Who would buy this T-shirt?

mustangdriver · **Posted:** Sat Dec 05, 2009 4:42 pm

I would hands down. Just remember big guys like warbirds too.

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Sat Dec 05, 2009 5:44 pm

mustangdriver wrote:

I would hands down. Just remember big guys like warbirds too.

Would 2x be big enough? Thanks for the input Chris.

This is a shirt I've been currently toying with for our air-museum and more importantly the Corsair Restoration Fund. (part of our museum) The problem is we really dont have any money to frivolously use. (Even for T-shirts!) Thats how much of a financial crunch our small non public museum is in right now. I've been doing my part by setting up a CASC booth at any in every event in the state that I can find. Heres a shot of me in the summer at the Simsbury flyin. Look how cool I am!

What is cool about that picture is the fact that a TBM used to sit right there, next to other TBM's long ago.
Heres a picture my old man took at a model train show in November in Cheshire.

We had our monthly volunteer meeting this morning and needless to say it didn't feel too productive. My approval for 400 shirts like the one above for $1,525.25 didn't pan out. Im discouraged and disappointed but not finished with my relentless campaign for the museum to have some cool merchandise. As of right now we really don't have much of anything in the way fund-raising so my attempts at "nickle and diming" it at local flyins in the summer and train shows in the winter is the only revenue we have coming into the museum. I was told by our senior advisor and retired senator "Doc" Gunther I've apparently raised something like $800 for the museum so far. :shock:

I don't believe it. Some noteworthy suggestions that were made today by other volunteers about the shirt were:

-To have the museum name on the shirt
-To have the museum location on the shirt
-To have the Corsair more pronounced and noticeable
-To have a Blue/Grey/Black shirt (MORE MONEY)
-To have kid sizes (Good Suggestion)

Either way I left the museum with a feeling that I have to come back at this project harder than ever and find someway to show the "higher ups" that this is a proven money maker. What i ask to some of you out there that have delt with making T-shirts and stuff like this is:

-What are the most popular sizes? (My interpretation is X-Sm, 2XL, and up)
-What is a good production batch #? (I was pitching the idea of 400 but due to lack of funds I may have to reconsider)
-Have you encountered much resistance and many alterations to a design?
-How many people do you have to go through to have a design Ok'd?
-Have you felt like your baning your head against a wall sometimes? :wink:

corsair166b · **Posted:** Sat Dec 05, 2009 6:24 pm

Hell yeah I would.....it's very similar tho to the shirt I got from the bar ...what is it, 'The Windsock'?...at the Stratford airport across from the old Vought Factory.....but yeah, I'd buy it if it's reasonably priced.

Mark

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Sat Dec 05, 2009 6:38 pm

Yeah its the Windsock and its still there, but if I recall there shirt isn't particularly close to what this is. I mean yeah they have a Corsair, but its a colored front 3/4 view of a Corsair. Might have to go digging through your drawer to pick it out and find out once and for all! :wink:

corsair166b · **Posted:** Sat Dec 05, 2009 6:46 pm

Not really sure what the design is, think it involved the stars and bars tho....anyway, that cute blond still working at the Windsock? When I was there in 2005 she had just won a Hummer while at some casino gambling and was planning on selling it. Some folks have all the luck. Great bar, that place.

Mark

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Sat Dec 05, 2009 6:51 pm

corsair166b wrote:

Not really sure what the design is, think it involved the stars and bars tho....anyway, that cute blond still working at the Windsock? When I was there in 2005 she had just won a Hummer while at some casino gambling and was planning on selling it. Some folks have all the luck. Great bar, that place.

Mark

Not sure actually. Cant say its a usual haunt for me but every-time my dad comes with me to the museum we usually stop in there, have a beer, and soak up as much history as we can get. To imagine sitting at that bar and wondering what famous and not so famous people came through that door through the years. The place has been getting redone which is nice to see. (nicer bar installed) and small stuff like that. Still plenty of aviation and Corsair related stuff on the walls still.

corsair166b · **Posted:** Sat Dec 05, 2009 7:07 pm

The atmosphere of the place was great, the folks made me feel like a local while I was there, calling me by my first name and such, very nice place although a bit run down, so glad to hear it's getting a bit of a re-do. The history of the joint is not to be denied, I even wonder if maybe my grandfather went in there after work at any point while he was working for Vought....he fancied a drink, I bet he did. Did find my Windsock shirt, you're right, just a Corsair on the back, no Stars and Bars (musta been some other shirt I was thinking of)....managed to find my Odegaard F2G Corsair shirt also, thought I lost that a LONG time ago....most of these shirts I can't fit into anymore (make sure you offer an XXL for those of us who like to eat) but the memories associated with them....priceless.

