This can be a scary aspect of starting up your company, as it can either make or break your company.

How?

Pricing too high will reduce your potential sales and pricing too low will render your company unprofitable.

Finding the happy middle ground can be achieved with just a bit of market research. This can be as daunting as it sounds if you don’t prepare yourself, so let’s take a look at a few things you can do that will help you.

Production Costs

If you’re thinking about pricing your collection, you should probably have an idea how you’re going to be approaching the production of your products. Production costs will include everything needed to bring your collection to fruition, including the quality of material, the placement of your graphics, how many colors you use, custom tag placement, and, if you’re starting from scratch, where your clothing is manufactured.

This will give you an idea of what it costs to make your clothing, so you can approach pricing with more insight.

Here’s a good example:

If your clothing costs $5 to produce and you add custom tags for $0.75, your estimated total is going to be $5.75. To calculate the shipping cost, you will have to consider how many pieces you’re producing and shipping (per box). So, if your box contained 120 pieces and it cost $50 to ship, you would divide how many pieces you’re getting into the cost … 120 / 50 = $0.41.

Your wholesale cost is to $6.16.

Before moving forward with the pricing process, you first need to nail down what your products are going to cost to make. If you don’t, you run the risk of under-pricing your products, and thus rendering your company un profitable from the beginning … a common, and unfortunate mistake.

Wholesale Cost and Retail Cost

Your production costs will tell you what your wholesale cost is going to be, and once you know the whole cost you can figure out the retail cost. To figure this, simply multiply your wholesale cost 2.5 times.

So if your whole cost is $6.16, then your retail cost will be $15.40.

This is an industry standard approach to figuring retail cost in a way that covers unexpended costs you may encounter along the way as well as giving your profit margin room for sales, promotions, or other discounts applied to the retail price.

Categorization

Apparel collections can be divided into several categories to reflect the types of clothing (crew necks, hoodies, etc.), so before you attempt to price your products, consider dividing your collection into product categories. In addition, you’ll want to consider your product costs, as this will often determine the quality of your products. For example, if you’re working with higher quality materials and printing graphics in multiple areas of a tee, you’re probably going to end up with a higher-end product. This is an important aspect, as it will tell you what competitors you should research.

Dividing your products into categories will enable you to look at products within similar categories throughout the market more effectively.

To give you an idea how quality comes into play with categorization, take a look at the figures below:

$5 – $15

Lower end apparel made from low-quality materials.

$16 – $24

Average price range for the majority of tees. This price point works great for independent brands ordering larger amounts of tees at a time.

$25 – $30

This is slightly above average due to the quality of the material, how many colors are used in the graphics, or how many places the graphics appear.

$31 and up

This price range is pretty much reserved for apparel with some sort of special production process, materials, or recognizable brand name asset.

Once you identify your wholesale cost and retail cost, you should have a good idea of what category you fit into. If you find that you’re making tees with awesome quality materials, printing all over the place, and doing custom work, yet you think your wholesale cost places your collection in the $5 – $15 range, you’re probably doing it wrong.

Be careful here, as overpricing will prevent you from reaching the market and selling your products. That said, it’s always better to price slightly higher than lower, because you can never come up once you hit the market (at least not without upsetting your customers), yet it’s always easy to come down in price (sales, discount codes, and more).

Competition

This is the heart of your market research.

Looking into how the competition prices their products will help reveal what pricing works and what pricing doesn’t work. Begin your research with apparel companies selling products in the same space you’re about to enter. Looking at just a few won’t be sufficient, so be sure to make a generous list to research.

There are a few key things you’ll discover from your competition during research:

• The range of pricing in the market.
• What price point is considered too expensive.
• How low the price can go before assuming the material of the apparel is horrible.
• What kind of sales are appealing.
• What discounts are offered.

Now that you have a good idea how other apparel artists and independent brands are pricing their products, you c

How Do You Price Your Products

Do you go by another process or figure in other aspects we missed? We’d love to hear how independent brands and apparel artists price their products, so post a comment and share your strategy in the comments section.

