US online shops

marine_corpse · May 29, 2004

why is it that everytime I want to buy a nice tee I have to spend an exortionate amount of money and get it overseas? I only know of one shop in the US that carries the brands I want and that would be justbedesign.com. I'm looking for stockists in the US that carry (and still have) brands like Tonite, Hunter Gatherer, Gimme Five, Good Enough, Silas, Alife, etc. why hasn't anyone in the US started a one stop shop that carries all these brands? Is it because these labels know they'll make more money selling overseas? gimme some links.

if they move, kill 'em.

Edward · May 30, 2004

I agree w/ you . No one has stepped up to start this. I am just thinking that there are not enough heads that are into it and willing to spend the $$ and shortage of demands. As u know europeans and the asians have a more of a selective taste in these brands. all the brands u have mentioned which are big in overseas but it's going to take time to educate the american consumers to justify the prices. what city are u from?

marine_corpse · May 30, 2004

I think there are plenty of people that are into the brands here in the US, it's just no one is willing to start a shop that sells the stuff, or none of the established brands are willing to sell to US shops because they know they'll make more money overseas. or conversely, those brands from overseas are too expensive as it is so there's no way to justify the mark-up other than to say these items are imported, but they're still just tees. part of it is the huge mark-up for product, Japan and England seem to double their prices for tees that would normally cost $24-28 here in the US. i'm starting to see companies like Recon creating a proper online shopping experience for us 'merkins but it's still only the tip of the iceberg. unfortunately it's all about $ these days.

if they move, kill 'em.

Edward · May 30, 2004

I will give you an example. I am from Los Angeles and friends w/ alot of shop owners, Union,undftd,carve,indigo flower and situation normal. all dope shops and they carry all the brands silas,neighborhood, tonite,parkwalk and more. They all tell me their best sellers are domestic brands clarendon, Champion of none ,sarcastic , stussy and etc. If they solely rely on selling these import brands they will go under. as Far as the production overseas it is way pricier then us silk screen companies. I know this for a fact because,I helped to do some production in japan, you are looking @ about 2-$5.00 for silkscreen. The import tax alone is crazy it's about 28% even if the tees wholesale @ $14.00 by the time it lands here w/ the mark up $28.00-30.00 + shipping + duties= $40-50 per tees. we all know it's hard to move tees @ these prices. it's same here I 've sold some tees for My friend overseas we were selling this@ 14-15.00 whole sale. By the time it got to europe, They were selling them for $60.00 . To be honest no one really can make $ from tees , unless they are doing volume(urban shitfitters) or have a high mark up. I guess we have to make a choice of $$ or something else.

marine_corpse · May 30, 2004

why doesn't Union open an online shop? they seem to be the likeliest store to do it, not only because they've been around for awhile but also because they carry practically every brand you can think of. I'm not necessarily specific to some of these overseas brands, i'd definitely buy stuff from US companies, it's just none of them really offer online sales. it sucks knowing the only way I can get this stuff is to either fly to NY or LA, otherwise I have to order from overseas. with the US dollar being so weak I can't justify spending $70-80 for a tee anymore. how about pressuring the peeps at Union to start an online shop

if they move, kill 'em.

Edward · May 30, 2004

Hey marine_corpse

where are you from? state. If you want, I might be able to hook u up w/getting some of these brands. as far as union goes they have too much shit going on w/ their own labels,undftd and supreme. They get enough business and I think online shop is extra wprk and $ they don't want to spend. so hit me up if u want a particular items. I know for silas just be design has the best prices. let me know

peace

Dolo · May 30, 2004

One reason to not sell online is that if you're an already well established brand... making it more difficult to get your product helps create the perception of exclusivicity(is that even a word?? anyway you all know what I meant) and more in demand.

marine_corpse · May 30, 2004

edward--i'm in minneapolis/st.paul. I'll probably just order some stuff through justbedesign, although they charge $8 shipping for 1 shirt which is a bit of a rip. I guess I could just get off my ass and go to NY or LA and hit up the Union shops myself.

dolo--I dunno, this whole limited edition thing is a bit played out for me, it has to be one of the biggest shams ever perpetrated by a company just to sell product. I understand that this holds appeal to many people but what's the point? As a company isn't your primary goal to reach as many people as possible? are seasonal and limited edition considered the same thing? I can see if a company only produces so many designs per season but when it's limited to something like 250 worldwide then it's getting a little ridiculous. I mean, 250 worldwide for a t-shirt...with a population of 6 billion people?

if they move, kill 'em.

Dolo · May 31, 2004

BUt look at it this way.. lets use Recon as an example. THey do manage to reach every single person they'd like to with out eer having enough product for them all. It just creates a sense of longevity and hipness to a name.

I'm not supporting it, or in that sense even bashing it.. it's just a marketing practice that works

another example is to look at Bathing Ape. Notice just how quickly they go the way of Stussy circa 1997... becoming more and more passe and unpopular as they get more press and it becomes easier to get their clothing. At least Stussy was able to untarnish the frat boy images that had become as commen with their name as a pair of JNCOs by making it harder to get their clothes, by raising their prices slightly and well by actually making nicer clothing also.

LadyFrank · June 1, 2004

check out Karmaloop...they're based out of Boston. Great people and great clothing.

also, check out digital gravel. it's a website based out of brooklyn new york...if you like brooklyn flava...check it out.

www.digitalgravel.com

Latin Quarter · June 1, 2004

Hey Edward, I noticed that ur email addy is from Apparel Lab...you guys are a dist. right? I'm in Chino Hills (east of LA) and probably know some of the same people you mentioned above. Anyway, what is the procedure and how often do you guys to check out/look for new labels? Let me know.

Peace,

Patrick

mindtrix · June 3, 2004

Thanks LAtin Quarter I would like to know that too!

http://www.mindtrix.com

June 3, 2004

Latin quarter

How u doing? I was outhere in chino last week for a bbq. It was hot but the food was good.

anyways, I am more of a middleman for distributors. Anyways , I look for a lot of new labels for japan and overseas . contrary to popular beliefs, The Japanese do not buy just because it's made in the usa. This is bull

the market is so saturated w/ overnight and corny companies, It's killing the market .There are so many companies it's unbelievable and most of them are pretty bad. Here are some suggestions

A) be original/ do not do what everyone else is doing (grafitti tees, a black guy on a tee, dripping paint etc)

Define your customer ( urban outfitters kids/ wiggers(eminem)/skaters/ Deep heads(the harshest critics)

C) Quality (extremely important!! If the quality is there you can have a higher mark up)

D) P.R / Stores ( this will clearly define what kind of shops you are going to end up with for example

If u do skate mag /vibe hip hop mag or surface/anthem(High end fashion)

E) Duration ( shit don't happen overnight! pace yourself the market is changing drastically keep your eye on the situation and if you are good,They will come find you.

F) Never trust a sales rep ! in the beginning do the sales yourself. you will save $ plus the bullshit w/ reps(all their promises and lies (speaking from experience) once the brand gets known a good rep will come looking for you. It's hard to get a rep for a tee line.

June 3, 2004