Ask HN: Best sites online to sell tshirts?

[geuis]

I've only used Cafepress a couple years ago to make a tshirt for myself. I have something in mind to sell (I have a design that I want to upload) in an online marketplace. I have experience with Cafepress and started looking at Zazzle, but I figured it would be a good idea to ask for some advice from other folks that might have better recommendations.

[dclaysmith]

I woke up w/ an idea for a t-shirt and have been looking into this all morning so hope this thread gets some traction.

I was wondering if there was a way to use KickStarter.com to handle the business side of things. The reward would be the t-shirt and you would insulate yourself from risk.

I found this site http://yque.com/tshirtprinting2.html that gives a starting point on what it would cost.

I was also thinking about how you could use Amazon's fulfillment service. It would cut into profits but save some hassles.

I was thinking, use KickStarter for a 2 week run with a goal that would be sort of a breakeven profitability mark (using those costs above). If it doesn't hit the goal, you cancel orders. If it does, you order the shirts from a place like the link above and have them drop shipped to Amazon for fulfillment and then have them sent out.

[geuis]

I don't think its even that complicated. There are lots of companies online that actually do that business already. My question is more towards which one offers better quality and service.

[iworkforthem]

SpreadShirt, Zazzle and CafePress, all allow you to print t-shirts without keeping inventory. The profit margin is not large, but it is still good, considering you just have to focus on the design only.

You have to consider the materials of the t-shirts used, seems like most of the folks like t-shirts printed using American Apparel t-shirts.

[nhangen]

At http://virtuousgiant.com we take our designs to a local print shop, which has a minimum order of 12 for screen printed shirts, so we pay about $150 for 12 shirts, which isn't the best margins, but it's not a loss when we sell them.

[Dramatize]

If you want to promote your t-shirts (or just browse 15,000 tees) I've recently bought http://rumplo.com

I'll be relaunching the site soon. It's great to be finally working on my own startup.

[symptic]

If you plan on making it a larger operation, check out Austin based amplifier.com. They were great in producing the LEAN shirts for SXSW and I believe hey offer print on demand and fulfillment for you.

[geuis]

Ok I decided to use Zazzle for now. Just released an Angry Nerds tshirt, http://bit.ly/e9OESa

[throwawaylegal]

Uhh...I think you have a copyright issue here.

[kunle]

yeah I've used Zazzle before to make my #startups tshirts (http://j.mp/eDkNVG) with the tagline "No one ever made a billion dollars collecting a paycheck"