Here’s a few tips and thoughts to use if you are starting your own brand on a more than tight budget.

Find an Independent or Local Apparel Supplier

True, big name brands like American Apparel deliver high quality product, but they also come with a high quality price. Even brands like Gildan and Tultex are on the pricier side as far as apparel goes. Instead, look for independent suppliers who make their own apparel and resell it to wholesale accounts. They offer cheaper prices, more personable interactions, and usually have a good selection of styles & colors.  A sweet perk is that you have your own unique apparel branding that most likely no other brand has. The look, and more importantly feel will be unique to your brand, which is amazing, cause finding quality apparel at an affordable cost is only half the battle.

 Find a Screen printer Who Waves Charges

When I first started getting quotes in the early stages of RF[x], I was getting slammed w/ high invoices filled w/ a billion different charges and set-up fees. Most high end, big name printers will tell you that they are necessary, but I guarantee they aren’t. Sure, if your demographic will be down to pay for the quality, and it’s necessary to your brands overall persona then I’d say go for the pricier printers like Threadbird and Glad Rags Ink. Their quality, selections and expertise are all worth the cash, but not necessary for your brand to be successful. Believe it or not, you can get quality printing with little to no extra fees; you just have to do the research. Finding a screen printer will be, without a doubt, THE MOST DIFFICULT and important part of branding on a budget. Honestly finding a screen printer who is the whole package will be a feat for any clothing line, but more so for those of us on a budget.

*Quality, Price, Reliability, Consistency and Turnaround are the main criteria to meet when searching for a screen printer.  In order to accomplish this DO YOUR RESEARCH, send out tons of quote requests to printers in local and surrounding cities. Sometimes it’s worth it to pay shipping if they are waving extra fees.

DIY

Do it yourself folks.

Who knows your brand better than you? It’s a great way to save money on marketing sure, but making your own goodies and extras give a unique and more personal touch to your brand, and more importantly to your customers.

• Buy full sticker sheets (8.5×11 in.) blank, and print any design in any size or shape. You can buy a slicer at any craft store for less than $20, and it comes in handy in more ways than one.
• Instead of paying for “professionally printed” hang tags, try using business cards, and use a single hole punch for a custom placed attachment. You can attach the cards with any type of string, twine or rope.*Try using colored leather found in the jewelry section of any craft store for an even doper touch.

*Use BOTH sides of the business card to promote your brand, that there is valuable real estate. If you run out of ideas or don’t want to shove a bunch of links and websites down your consumer’s throat, try adding a customer only VIP discount code.

Craigslist Will Be Your Most EPIC Resource

If you are looking for a graphic designer, this is a great way to advertise, tell folks a little about your idea/mission, and scout the local talent for free. This is also a great way to find independent screen printers. Finding people who are willing to help support your brand for free won’t be easy, but an exchange of goods or services is something to take advantage of or offer when networking on Craigslist. Advertise and search for open vending opportunities in and around your area. These types of vending opps are usually little to no cost, and are a great way to gain local exposure. Finding photographers who are willing to take some shots of your threads for free seems impossible, but there are tons of people willing to get you some free photos in exchange for a signature. Mostly college kids looking to expand their portfolios but hey, free photography is always a win, especially when running a clothing brand. Check the posts daily, and post your own requests, to your heart’s content. There are so many people out there to connect with, and you’d be surprised how many great, useful, long-term contacts you can gain networking over something as common as Craigslist.

There are literally dozens of ways to have a kick ass brand on a small ass budget. The real trick is to think cheap but appealing. Stay creative and use your resources. An idea is what truly starts the best of things, and the passion behind that idea is the only real investment you’ll ever need.

