Cafepress, and other on-line stores

MashPotato · Wed 30/08/2006 16:40:58

I have been thinking of setting up an on-line store to try and sell stuff with my crab characters on them, and Cafepress seems to be one of the most popular sites for that sort of thing. Before I do, I have some questions for anyone has had any experience buying/selling stuff on-line:

1) Is Cafepress an overall good choice, or do you have other sites to recommend?
2) Is the quality of merchandise generally good for the price?
3) Have you ever had any problems with receiving items from them?
4) For those selling, is the site easy to use and do you receive sufficient service/help?

And a question for everybody:

What kind of merchandise do you think these crabs would look good on? (T-shirts, magnets, etc.) Conversely, do you think anyone would buy them in the first place? (be honest!)

Thanks! ^_^

Nikolas · Wed 30/08/2006 16:49:51

T-shirts
magnets
mugs

anything you can think of.

Clever design and clever idea. Also the idea of crabs is clever as well.

As for coffeepress or anything simmilar I have no idea.

And I don't know if I was to buy them. Probably for my two sons maybe a mug or a t-shirt??? Dunno though... Can't hurt to try as long as you are able to 'advertise' them sufficiently...

MrColossal · Wed 30/08/2006 16:53:12

I ordered 1 shirt from CafePress many years ago and I would never do it again.

I ordered a Larry Vales shirt and I washed it once and it's all rubbed raw and "vintage".

If you choose to go with CafePress my biggest beef is when people get an account and then put the image on EVERYTHING! You go to someone's CafePress store and a little graphic or bit of text is on a hat, shirt, underwear, another shirt, more shirts, a visor, a mug, a frisbee, a dog shirt, more underwear and a mousepad. It just makes me feel like this person doesn't really care what the image is on as long as someone buys it which makes me think that they don't really care about the image just that it's on items people might buy.

If the image looks good on a shirt, put it on a shirt. Make another image for a coffee mug. Does that make any sense?

SSH · Wed 30/08/2006 17:00:24

Alternatives are Zazzle (now owned by Google) and spreadshirt.com/spreadshirt.net. The good thing about spreadshirt is that they have US and Europe bases, which can make shipping cheaper.

m0ds · Wed 30/08/2006 17:04:06

I put a Screen 7 logo on a badge and bought it through CafePress, and it's quality is excellent.

I put the logo on a sticker and bought it, and although the quality was good, the cutting (it was meant to be rectangular) was awful.

I've heard that CP shirts can be good, but some can be extremely bad.

I've heard mugs are generally good.

I've heard that Data and music CD's through CP are dodgy.

For some products it probably is a good option - because it's one of the only options.

All you have to remember is, well, from my experience:
a) You won't make much money. Their products are overpriced as it is.
b) You need to tell lots of people about your CP page. Others won't just find it.

Here's mine: http://www.cafepress.com/screen7

Erenan · Wed 30/08/2006 17:08:47

This is the second time I've heard complaints about shirts from CafePress, but I personally have ordered two shirts from them and have had absolutely no problems whatsoever. I've heard, "It's a crappy iron-on that starts coming off the first time you wash it," which confused me as it's actually a digital transfer, so the ink should seep in and become more permanent the first few times you wash it. This is, as a matter of fact, exactly what happened with my shirts. I bought them one or two years ago, and they are still in good condition now.

I don't like the baseball cap I bought, however.

SSH · Wed 30/08/2006 17:15:38

You can always use a local photo printer and do the inventory/selling yourself.

You might want to check out http://www.cafepresssucks.com/

MrColossal · Wed 30/08/2006 17:27:56

Oh yes remember that too, I think the standard price for items is like 12 dollars for a shirt and you add money on to that in order to make money...

So if you charge 15 dollars for a shirt you're making very little money and need people to buy a LOT of shirts to make money that's worth it. Check on local printers and then you can charge what you want and if there are any local fairs you can bring the shirts there and sell them too! Especially a nautical themed fair like one taking place near a dock or where they sell lots of fish or fishy items.

MashPotato · Wed 30/08/2006 18:16:21

Thanks for the speedy responses, everyone ^_^

Hmm, sounds like there are a lot concerns with Cafepress... I have also heard varying reports of the t-shirt quality like MrC and Erenan expressed, maybe the method of printing has changed lately? I also find the merchandise quite overpriced (for example, the standard price for a woman's tank top is $15 US) and I wouldn't expect a lot of sales.

