👉 Figure out if you want to sell only prints you have IN HAND or if you want to order all prints after the party or a mix of both! This is completely up to you! There are pros and cons of both options!
👉 I started out selling from my favorite and most reliable vendors and ordered after the party closed. I told my people up front that all materials are ordered at party close. I did have a couple prints that went out of stock sometimes and when that happened I let my customers know that unfortunately the print had sold out before the party closed. I would offer a similar/alternative print if I could find one within my vendors I was already using and without having to pay another vendor/shipping cost or I would simply refund. I never had any issues or an upset customer who wasn’t understanding since I explained it ahead of time.
👉 If you choose to sell prints you DO NOT have on hand….this is fine in my opinion. Starting out my tee parties I felt I could not afford to stock up on prints that I wasn’t sure would even sell. It was a guessing game trying to figure out what would appeal to each new party hostess and guests. You will come across some people who tell you not to do this but I personally feel like it is not within everyone’s means to be able to order inventory ahead of time without knowing what will sell especially if you’re still new!
👉 So....if you choose to do it this way then I would recommend sticking to 2-3 RELIABLE vendors that you have had good success with! If you aren’t already in the group Branding Boss Babes on Facebook then go join and you will find an amazing list of approved vendors for screen prints and DTF transfers that can do amazing things for your business! There are so many great vendors out there but it will be up to you who you want to go with and who you enjoy working with and if their designs fit your niche!
👉 Pro tip - make sure you are either using companies who list their stock count at all times. You want to make sure you have a decent idea of which prints will be least likely to sell out before the party closes. This is not really a guarantee but it definitely helps to know that there are 100 in stock of something versus 4 in stock! Make sure you have a disclaimer that materials are ordered after the party closes and you cannot guarantee items will be in stock but will do your best to find an amazing substitute! This applies to shirt sizes/colors as well!
👉 If you’re only working with what you have IN STOCK already then this is a great benefit to your TAT (turnaround time). You can still try to find requests from party guests (example - guest asks if you have any farming or ranching designs) from vendors and order those as needed but when the majority of your transfers are already in your hands it’s definitely less stressful than waiting for several screen orders to come in!
👉 If you are using prints that are IN STOCK you should be using phrases like “Only 3 left!” or “limited quantities on these!” 🔥