Mark

Pogo · **Posted:** Sat Dec 05, 2009 7:09 pm

I'd buy one as my small way of helping what I consider to be a good cause. Only thing is, I never even look at shirts without pockets. First half of my life (the stupid half) I needed it for the ever-present pack of cigs; now, for the second half (the other stupid half), I need it for the ol' geezer glasses. I love my t-shirts, but gotta have a pocket.

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Sat Dec 05, 2009 7:49 pm

Pogo wrote:

I'd buy one as my small way of helping what I consider to be a good cause. Only thing is, I never even look at shirts without pockets. First half of my life (the stupid half) I needed it for the ever-present pack of cigs; now, for the second half (the other stupid half), I need it for the ol' geezer glasses. I love my t-shirts, but gotta have a pocket.

Noted pogo.

Ryan Keough · **Posted:** Sat Dec 05, 2009 8:18 pm

Hey Chris, have you considered using CafePress.com to create and sell the shirts? We have one for WIX and though the sales aren't huge, we only have a $6.00 per month charge to post all of our items... and there is no other cost for us beyond that. CafePress will give us what their price to us will be (say $10.00 for a T-Shirt), then we add our mark-up (say $5.00, but it can be anything) and then CafePress allows us to sell that shirt for $15.00. They take the order via our store on their site, they take the payment via credit card and the like, they produce it (on-demand... one at a time... no inventory costs) and ship it to the customer. We get the $5 markup and it's as easy as that. I have been pretty happy with their quality too. If you need larger quantities for your own use (say to sell at an airshow or the like), you can order in bulk for a little less than what CafePress charges you and have some in inventory on your side.

You do the design for the shirts and the like... and it's fairly easy to upload them. I have plenty of experience with it and know the ins and outs if you need assistance. Also, the cool part is that you aren't just limited to t-shirts... you can do sweatshirts, hats, stickers, calendars... a whole bunch of stuff.

It sounds like something you could easily do and would be the best for your budget... especially considering that your volumes are fairly small. Granted that doing t-shirts in large quantities with a silkscreener will result in far less 'per unit' costs (like $3-4 per shirt I think) and your margin is higher, but you take the risk of holding that inventory for a LONG time and you need to come up with the capital to buy the lot upfront before you even sell a single shirt.

Take a look at the WIX store for an example of how it works... http://www.cafepress.com/wrg1945

And if you want the details on how to set up your own store... check out: http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/sell/index.aspx?area=learn&page=learn - In fact, it looks like you could easily start out with the Basic Store (free) and try it out.

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Sat Dec 05, 2009 8:24 pm

Thanks alot Ryan. I've considered using Cafe Press. Seems like a very logical solution to one annoying problem.

Might have to seriously look into that now.

ColFord · **Posted:** Sat Dec 05, 2009 9:48 pm

Importantly make sure who ever does your shirts for you uses good quality 100% cotton tees of a good material weight and manufacture. Nothing worse than buying that t-shirt with the aircraft logo or design on it that your really like, but after 3 or 4 washes its ready for the rag bag!

I can say the WIX t-shirt I bought from CafePress met the above criteria and even got SWMBO "nod of approval" about how it has survived a number of wash and wear cycles.

On the design to my eye:

Make the Corsair presence stronger - fill more white space in the star
Or do you change the design so the Corsair is larger over the insignia? (Wingtip in each arm of the star n bar)

I can understand Museum people wanting some acknowledgement of which Museum is actually doing the restoration, but if you add it, keep it subtle so it does not distract from the main design.

Stick with the plain white tee, keeps it easier as then it is only three colour printing - black, blue and red on the white background. If you go to other colours you then have to print the white, and that is not always easy to do well.

Just my ideas on what looks to be a good potential money spinner.

Oh, and then use that logo on all your supporting material, display boards and so on to keep everything tied together to present a good professional image.

B-25 C · **Posted:** Sat Dec 05, 2009 10:06 pm

I would buy one!

seaknight15 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 05, 2009 10:36 pm

YOU MAKE IT , THEY WILL COME WELL I WILL

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