]]> http://wearabl.com/building-a-killer-brand-on-a-not-so-killer-budget/feed/ 0 http://wearabl.com/dead-era-clothing/ http://wearabl.com/dead-era-clothing/#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2013 20:24:20 +0000 Tabby http://wearabl.com/?p=2395 Through the ash and rubble, the limp, lifeless body of what was took shape in a new, less pixilated existence. That newly awakened soul is that of Dead Era, an incredibly imaginative brand based out of Los Angeles, California whose most certainly bringing life to the Independent T-shirt Community in the form of fresh apparel and an experience all its own. This sharply designed brand has come out of its two year prep for launch with an exponential bang.

Cleverly launched on Halloween of this year, owner Mac Sandefur has risen above and beyond expectations to show the hard work and overall mind blowing creativity of Dead Era, shattering all norms associated with the indie t-shirt brand.

I am in awe of their passion for the branding initiative and the overall experience they bring to their fans, or as they are more appropriately named, Zombies. I was lucky enough to talk to Mac and ask some questions about Dead Era and some of the inspiration behind this incredibly passion driven idea:

I find your brand incredibly unique, what inspired the birth of Dead Era?

The death of the analog lifestyle. I think I speak for a lot of zombies when I say that life was much easier and simpler when relationships were real. It’s not technology’s fault – we’ve lost touch.

Dead Era’s Mascot is awesomely creative and writes the book on capturing the concept of branding. What’s the story behind DE’s mascot Morty?

We always wanted to create a mascot that could encompass the elements of our mission. We came up with Morty who’s name plays on the latin word Mortem, meaning death. Morty is omnipresent in his existence – there’s a little bit of him in all of us. This is why we chose him.

Personally I am in love with a solid vector design. In my opinion Dead Era has put the idea of the vector brand on the map, right up there with Johnny Cupcakes. Who were some of your inspirations for getting your own brand started?

Johnny Cupcakes is a major inspiration. Benny Gold is another one. The list could honestly go on all day. The most inspiring people are not brands, though. They are individuals. You would be surprised to know how many amazing designers and artists there are out there that are producing work on a transcendent level. I’m inspired by individuals taking initiative to make great work, often for little pay, or the risk of rejection. These guys orchestrate the functionality that you see as a working machine in most brands.

Love how you put that, and I couldn’t agree with you more. What is inspiring is the passion behind one’s ideas, and the drive they have to take it all the way, which is what really caught my interest with Dead Era. You guys recently released you’re a new line for the fall; tell us a little about the inspiration for the line.

The primary inspiration for our line as a whole is to comment on our own nature as zombies. You only see a small piece of the puzzle in our first drop. We’ve got a lot of great stuff up our sleeves for the beginning of 2013 now that we’ve got a little bit more “wiggle-room.”

What risks did you take in order to get your brand to where it is today?

Particularly, I would say that I risked my sanity at times dealing with the obstacles that I hadn’t foreseen. The financial risk was probably the biggest, however. I’ve invested a lot of my time and money into the brand to create something that speaks the message that I want it too. That being said, I would never in any lifetime trade what I’ve created—Dead Era is very much a part of my existence and way of life.

How did you go about marketing your brand?

Social media was obviously the big one. People on the Internet are unpredictable, but we were able to build an awesome network of Dead Era zombies willing to be evangelists for the brand. We love our community, and we pride ourselves in involving them in the direction of the brand.

Describe the typical Dead Era design process?

I think the fun part of the Dead Era operations as a whole is that we have no set or typical process. Shipping is hilarious at our HQ. We traditionally host shipping parties in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere (our HQ is located in Somis, CA), and throw ridiculous amounts of goodies into our orders. Designing is equally unpredictable. Some days I’ll wake up and run to my whiteboard to scribble down an unintelligible phrase that we will try to conceptualize. Other times there is a set character or idea in mind that we will execute. We are fortunate to have one of the most badass designers on the planet.

You guys are doing big things for BMX Teamers and athletes; tell us more about DE Sponsorships/Endorsement.

