This is a question that might start becoming more and more common if an article at the Wall Street Journal is any indication:
By Accident or Design, Selling T-Shirts Is Big Business on Web says that the online sales of T-shirts are booming.
‘All over the Web, bloggers, artists and entrepreneurs are unexpectedly finding that T-shirts are more reliable moneymakers than the original ideas that brought them to the Internet.
CollegeHumor.com, a site offering jokes and pictures from college campuses nationwide, sells T-shirts that say “My other shirt has its collar up,” “What Would Ashton Do,” and dozens of others. Its parent company, Connected Ventures LLC, says it takes in roughly $200,000 in monthly revenue from the shirts, about half of its total income. “A year from now things could be very different, but for now, T-shirts are a great way to monetize the Internet,” says Josh Abramson, one of the site’s founders.’
Tempted?
link via an IM conversation with Scrivs
You better darn well belive I’m tempted. This is something that I’ve been considering for one of my sites. Besides adding to the bottom line, it will also put your site’s name out into the general public. Which in the end, could account for an even higher gross income.
I’m more inclined to put my blogface on a g-string or two…
I actually have done a thong through Cafe Press http://www.cafepress.com/spinneyhead.9844717 and my shop has a bundle of T-shirts, amongst other things (http://www.spinneyhead.co.uk/Shop/). Sales haven’t been great, though the boxer shorts have sold a couple of times as presents for brothers.
I know I’m addicted to threadless.
With so many people doing CafePress, it’s a tough market to break in to. Just putting your blog’s logo on a T-Shirt won’t work (unless your blog has a huge following). A few things should be taken in to consideration: Marketing, Design, Originality, and Ready Audience, among a couple of others. Having said that, it IS still worth considering.
I’ve thought about linking with someone like Cafepress to sell merchandising – I was thinking more along the lines of posters / prints of my photos, if I find any that I am happy enough to sell. As you say, it can be tough to break into, but could (a) provide funding for the blog and (b) provide another link back to the blog from the online shop. Still considering exactly what items might be worth doing. No-one is gonna want my face on a T-shirt, letalone any more intimate apparrel. Don’t think my wife would be too happy with that concept either! [shudders]
My artsy buddy who designed the logo for The Rock and Roll Report also gave me a few Tshirts with the logo as a birthday gift. I have been thinking of selling some through Cafe Express but just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Something to consider though.
What’s the best service for a t-shirt or other apparrel? I only know about CafePress but I imagine they have some competition, no?
There are a ton of companies that can screen print tshirts for a much better deal than CafePress. Almost any Promotional Products (advertising specialties) company can work a deal with you. Shop around, it’s the best advice I can give.
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Hi. I am trying to sell original t shirts that I screen print online at my ebay store. Getting enough people to see anything you are selling online is very important because you need a high volume of people to profit it seems.
My business hasn’t taken off yet, I hope it will someday soon.
Good luck to all of you. It is fun for me to screen print so I will continue to do it as a hobby regardless of whether my business makes it or not.
Good advice. I don’t know how many blogs, even ones I read, are good content for t-shirts. I mean, blog logos tend not to be universally recognized, and blog content doesn’t really translate well to fashion.
However, if you are blogging to a particular narrow audience (a tech blog, an Apple Computer blog, a football blog, etc.) offering t-shirts to that audience may not make you rich, but it’s a nice way to connect with people, and it’s ALWAYS fun to know that people are wearing your designs.
Yeah !! online shopping of t shirts is booming now a days….people are being crazy to purchase the t shirts …