April 19, 2005
t-shirt update
Here are my thoughts on the t-shirts since they launched roughly 24 hours ago.
So far we’ve sold 81 shirts and 6 subscriptions. Not bad at all. Thanks to everyone who bought one. Seriously, it made my day.
I think we would have sold more had the weak Dollar not made them so darn expensive for the American buyers. Notice how all the kvetching about the price earlier was all people quoting in Dollars, not Pounds Sterling or Euros? I thought that was very telling.
A “designer” tee in the UK retails around the
T-Shirt Tech
I’m here in White Plains, NY getting ready to head over to Seth Godin’s place, stay tuned for updates on that exercise but I did want to get the world (okay, the 6 of you) updated on Hugh’s most excellent T-Shirt Adventure. First, technology still
Hugh, cool! I want white on black though; I’ll wear black until they make something darker
So, how much for the elite edition?
We’re not offering white on black, but I’ll keep it in mind. Thanks for your kind words, though.
What turned me off, aside from the whole marketing gimmick, was that there are no pictures of the t-shirts, the labels, etc on the site. If you’re looking to improve sales (though not necessarily from me) try to get some images of the product so that people can see what they’re buying.
Good point, Brock.
I did tell everyone clearly that it’s a pre-order site, as the shirts are not back from the factory yet.
Everything should be up by 3rd of May, the official launch date, two weeks from today (Tuesday).
I basically had to choose between either waiting two weeks for the full site, or launching with a pre-order site. Both options had their pros and cons, but since I had a lot of people asking “where do I sign up”, I gave them that option.
And what exactly did you mean by “marketing gimmick”? All I’m doing is making them limited editions. You obviously don’t appreciate the reasons why I’m doing that, so happily for us both, I’d rather not have your business. Nothing personal.
Looks good Hugh. I think the price is OK, after all the main thing here is that you’re buying a limited edition. Sure it’s higher than people are used to in the US, but between the low dollar and the culture of low-priced clothing there that should’ve been expected.
Have you thought about doing things besides t-shirts? I like the cartoons but I don’t wear that type of stuff… I almost bought some blogcards but realized people would assume they were my cartoons. (Might still do that as a social engineering experiment.)
Indigo’s US parter has a bunch of other merch… Anyway, I don’t think I’ll buy a shirt, but I could definitely picture myself shelling out $60 or so for a messenger bag. (No idea how feasible that kind of thing is with your art.) Or buying non-limited-edition mugs as gifts…
Another thing: reading the earlier comments it looks like a lot of people are comparing this to CafePress. As far as I can tell this is not print-on-demand stuff, you’re actually getting the shirts done ahead of time. If that’s the case you might want to point it out to people.
Frosty, yeah I’m considering oither merch ideas. We’ll see how hard/easy they are to get off the ground.
But they will be limited edition, regardless.
Great first day of sales, Hugh. Price is competitive for unique designs, and people need to remember we’re not just buying a T-shirt, we’re buying a piece of blogohistorical art!
As to next merchandising idea, think NASCAR.
c’est LA guerre…war is feminine in French, go figure.
functionality.
Duly Noted, Timbo
hey,
And yes, the idea about showing samples of the actual product is a good one.
looking good, I’d buy some if they came in white on black
I think the Tees are still pretty darn cheap for a “limited edition”. What put me off as well was the lack of information, and a Credit Card being te only way to pay. And that some of the best “doodles” aren’t printed.
Thanks, Greg… More information on its way, promise
Like I said, this site is still in pre-order mode. I can’t show photographs of the shirt until the shirt actually exists.
As far as there not being a lot of designs available, well, one could also argue that’s a good thing.
well, personally, I think the site is pretty uninspired, it looks like it was put together by a programmer, too cold and techy.
i forgot to mention this guy when you said you were looking for a scottish web dude:
http://martagnan.co.uk/
he could have put something slick together for you…
anyhow, sales are pretty good, so maybe it doesn’t matter — good luck!
Bob, I think functionality is a lot more important than how it looks… Just like the movable type gapingvoid is running on
I’d really like to see this
http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/000843.html
on a shirt. I already printed one out and stuck it to my portfolio. Heck, it’s CC
I have to say that the price per unit for a limited run of shirts is not bad. Hell, I have paid similar prices at concerts without thinking twice about it. I am looking to have something cool and unique, not cheap. I could walk into any shop in any mall and buy some mass-produced POS that anyone can have.
I have to agree that the white on black idea would be really cool. I’ll have to get some more if/when you come out with those!
Aside from that I am looking forward to the next set to be released.
gapingvoid is selling t-shirts
At last, my very own couture Hughtrain! Not only will I be the envy of all my friends, but I will finally be accepted into high society!