Action sports have been a part of our lives since we were mini-zombies. They are the apexes of analog past-times. It was such a natural transition to start sponsoring BMX riders. We intend to keep it going into the future, and we always keep our eyes open for new talent. You will, without a doubt, see other types of action sports sponsorships in the future. It’s a huge part of who we are as a brand.

Is Dead Era looking to work on any collaborative projects in the future? What are some brands or companies should we expect to see teaming up with you guys?

We’re always looking to collab. As I mentioned earlier I’m a huge believer in the power of the designer, so if the art is good, the odds are we’ll do it. We’re in preliminary discussions with a few brands, but we’re going to keep it a surprise until we get closer.

What do you hope to accomplish as a brand in the next few years?

We hope to appeal to as many people as possible. As zombies, we have the selfish desire to infect as many humans as we possibly can. There’s nothing I want more than to spread the mission and drive that type of analog lifestyle that we talked about. That’s not just our brand mission; it’s our life mission. You only life twice! Gotta make the best of it!

I personally can’t wait to see what Mac and his gang of Living Dead have in store for Dead Era. To stay posted with every update, contests, discounts and more, check them out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or visit their website at www.deadera.com.

I wanted to touch base with you, because I think things work better when everyone’s on the same page.

To bring you up to speed, there are three things you should know about Wearabl before we move into the next chapter together.

1. Tristan Has Decided to Leave Wearabl

It’s never easy to see team members go — especially a co-founder, — but I think it’s actually kind of fitting, as it reflects one of the core ideas we built into Wearabl:

Do what you love. Love what you do.

This is a lesson our grandfather taught us, so I know he’ll take it with him wherever his interests take him — wishing him good luck.

2. Thinking Different … the Wearabl Shop

It’s always been a challenge to figure out how the Wearabl shop fits into the independent clothing community, but over the past six months we’ve learned a lot. Based on this insight along with some trending developments in the industry, you can look forward to a few changes in direction pertaining to scope and focus.

Feel free to kick me your questions!

3. Expanding the Editorial Team

I’ve begun to connect with talented folks from around the community, who will join the editorial team and share their insights, opinions, and discoveries with you. Interested in writing for Wearabl?

Overall, I’m working on finding that sweet spot for Wearabl, including the synchronization of the blog, the shop, and a super-secret project likely to roll out next year.

Look forward to moving forward into the next chapter with you!

Subscribe for more updates

Tell us a little about your background and how you came to launch your own brand of tees.

[CHRIS DAVIS] I was born a very imaginative kid in baltimore md, moving to tampa fl after my high school graduation and then onto los angeles. somewhere along the line i became very interested in business. then i came across an article about a guy named johnny earl aka johnny cupcakes. i found out he was doing a lecture in fl, it was very inspiring so i decided this is what im going to do with all my free time. and here i am

[WEARABL] Nice! So once you found out what Johnny Cupcakes was up to, was there anything during the creation of the brand, Koncrete Monkey, that stood out as particularly influential — simplicity of design, two-word branding, etc.?

[CHRIS DAVIS] Definitely the thing that stuck out most was simplicity of design my first logo was so complex it would have never had a chance of sticking in ones mind, but once i heard johnny speak on the importance of simplicity i knew exactly what i had to

What’s KoncreteMonkey all about?

Koncrete Monkey is about dreaming big, going for what you want. Centered around life in the “Concrete jungle” seemingly thru the eyes of a monkey. Koncrete Monkey draws its inspiration from music, pop culture, and graffiti.

[W] Who do you envision wearing your tees?

[CD] People with big dreams, people who like to stand out and be noticed without saying much or trying to hard.

Why did you decide on making tees?

As someone who always dresses down i have always had a closet full of t-shirts, im always dreaming visualizing and imagining what better way to share imagination with wearable art!

[W] That’s what I’m talking about! Do you use a particular screen printer, or do you do all the printing yourself?

