Do you want to start your own online business but are unsure how much inventory you need to sell? Or maybe you’re curious about what kind of profits you can expect from a new online venture?
In either case, this blog post is for you!
We will look at how many t-shirts you would have to sell to make $1,000 per month.
Considering all the costs, profit, margins, and investments:
- As an intermediate seller in an online store, you’ll need to sell about 300-420 T-shirts;
- In the main market, you’ll need to sell about 550-600 T-shirts in the offline store;
- In wholesale, you’ll need to sell about 900-1200 T-shirts.
So whether you’re just starting or are looking for ways to increase your sales, read on for some helpful tips!
Let’s dive in!
How Many T-shirts to Sell on Etsy to Make $1,000?
Etsy has one of the highest commission charges compared to other platforms like Amazon and RedBubble. Here’re the charges:
- 15% Off-site ads fee that Etsy will charge for promoting and advertising your product outside Etsy.
- 6.5% fee that includes Etsy’s transaction costs and PayPal charges.
- $0.2 fix charges for listing your product on Etsy.
Considering these charges:
| Price per T-shirt | Etsy Commission | Etsy Listing Fee | Number of T-Shirts | Revenue Generation |
| $9.8 | $2,79 | $0,22 | 133 | $1,000 |
Hence, you'll need to sell at least 133 T-shirts on average to earn about $1,000.
How Many T-shirts to Sell on Merch by Amazon to Make $1,000?
Merch by Amazon charges about a 15% commission on every royalty. Moreover, they have a specific set of charges, e.g., $16, in which you can sell your T-shirt, no less than that and no higher than that.
| Price per T-shirt | Amazon Commission | Seller Revenue | Number of T-shirts | Revenue Generation |
| $16 | 15% | $13.7 | 73 | $1,000 |
Hence, you'll need to sell at least 73 T-shirts on average to make $1,000.
How Many T-shirts to Sell on Redbubble to Make $1,000?
RedBubble charges about 20% commission on every T-shirt. Additionally, they charge VAT and GST per your state laws and regulations.
| Price Per T-Shirt | RedBubble Commission | GST and VAT | Number of T-Shirts to Sell | Revenue Generation |
| $9.8 | 20% | 21% Estimated | 175 | $1,000 |
Hence, you'll need to sell at least 175 T-shirts on average to make $1,000.
Online T-shirt Sales: How Much Can You Make?
According to Amazon insights, an average apparel seller sells about 200-400 T-shirts every month. If we take the average cost of each shirt, then you can easily earn up to $3,000 with an online store.
If you’re doing your business on an offline platform like in-store, you can quickly sell up to 500-800 T-shirts if you’re located in the primary market. If we take this average, you can earn up to $6,600 every month.
On the wholesale side, if you sell an average of about 2,000-4,000 units, you can easily make up to $21,000.
How to Start a T-shirt Business
When you think about starting your own t-shirt company, the idea is exciting. But before seeing those profits roll in and become successful, some work needs to be done first!
Below are the essential things that you need before starting this business.
1. Choose Your Niche
The first step is to find your niche and get creative with it. What are you passionate about? What message do you want to send with your shirt? Do you want to make fun or inspirational shirts? Or maybe political t-shirts are more your style. Make sure the niche you choose is something you love and that you’ll enjoy working with.
2. Choose Your T-Shirts’ Manufacturer
The second step is finding a quality manufacturer of t-shirts. This is important because the quality of your shirts will determine how long they last and the number of repeat customers you’ll get. The best way to find a good manufacturer is by asking around or doing some research on your own.
3. Choose the Custom Material for your T-Shirts
The third step is to get the customizing material for your t-shirts. This includes things like vinyl cutters, heat presses, etc. There are many online tutorials that will help you get started with this step, as well as plenty of online resources for buying the equipment you need.
We highly recommend customizing your T-shirts as customized and unique custom shirts sell at a higher price than plain T-shirts. Each customization will no more cost you 2-5% of the cost of the T-shirt.
4. Create a Business Plan – Marketing Strategy
The fourth step is to create a business plan and marketing strategy. The most important factor in making your t-shirt business successful is marketing. No matter how good your product is, you won’t make any sales if no one knows about it. The most effective way to market your t-shirt business will depend on your budget and target audience.
The most common marketing strategies for t-shirt businesses include:
- Social media marketing. It involves reaching out to potential customers and building brand awareness via social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. This marketing is usually free but requires a lot of effort and is highly time-consuming.
- Email marketing. It involves using email lists to market your products to potential customers. You’ll need to buy paid Email marketing SaaS tools that will cost you about 50$-100$ per year or lifetime.
- Content marketing. This involves creating and sharing blog posts, videos, and other forms of content that will interest your target audience and help build brand awareness. In content marketing, you’ll need to set up a blog that would cost you about 36$-70$ for the domain and hosting and a writer who’ll write content for your blog. The writer might charge between 13$-30$ depending on your budget and quality.
