Frequently Asked Questions

YOU: Hey, you do merch? How much would it cost us to do 100 t-shirts?

ME: That depends, do you want 100 basic t-shirts or 100 good quality t-shirts? Do you want one colour print on a light shirt or on a dark shirt? Do you want more than one print colour? How big is your design? How many locations will you be printing on?

YOU: Uh, I dunno.

ME: Then I dunno either.

 

I don’t know prices off the top of my head unless you give me all of the variables that are included in that price quoting. I’d love to bounce numbers at you, but even when I do, this happens….

 

 

 

YOU:  How much for 25 black t-shirts with a 1 color print on the front?
ME:  Cheapest? About $300 bucks.
YOU: That’s 12 bucks a t-shirt! My buddy can do ‘em for 5 bucks a t-shirt!

ME: Then why are you asking me? Clearly your “buddy’s” t-shirts are of the highest print quality and style, the phrase “you get what you pay for” clearly doesn’t suit him and his basement print shop, right?
YOU: Uhhh….

 

A band shouldn’t be making t-shirts just because all the other bands have t-shirts and it seems like an easy way to make some money without spending much. Truth is, you have to spend money to make money and a crappy design printed on a crappy t-shirt probably won’t see daylight. Even if you do move product at your show because your fans are awesome and will buy anything just to support you, chances are you could be moving 20 times MORE product if you were selling GOOD quality t-shirts with a fashionable print. Then even the kids who kinda thought you were okay would probably wanna pick up tees just because they’re rad. How ‘bout them apples?

 

 

 

ME: Hey! I sell merch for bands at shows!
YOU: Cool, I’m in a band!
ME: Have you ever hired a merch person before?
YOU: Nah, my [girlfriend/brother/uncle/dad/sister/cousin/buddy/grandma] sells it for us.

ME: Oh cool. Tell me, how much merch do you sell on average?
YOU: I dunno.

ME: Hmmm… indeed.

 

If you treat your music like the business it is you will find that merch is a band’s most proactive way of earning a financial income. A financial income that can pay for important things like touring, photoshoots, more merch, video expenses, recording expenses and often even living expenses. If you owned a store and needed someone to manage it, would you honestly hire your Grandma or your Girlfriend? Probably not. No matter how much you love them, you’d probably hire somebody with management experience who you’d probably have to pay more than say, er, NOTHING, but at least you know they’d be getting the job done properly, right? A professional merch person keeps count of inventory, takes care of budgeting and often will do both merch and tour management at once. They will take all of that extra weight off of your shoulders so all that you have to do is be the rockstar you are! If you really want to take your girlfriend on tour, there’s always the position of “wardrobe”!

Mrchgrl Easy Menu!

(click to enlarge!)

Yay! I just finished drawing up the MRCHGRL EASY MENU! 

If you click on the images above you can get a full view of the whole menu, one at a time of course! I added a lot more variety of stuff that is available along with more options for printing! :D 
If you want to save the picture, click to enlarge and then right-click and save as! 

Updates!

Hey kids!

Been busy working on LOTS of new stuff for you guys! I'm working on a BIGGER, BETTER merch menu! It'll have a lot more resources on it, so that's something to look forward to! Also got quite a few more merch 101 lessons coming your way. Again, if there is anything in particular you'd like to learn about please feel free to comment or send an email and I will do my best to get it up there as soon as I can.

I am also going to start putting together customized merch kits for bands as I've gotten a great response about those but people are a little weary of doing it themselves. So basically if you want a merch kit put together all professional-like you can come to me and I'll hook you up, as they say.

Anyways, thanks for checking out the blog. See ya soon!

xo
Ella

Calling all bands! Calling all bands!

I have an AMAZING idea for a t-shirt, but I need a band or artist who is willing to do it! The reason I need a specific band is because I'll be using the band member's faces on the t-shirt. 

It's a REALLY rad idea, so if you are up for it, I'll even cut the design price in HALF for you! Only $75 smackeroos! (it's usually $150! - dur!)

It'd be cool if the band had 3 to 5 members, but the shirt will work no matter how many members the band has. 