Printing t-shirts locally would probably be a better way to make money and ensure the quality is high, but that would require a lot more time/money investment and I would have to sell more in order to make it worthwhile... but would they sell? I don't really know--I like them, but I am biased ^_^
So I guess what I'm asking is, if you saw them selling, would you pause and take a second look? (for yourself, wives, girlfriends, etc--I guess it's not really a "guy" logo... or is it? ^_~) If I honestly think there would be interest (not as a full-time job, but on the side), then I think I would try, or at least look more into it to see if it is viable.

SSH · Wed 30/08/2006 21:59:18

why not create a store on one of the other ones of these and then see how many you sell, then close the store down when you want to do it yourself?

Nikolas · Wed 30/08/2006 22:18:05

Why not actually do it on your own?

Setting a store in your own website cost rather little.

Printing 100(0) of t-shirts at once will save you money. All you have to do is to find a way to store them safely. And then start advertising. Things don't go well, you'll sell the merchendise in 2 years. Things go well you'll sell in a couple of weeks and you order more.

Of course this is more of a CD idea, where you can store them undefinately...

T-shirts get...bitten by bugs.

But still it's worth a try.

Have you though of other ways of 'cashing in' your art skills?

Apart from selling the crabs you have, maybe do some freelancing? or graphic desinging, or whatever? Just wondering...

MashPotato · Thu 31/08/2006 00:46:47

SSH: that makes a whole lot of sense... I'll check out the alternative sites you mentioned too. Thanks ^_^

Nikolas: thanks, as always, for the vote of confidence ^_^. I really don't consider myself skilled enough to do art professionally, I just draw for fun. But maybe someday...

Scummbuddy · Thu 31/08/2006 03:21:39

First of all, m0ds, you didn't tell me there was actually a Kinky Island t-shirt. I just made it up for Pester Quest. I totally have to get one.

I've had a cafepress store for around a year, and have bought several items from it.
http://www.cafepress.com/mhchrefuge

I have been very happy with every item they've delivered, which all came in great packaging and time. I have bought the black shirt, when they stated they changed to a new way of creating them. I love the shirt and have washed it several times, which I will say that I was scared to do so, but the image or shirt hasn't faded or crumbled. I love the shirt and wear it most of the time when I'm doing computer work, as it gets me in the cartoon-making mood.

And I bought a poster through them, which was about 30-40 dollars cheaper than Kinko's was offering. I have it framed and hanging above my drafting table.

I've been very happy with them and I will say that they have come a long way over the years.

Alynn · Thu 31/08/2006 07:36:34

I think one of the biggest reasons for the overpricing is the fact is that most of the things put on cafepress don't sell. So they try to make maximum profit from the ones that actually do.

One thing you are paying for... Them to do the work... the webhosting, the online store, the money transaction, all you are supplying is the artwork.

Sure it's cheaper to have a printing shop near you (if one exists that works in smallish numbers, IE < 1000), but you have to do all the work yourself, such as setting up the online store, making sure it's secure, and all that business. But you also have to deal with the loss if nobody buys your items.

Which is the biggest advantage, since you don't have to pay for any up front costs if nothing ever sells you don't lose any money.

One of these days I will actually do my cafepress/whatever store... until then, I'll just not have one

Andail · Thu 31/08/2006 09:52:27

Quote from: MrColossal on Wed 30/08/2006 16:53:12
It just makes me feel like this person doesn't really care what the image is on as long as someone buys it which makes me think that they don't really care about the image just that it's on items people might buy.

Eric, a man of colossal phrases

Toefur · Thu 31/08/2006 13:04:42

CafePress used to have a really big issue with quality, but they have improved a lot over the last few years. They have a number of different printing methods now as well, so your shirts aren't going to look like cheap iron ons!

Cafepress base prices are crazy high, but just think of it like this: people are paying for your -unique design- that they can't get elsewhere. You've got to think of the value in terms of that, otherwise you won't succeed.

A few months ago I upped the price on my CafePress stores from $2 per item to $4-8 per item, average of $6 markup. Oddly enough, I'm selling more items than before, and at more than double the price.

So, if people are willing to pay... why not!