- Paid advertising. This involves using paid advertising platforms like Google AdWords and Facebook Ads to reach potential customers and generate more targeted traffic to your website. This advertising will cost you in-between 50$-100$ per week.
What Else to Consider Before Starting a T-shirt Business?
To create a successful plan, you need to research the market first. For example, what kind of products are you going to sell? What’s the demand like for these products? How much can you realistically charge for them? Who is your target market?
These are all critical questions to consider.
1. Labor
The cost of labor can vary depending on the complexity and size. For example, two people have created 36 shirts in an hour, running material through a machine (which takes about 15 minutes) and weeding vinyl graphics from shirt front/back panels. This step came after applying transfer ink by hand onto the garment itself at no extra charge for faster production time. All in all, the whole process might take 30+minutes, but you’re only paying $0.55 per shirt because they are your employees!
2. Shipping Partner
After the shirts are created, they need to be shipped out! This is where a shipping partner comes in. You’ll need to find a company that offers reasonable rates and has a good reputation. We recommend using UPS or FedEx.
When it comes to packaging, you'll want to make sure your shirts are well-protected to arrive at your customers' doors intact.
Some good packaging options include boxes, bubble wrap, and packing peanuts.
Once you have these things in place, you can start selling your t-shirts and making a profit! Just remember to monitor demand and make adjustments as necessary continuously. Each shipping partner’s cost would be about 30-40% of the total cost of the T-shirt, but you’ll charge that fee from the customer.
3. Sales Channels
Here are some platforms where you can sell your T-shirts to your customers:
- Offline Store. Setting up a physical storefront is a great way to reach customers in your local area and get started with selling T-shirts. You’ll need to choose a good location, have the right equipment and hire quality employees. Offline stores are good, but they require a lot of investment, e.g., setting up the store, rent, furniture, electricity bills, and employees’ salaries.
- Wholesale Business. Another option is to sell your t-shirts to wholesalers. This can be an excellent way to earn passive income, as you don’t have to worry about finding customers. However, you will need to build a strong relationship with these businesses and make sure you’re offering them quality products at competitive prices. You’ll sell in bulk but lower pricing the retail.
- Sell on Amazon/eBay. Another option is to sell your shirts on Amazon or eBay. This can be a great way to reach a large audience quickly, but it does come with some challenges. You’ll need to have good inventory management and shipping systems in place, and you’ll also need to be prepared for the occasional negative review. You’ll have to pay a specific commission to these platforms from each sale.
- Sell on your website. Another option is to sell your shirts on your website. This is a great way to have complete control over your business, but it does require some investment in terms of time and money. You’ll need to have a solid marketing plan in place, and you’ll also need to ensure that your website is optimized for conversions.
How Much Can You Sell the T-shirts For?
If you’re selling the T-shirt online, then you can sell it for about 8$-15$, depending on the quality of the shirt. E.g., Cotton shirts can range up to 10$-15$, and mixed cloth T-shirts can range up to 4$-8$.
Increase these prices by 20%-40% if you’re selling it offline in local stores.
However, if you’re dealing in wholesale, you might consider reducing the price by like 10%-18% in bulk orders so that the retailer can earn their profit.
The average cost at which you can sell your T-shirts at a retail price is:
- T-shirt plain: 4$-6$
- T-shirt round collar: 5$-10$
- T-shirt collar: 10$-15$
- T-shirt with print: 8$-15$
- Polo shirt: 12$-20$
- Cotton collar shirts: 15$-25$
But what are your expenses?
Considering what we've said before, here are some rough estimates of T-shirt costs:
- Material: $1.50 cost per shirt: $0.75
- Shipping costs: 30-40% of the total cost of the shirt (varies depending on shipping method)
- Total cost per shirt: Approximately $3.00 to $4.00, plus any marketplace or website fees you need to pay, of course.
- Production time: 15 minutes
- Weeding vinyl graphics: 30 minutes
- Shipping time: 2-3 days
- Total time: Approximately 3 to 4 days from start to finish
Now that you know how to sell T-shirts online, it’s time to get started!
Just remember to monitor demand and adjust your prices accordingly continuously. With a little bit of effort and creativity, you can build a successful T-shirt business that earns passive income for years to come.
Good luck!
Conclusion
In this blog post, we have provided a valuable answer to that main question: how many T-shirts do you have to sell to earn up to $1,000 profit!
Considering all the costs, profit, margins, and investments, here’s the short answer:
- As an intermediate seller in an online store, you’ll need to sell about 300-420 T-shirts.
- In the main market, you’ll need to sell about 550-600 T-shirts in the offline store.
- In wholesale, you’ll need to sell about 900-1200 T-shirts.
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