[CD] Funny you should ask i actually started off wanting to do all the screen printing myself, But that is an art in itself a very hard to master and perfect art. my advice just pay someone who knows how to do it well already it saves alot of money. i personally use threadbird or jakprints

What inspires you as a designer?

As cliche as it may sound my life and the things i have seen/see and hear/heard inspire me.

[W] I hear you dude — nothing is more pure than your own experiences; how do you organize it all during your creative process … do you use a notebook, app, etc.?

[CD] I use a regular sketch book and an app called evernote to keep all my ideas and  inspirations together so i dont forget where and what my thoughts were.

Do you have a favorite independent brand you love to wear and support?

Yes! im a big fan of the independent scene right now, some of my favorites (besides Koncrete Monkey) are of course johnny cupcakes, Fur Face Boy, and Ilthy

[W] We’ll have to check those out — where did you hear about Fur Face Boy and Ilthy?

[CD] I came across Fur Face Boy during my research of the whole indie scene and i just love how personal his brand is hes also a really good dude for anyone looking to start a brand his story is another that should be read. And Ilithy i had friend who is deeply into streetwear and he had one of their tees on it was crazy dope. so i knew i had to check them out!

What outside of design or apparel inspires you?

Music!!

What’s your favorite tee you’ve designed — tell us the story behind it.

My favorite tee thus far if i had to choose one, would be the hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil tee. This one came about as i was just trying to make my tees fit into the name of my brand., i personally have seen or heard many depictions of this saying my whole life so i knew i had to put my spin on it and share it with the world

What do you find most challenging about making your own tees — creative challenges, financial challenges?

The most challenging thing about making tees right now is the financial aspect of it being that the country is in such bad economic times. you really have to make sure the designs are on point because people aren’t leisurely spending right now.

[W] Have you tried the crowd sourcing approach with kickstarter?

[CD] I actually have tried kickstarter, there are alot of pros and cons to those types of sites. ill just say make sure you read ALL the fine print

Take us through an average (or not so average) day in the life of Chris Davis.

hmm well first thing in the am i pop a couple egos in the toaster and get my breakfast of lazy champions on haha. then its off to my day job where i work more on koncrete monkey than i should be shhh don’t tell. after thats over with i continue to try and reach out to some new people and tell them about this small company called Koncrete Monkey.

[W] We’ve all gotta hold down the day job while we build momentum — if you have a desk at work, what do you keep on it?

[CD] Haha I was just asked to clean it off last week i guess i had too many things aka distractions on my desk. now i have a stack of Koncrete Monkey stickers, an old school Michael Jordan posed figurine with the big head, and a laminated post it that reads ” Faith Focus Finish” shoutout to my best friend for that quote! and a small “idea book”

What are you working on now?

Right now I have the introductory series up in the shop, im editing the first full shoot so the pictures for that will up very soon stay tuned for that. im also finishing up the designs for the late fall release look for that somewhere between christmas and late january

[W] Looking forward to it man, congrats on your progress … keep it epic!

[CD] Thanks man I look Forward to being on wearabl again soon!

Connect with Chris Davis & Koncrete Monkey

Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr

If you already have a moustache but you’re looking to help bring awareness to men’s health issues, consider this Movember tshirt by xFreshGFX. It’s really all about that twirl!

You don’t have to be into fractal geometry to enjoy the beautiful design of this t-shirt. .506 Clothing is an independent brand producing intelligent designs that make people think. I was the worst math student, but I like how it’s been included in the design of the tee.

There’s a bunch of awesome designs over at their shop — be sure to check it out!

www.point506.com

Maggie McFee brings us an awesome tee design she calls, “Bangalter Attitude.” It features one of the members of Daft Punk holding up a gloved hand … rock on man, this tee.

One of my favorite things about simplicity is how there’s usually a layer of complexity at the foundation. Take this design by One Ton Shadow for example — though it seems like merely a nice collection of colorful squares, there’s actually a psychological reason why the colors are organized in the particular order seen. Love it!