You certainly cannot go wrong with black. And I kinda like orange but I might be in the minority there.
As an aside, coffe mugs are kinda cool as well. I'd buy one! Anyway, my company is in the process of ordering a couple hundred right now - they are fast, easy and cheap and they let you approve the artwork before giving them a dime. I'm not sure who you are working with but there are dozens of companies who do all this stuff under one roof if you know what I mean. And it is pretty affordable when you buy in bulk. But at the same time, it ain't free so you can always go with minimum orders to limit your costs at the outset and to gauge the response you get. Seems like a safe bet to me with the cycling explosion going on. Outside of selling the stuff outright you could always revisit the 'site supporter' levels and dollar amounts and do stuff like 't-shirt, mug and bumper sticker' at the $50 level, 't-shirt and sticker' at the $25 level and so on. kinda like US Public TV does, always leaving yourself 30% to 50% above cost to leave something for running the site and paying for your time. Sorry to run on so much, but I'm a businessman at heart and I enjoy this kind of stuff. Anyway, I'm sure there's nothing here you haven't thought of before. Good luck.
Sorry - I forgot something. I've ordered a couple hundred t-shirts at the time several times over the years. My (unsolicited) advice would be to resist the temptation to get the most shirts for the least money. Our response is always much, much better when we spend a bit extra for the real quality thick cotton. Doesn't matter how great the artwork is if the shirt is too thin or too itchy. I'd rather have one shirt that will last for years than two I never want to wear. A quality site should have a quality shirt! Not to mention the fact that by definition your target audience is a bunch of detail-oriented value hounds. As with anything else, less money doesn't always equate to a better value. Just my two cents.
cb360 wrote:You certainly cannot go wrong with black. And I kinda like orange but I might be in the minority there.
As an aside, coffe mugs are kinda cool as well. I'd buy one! Anyway, my company is in the process of ordering a couple hundred right now - they are fast, easy and cheap and they let you approve the artwork before giving them a dime. I'm not sure who you are working with but there are dozens of companies who do all this stuff under one roof if you know what I mean. And it is pretty affordable when you buy in bulk. But at the same time, it ain't free so you can always go with minimum orders to limit your costs at the outset and to gauge the response you get. Seems like a safe bet to me with the cycling explosion going on. Outside of selling the stuff outright you could always revisit the 'site supporter' levels and dollar amounts and do stuff like 't-shirt, mug and bumper sticker' at the $50 level, 't-shirt and sticker' at the $25 level and so on. kinda like US Public TV does, always leaving yourself 30% to 50% above cost to leave something for running the site and paying for your time. Sorry to run on so much, but I'm a businessman at heart and I enjoy this kind of stuff. Anyway, I'm sure there's nothing here you haven't thought of before. Good luck.
I don't mind listening to new suggestions and opinions at all, in fact, I try to encourage them.
You read my mind about adding more and more things to the site supporter levels. I will try to make the prices to everyone can afford it and enjoy getting something great while supporting motorcycling too.
I will be looking into those "do it all" types of companies and use the best one who can offer good value for the money for the TMW buyers.
Coffee mugs, hummm... Have to look into that as well.
cb360 wrote:Sorry - I forgot something. I've ordered a couple hundred t-shirts at the time several times over the years. My (unsolicited) advice would be to resist the temptation to get the most shirts for the least money. Our response is always much, much better when we spend a bit extra for the real quality thick cotton. Doesn't matter how great the artwork is if the shirt is too thin or too itchy. I'd rather have one shirt that will last for years than two I never want to wear. A quality site should have a quality shirt! Not to mention the fact that by definition your target audience is a bunch of detail-oriented value hounds. As with anything else, less money doesn't always equate to a better value. Just my two cents.
Ok guys and girls of all ages, the ball is rolling on the Total Motorcycle TMW merchandise!
Step right up and get your greenbacks ready because soon you will be able to wear, use and ... ummm.. stick our stuff where ever you like! (maybe we should have a contest on the funnyist place people stick/wear TMW stickers/decals?!)....