40¢ is 2.40, times 4 weeks is only 9.60.)  Go to ebay and research the fees. Don't forget to look at ALL the fees, including Final Value Fees (for when a shirt actually sells!)

What this will tell you is a little about the ability of your 'designs' to sell in a world market.  If you can see some profit after one month, I'd consider continuing, otherwise I'd take a hard look at both your designs and your auction layout before continuing or quitting.  (I'd be happy to take a look at your auction layout before you list and give any pointers I can.)

Good luck.