Shirt.Woot

I read all the comments.

Argument against price increase is stronger argument than Argument for price increase.

Of course we love your marketing innovation shirt.woot. We love your witty articles and sleek website design made by people on the moon.

But it's your decision. Remember you can always go back to 10 dollars.

I'll cut a deal with you and ignore a price increase if you make it $11.


If in doubt, check your sources, and since I clearly have nothing to prove your innocent gesture or ill conceived goal to dominate the world with this 20 percent increase, I am going to assume the latter and build bunkers now.

Metaphor for: If money talks, then I'm a mime.

Metaphor for: The quality of your shirts was never in question, but I'm pretty sure you were expecting a reaction from your fanbase, so I assume everything is under control financially for shirt.woot.

Unless you underestimated...your charm bonus.

:o

But srsly, Good times shirt woot. Good times.

thatrobert wrote:Wow. Maybe the price increase IS cutting down sales.

First day sales
Monday: 825
Tuesday: 6000
Wednesday: 669
Thursday: 1240
Friday: 1557
Saturday: 2404
Sunday: 659
Monday: 321

If shirt sales are compared to the US economy, Tuesday's shirt is the 1%.

If you're going to raise the price by any amount, how about some extras back our way a bit.

Maybe bring back the availability of some shirts you might still have in stock; for a limited amount of time perhaps. I'd gladly pay $12 for a shirt you printed at $10, and still have in the warehouse.

And no I'm not speaking of shirts on the reckoning list.

jazz2600 wrote:If you're going to raise the price by any amount, how about some extras back our way a bit.

Maybe bring back the availability of some shirts you might still have in stock; for a limited amount of time perhaps. I'd gladly pay $12 for a shirt you printed at $10, and still have in the warehouse.

And no I'm not speaking of shirts on the reckoning list.

Those shirts are sold for $6.66 as Randoms. You're suggesting that making a $2 price jump is too much, but selling the randoms for ~$6 more is a good deal?

Bad at math!

Suddenly $6Tees and Teefury seem a lot more interesting. Sure, with TeeFury's shipping they sell for $12.50 but I'm no longer going to be so quick to get yours when it's this or that. Threadless even has a $9 sale going on which means my tee shirt budget is probably headed there for a while. =/

While we are on the subject... I'm not sure how you decide to choose which style of shirt to make but speaking as a girl I much prefer the American Apparel style fit to the regular Woot style fit. I don't know if it is a color thing maybe but all I know is that as soon as I bought an American Apparel style I wished I could changed all my other shirts. I didn't see anywhere in checkout where it says what style (unless I missed it) but if there is a way you could either tell us or preferably just print American Apparel ones I'd be happy. Maybe since we are paying a little more I figure I'd have a shot.

mgem1 wrote:While we are on the subject... I'm not sure how you decide to choose which style of shirt to make but speaking as a girl I much prefer the American Apparel style fit to the regular Woot style fit. I don't know if it is a color thing maybe but all I know is that as soon as I bought an American Apparel style I wished I could changed all my other shirts. I didn't see anywhere in checkout where it says what style (unless I missed it) but if there is a way you could either tell us or preferably just print American Apparel ones I'd be happy. Maybe since we are paying a little more I figure I'd have a shot.

The shirts are American Apparel.

j5 wrote:The shirts are American Apparel.

All my shirts are the same size, but the ones with the Woot tags fit so much tighter than the ones without it. Maybe I'm just crazy then.

mgem1 wrote:All my shirts are the same size, but the ones with the Woot tags fit so much tighter than the ones without it. Maybe I'm just crazy then.

There are actually several styles of American Apparel shirts. Woot uses the "AA-2001" blanks for the men's shirts and a different one (can't recall the code) for the Women's. Many women here prefer the men's Ts because they do have more room for...."the girls".

j5 wrote:There are actually several styles of American Apparel shirts. Woot uses the "AA-2001" blanks for the men's shirts and a different one (can't recall the code) for the Women's. Many women here prefer the men's Ts because they do have more room for...."the girls".

Guys: 2001
Gals: 2102
Kids: 2105/2201
Long sleeve: 2007

Retail prices for the blanks at AA are $18, $18, $11, $13, and $24, respectively.