Come onnn, you know you want to! ;)

Here's a hint: What do Suge Knight, Paris Hilton and Hugh Grant have in common?

Merch 101: Merch Kits

Lesson 5: How to Make a Great Merch Kit

To run a successful merch table there are standard supplies that everybody needs, but the better stocked you are the better things are going to run. Here is a breakdown of some of the things that are essential to an organized and efficient merch system.

 

Organization

Plastic Storage Bins

These heavy plastic packing containers often come with snapping lids and dividers. The better quality the container (i.e. thicker plastic, snapping lids, handles) the easier load in, set up and tear down will be. These containers make packing and travelling much easier as they aren’t as susceptible to weather (rain will break down cardboard) and can be easily packed and stored.

Depending on the amount of merch and the size of the bins you should be able to store most of your merchandise into these bins. Now, these are better used on small to mid-level bands as high level bands quite often go through merch so fast and have so much to sell it wouldn’t be prudent to use a bin like this for t-shirts, though it may be for smaller merchandise like bandanas, belt buckles, etc. that are heavier or are more expensive. Also note that if you use heavy duty storage bins they can double as step-stools and chairs when a venue lacks that sort of stuff!

Smaller "Merch Kit" Container

A smaller container to hold all of the stuff that will make up your "merch kit" is essential. Something that clasps shut and has a handle is ideal but any plastic container will do. This will carry all of your day-to-day merch essentials which we will discuss below, so organization is key. Things that often work well are professional make-up boxes as they have lots of compartments and are easy to organize.

Merch Kit

Grid Panel
A grid panel is a metal grid that you can attach to or hang up on the wall to clip up t-shirts and other sellable product so that fans can see the product clearly. Often mid-size and smaller venues don't have anything to attach product to, so to look professional you can bring your own panel for display purposes.

Butterfly Clips
These little clips help attach t-shirts to your display or hang up posters/pictures/cd's etc. They come in a wide range of sizes and come in very handy for a lot of things. 

Flash Cards

Flash cards are a great way to display what sizes you have available if you have a lot of stock in various sizing ranges. Write the style name and the size range on the flash card and as you sell out of styles you can cross them out. This will help for when people ask what sizes you have. You will often still get the same questions but at least you have a reference to point to when the venue is loud!  I usually attach these right to the t-shirts or wall underneath the t-shirts with straight pins or thumb tacks, tape also works.

Printed Merch Pricing
A sheet with each individual item for sale and it's cost comes in pretty handy when you have a long lineup for merch! These are good to put up all over your merch area so lots of people can see them!

Clear Plastic Picture Frame Stands
To display your merch price lists on the merch table these picture frame stands can be helpful. Usually they are plastic and come in an 8.5" x 11" size for regular sheets of paper.

Binder - Sell Sheets / Inventory List
Your binder is a very important part of your merch! It keeps records of sales at each show so you can track how well your sales are doing. You can also keep settlement sheets from venues when you have to give some of your profits to the house and it also comes in handy for keeping track of inventory for when you need to order more. This way you know which sizes and items you sell out of first, thus making it easier to know which sizes to order more of next time!

Plastic CD Stands
You know when grandma's have decorated plates displayed allover their little houses and some are standing up on a shelf or a mantle? Usually they are propped up with a plate display stand of some kind. These can usually be purchased at dollar stores and come in really handy for displaying CD's and books!

Other "Supplies": 
Stapler / Staples
Sharpies (ALWAYS a necessity!)
Mechanical Pencils
Pens
Pencil Case
Thumb Tacks
Duct Tape / Electrical Tape / Masking Tape / Scotch Tape (Any kind of tape is helpful!)
Hangers (For displaying tees when you don't have a grid panel!)
Lighter
Scissors
1-Hole Punch
Ruler
Measuring Tape
Note Pad (for making notes when working or writing down information you may need later!)
Plastic Carry Bags (people won't ask for bags often but when they do it'll be handy to have them!)
Small Hammer / Nails

All of these items will come in handy when setting up your merch area. Keep in mind that the neater your area is and the more you do to customize it, the more professional it will look and professionalism is important!