Your merch, without the boxes in the shed.
List your designs with Capricorn Clothing Company and we will press, pack and post every order. You buy no stock, you store nothing, and your brand gets out there while you get on with running your business.
Most businesses want merch. Very few want what comes with it.
You have probably been quoted before. A minimum order of a hundred, paid up front, and then a stack of boxes in the corner of the office. Eighteen months on you are still handing out mediums because you guessed the sizes wrong, and nobody has the time to pack and post the ones people actually ask for.
So the idea quietly gets shelved, and the shirts never happen.
This is the other way of doing it.
How it works: Four steps, and three of them are ours.
One. Tell us what you have in mind. Send through your logo or your design and a rough idea of what you would like on a shirt. We will tell you honestly what works, what does not, and what we would suggest instead.
Two. We set you up. Your designs go live in their own collection on this site, under your business name, photographed and listed properly.
Three. We do the work. Every order that comes in, we press it, pack it, post it and look after the customer if anything needs sorting out.
Four. You get paid.
What it costs
There is a set-up fee of $550 to get you going. If you are hosting a fundraiser, or are a not-for-profit, charity or local club, the set-up fee is negotiable.
After that, you receive 25% of the sale price excluding postage, every time something sells. Paid monthly. There is nothing else to pay, no monthly fee and no minimum you have to hit.
What you actually get out of it
Your brand out in the community, worn by people who chose to wear it. There is no advertising quite like somebody paying you for the privilege of putting your name on their chest.
No money tied up. You are not buying stock, you are not storing it, and you are not writing any of it off at the end of the year.
No work. No packing, no postage, no trips to the post office, no customer emails about a missing parcel.
A shop that already has people in it. Your collection sits alongside ours on a site people visit to buy clothing, rather than on a page of your own that nobody has a reason to go to.
Frequently asked questions
Who does this suit?
We work with businesses, clubs, sporting teams, community groups and events. If you have a name and a logo and people who would happily wear it, this works.
What do you need from me?
The ideal is a vector file, so an AI, EPS, SVG or a PDF with the fonts outlined. If your designer made your logo, that is what they will have. Next best is a high resolution PNG with a transparent background, at least 3000 pixels across for a full chest print.
We can work from a logo, though it is worth saying that a logo on its own rarely makes a shirt anyone wants to wear. The merch that sells is usually a logo turned into something with a bit of character to it.
If all you have is a small or blurry file, tell us and we will look at it. Most of the time we can redraw it cleanly however this will attract a fee. The redrawn file is yours to keep and use anywhere else you like. We will never print something that will come out fuzzy and hope you do not notice.
What can you put the design on?
At the moment, t-shirts in adult, ladies and kids, across all size ranges, in any colour we can get our hands on.
We can also look at hoodies, singlets, caps, bucket hats and tote bags if that suits what you are after. Ask us and we will tell you what works, because some designs sit beautifully on a tee and look wrong on a cap.
How long until it is live?
Usually around two weeks from the day we have your artwork and the set up sorted.
Most of that is getting it right rather than getting it done. We press a sample first, check how the colours sit on the fabric, photograph it properly and then build the listing. If your artwork needs redrawing, add a week.
Do I have to commit to anything?
Not really. Your listing runs from the day it goes live and then simply continues unless one of us says otherwise. Either of us can end it with thirty days notice, no reason required and no exit fee.
The one thing that does not come back is the set up fee, because that work has already been done by then. Everything else, you can walk away from whenever you like.
What if nobody buys any?
Then you have spent the set up fee and not much has come of it. That is the honest answer, and we would rather say it now than have you find out later.
Merch sells when people already like you. If you have customers who talk about you, a team who would wear your name, or a following that would turn up to something, this tends to work. If you are hoping the shirts will build that from scratch, they probably will not.
Talk to us before you commit. If we think it is not the right time for your business, we will tell you, because a collection that sits there doing nothing is no good for either of us.
We can help you with marketing your collection if needed. We work closely with Marketing Unagency Co.
Can I order shirts for my own staff?
Yes, and you should. Staff shirts, giveaways, something for the ute, whatever you need.
Because it is your own design, you pay wholesale rate rather than the retail price, and there is no percentage involved, since paying yourself a commission on your own money is just moving it from one pocket to the other. Just tell us how many and what sizes.
Have a think, then have a chat.
There is no obligation in asking. Tell us what you are considering and we will give you a straight answer about whether it is worth doing, including if the answer is not yet.