e-commerce, fulfilmentI want to learn a new skill. In that effort, I decided to learn about e-commerce. I see a bunch of E-Commerce sites setup via Shopfiy for example. My question is, where do the products used in these e-commerce stores come from?
I know this seems kind of broad. But lets say I wanted to sell t-shirts. Let’s say I have a Shopify store setup with these t-shirts. A user chooses a t-shirt and wants to buy it. How do I fulfill the order.
I feel really dumb for asking this. Yet, I can’t believe people actually have boxes of t-shirts at home that they’re selling. Or maybe, that’s what they are doing. I just wanted to see if there was some way to do on-demand fulfillment. Yet, I haven’t been able to find anything. For that reason, I wanted to reach out to the community and see if anyone had experience with this they would be willing to share.
I have some experience in this industry so I’ll give you a very brief overview guided by your questions. Please don’t assume any of this is as easy as I make it sound. The decorated apparel business has extremely low barriers to entry which makes it extremely competitive.
My question is, where do the products used in these e-commerce stores come from?
They can come from anywhere; some are made in big factories, some are made in a people’s homes.
I know this seems kind of broad. But lets say I wanted to sell t-shirts. Let’s say I have a Shopify store setup with these t-shirts. A user chooses a t-shirt and wants to buy it. How do I fulfill the order.
The first thing you’ll want to do is order some bulk t-shirts blanks from a wholesale distributor. If you’re in the United States you might try S&S, Alpha Broder, or Cotton Connection. Some brands are better purchased direct from the manufacturer such as American Apparel Wholesale and Royal Apparel Wholesale, but they might require bigger purchases. Any wholesale t-shirt company will require you to provide a resale license from your home state.
You’ll need some designs. You can buy these or make them using software like Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw. You’ll need the designs in digital form to use with your digital printing method (discussed in the next paragraph). Once you have designs, you can also create digital mockups for your online store.
Next you need to choose how you will print your shirts. You can do screen printing, direct-to-garment, heat transfer vinyl or some other garment printing method. You’ll need to acquire all the equipment and supplies needed to print using your chosen method(s).
Depending on the method of printing chosen and how your business model operates, you will print your shirts before or after your receive orders.
Finally, you’ll want to have some shipping supplies and a shipping label printer. When you get an order, you pack a shirt, print the label, and deliver it to your shipping service.
Some or all of these things steps can be outsourced. You can weigh the costs to determine the best approach for your business.
Yet, I can’t believe people actually have boxes of t-shirts at home that they’re selling. Or maybe, that’s what they are doing.
Many people do. Again, some t-shirts come from big factories or distribution centers and some come from people’s homes.
I just wanted to see if there was some way to do on-demand fulfillment. Yet, I haven’t been able to find anything.
There are very many. Some do part of the process, some do the whole process. I’m not going to name them (because I’m not here to advertise people’s retail services) but I will help you with a link to an online search.
For that reason, I wanted to reach out to the community and see if anyone had experience with this they would be willing to share.
If you want to learn more, I’d suggest T-shirt Forums. Or better yet, try to attend a trade show like ISS, NBM, or DAX.
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