serious questiona about apparel business...

[on_my_own]

This might seem like a dumb question, but I've always wondered how websites that sell lots of apparel (shirts, shorts, etc) store all their inventory. Do all these websites use dropshippers or actually have a warehouse that they store everything? I'm in the very beginning stages of starting my apparel business and am working on a logo and designs at the moment and I'm using a website that will produce and ship the apparel whenever I make a sale. I am barely making any commission off these sales, but gotta start somewhere. That's what got me wondering how all these clothing websites have so many options available. Anyone with any experience in this area?

[Freelancier]

Lots of drop-shipping with their bigger suppliers. What they do is set up an EDI link to their suppliers and it all happens automatically with each order. Costs money, but that's what you do when you're sick of doing it manually and are making enough money to make the extra costs profitable.

[Harold Mansfield]

It's a combination of both. Some warehouse product, some are a combination of warehousing and drop shipping, and some are just drop shippers.

[KristineS]

Some companies will warehouse their most popular sellers. Others will work with suppliers and put catalogs from the suppliers on their website, so orders for garments are processed automatically. A few will only work with garments customers bring in, although that's pretty rare. It really depends on what works best for the particular company. A lot of the garment manufacturers have made it pretty easy for companies to sell their stuff.

[on_my_own]

Some companies will warehouse their most popular sellers. Others will work with suppliers and put catalogs from the suppliers on their website, so orders for garments are processed automatically. A few will only work with garments customers bring in, although that's pretty rare. It really depends on what works best for the particular company. A lot of the garment manufacturers have made it pretty easy for companies to sell their stuff.

Do you possibly know where I can go to read up more about this? I would like to start an apparel company and have the logo and brand ready to go. Now comes the part where I try to figure out how to offer a lot of options, but I don't want to import a bunch of stuff and keep them lying around waiting to be sold, if they ever do get sold.

[Wozcreative]

Do you possibly know where I can go to read up more about this? I would like to start an apparel company and have the logo and brand ready to go. Now comes the part where I try to figure out how to offer a lot of options, but I don't want to import a bunch of stuff and keep them lying around waiting to be sold, if they ever do get sold.

So you had your logo and apparel already done and you haven't done the research or created a business plan before you did all that? Wow.... :confused:

[KristineS]

Do you possibly know where I can go to read up more about this? I would like to start an apparel company and have the logo and brand ready to go. Now comes the part where I try to figure out how to offer a lot of options, but I don't want to import a bunch of stuff and keep them lying around waiting to be sold, if they ever do get sold.

Try the blog Fashion Incubator (http://www.fashion-incubator.com/blog/). It's a great place to get an overview of the garment business. You might also try some of the big garment sales sites. SanMar, AlphaBroder and One Stop are some places to look for garments.

[Barcode Parade]

Dropshipping alone is only reasonable if you're starting out. Once your business grows, to increase profit, you will need a traditional warehouse for your major items while still dropshipping the slower items. Dropshipping is also the best way for testing out a product before investing.