Considering new Threadless shirts start at $20, I'm quite content with the pricing here.

I might complain if the Woot shirts were low quality, but they're surprisingly well made in both print and shirt material. Besides, I was going to just waste that two bucks on an energy drink anyway.

Speaking of which, where's my energy drink?

j5 wrote:There are actually several styles of American Apparel shirts. Woot uses the "AA-2001" blanks for the men's shirts and a different one (can't recall the code) for the Women's. Many women here prefer the men's Ts because they do have more room for...."the girls".

Okay, I think I'll try that next time I order. Thanks for the info.

Narfcake wrote:Guys: 2001
Gals: 2102
Kids: 2105/2201
Long sleeve: 2007

Retail prices for the blanks at AA are $18, $18, $11, $13, and $24, respectively.

So I save $6 (Debut/WootOff Day) by having them shipped/printed/and shipped again? Beat that deal!

dcroe05 wrote:So I save $6 (Debut/WootOff Day) by having them shipped/printed/and shipped again? Beat that deal!

Yeah, but they're defective. They all have blobs of multicolored ink on them.

mgem1 wrote:All my shirts are the same size, but the ones with the Woot tags fit so much tighter than the ones without it. Maybe I'm just crazy then.

I never noticed a size difference based on the tag but I notice a distinct difference in size based on color. Lighter shirts are roomier than darker. If it was my own wash I'd assume it'd work out in the opposite way since I wash darks in cold and lights in warm.

Really?

Well, we do understand increased raw material prices. But it's a shot in the foot.

A 20% increase means that the shirts will be scrutinized 20% more - and that means probably far more than 20% fewer shirt purchases.

When you can get a handle on costs and can start delivering value again, gimme a call.

AMZN has been bad for Woot.

First day sales since price increase:

Monday 01/16: 825
Tuesday 01/17: 6000
Wednesday 01/18: 669
Thursday 01/19: 1240
Friday 01/20: 1557
Saturday 01/21: 2404
Sunday 01/22: 659
Monday 01/23: 321
Tuesday 01/24: 3797
Wednesday 01/25: 762
Thursday 01/26: 94

I expect the Friday 01/27 shirt to sell well since it's square in the center of Woot buyer demographic.

saiedp wrote:$12 shipped is still a good price compared to the other daily tee sites, but I'm not sure I see the connection between shrinking/flat margins and starting new projects like the weeklies. I would be surprised if these required a ton of starting capital, and I'm guessing that they're intended to be profitable and therefore self-funding (if they aren't already), so unless there's something else in the pipeline, the official line is lacking. And as others have pointed out, $10 is an easier psychological threshold compared to $12.

Agreed. I was more likely to impulsively buy a shirt for $10 because that is less than I spend on sushi for lunch. $12? That's like sushi and miso soup... and I don't always spring for the miso. :-S

mgem1 wrote:While we are on the subject... I'm not sure how you decide to choose which style of shirt to make but speaking as a girl I much prefer the American Apparel style fit to the regular Woot style fit. I don't know if it is a color thing maybe but all I know is that as soon as I bought an American Apparel style I wished I could changed all my other shirts. I didn't see anywhere in checkout where it says what style (unless I missed it) but if there is a way you could either tell us or preferably just print American Apparel ones I'd be happy. Maybe since we are paying a little more I figure I'd have a shot.

+1
<---- is a girl

Sylkwyrm wrote:+1
<---- is a girl

Did you read anything after that, like where it was explained that woot shirts ARE AA blanks? Including the specific AA number blank in use?

-1

elankat wrote:
...Everyone has their own personal line of what they're willing to spend in certain situations. It's not always a rational line...

This is the best way to sum up my feelings. I am a consistent impulse buyer. I am also kind of OCD, and 10 has that nice round 0 and is divisible by five. While 15 does not have the round 0, it is still divisible by five. I won't be buying anymore shirts for awhile unless it's from the Reckoning.

The first day shirts came out, I used to buy two or three if I liked the design. Reckoning used to be for missed deals. Now 20 and 30 (nice round numbers) have become 24 and 36... how does one drink tea with a 36?

Fortunately, I already have a large stock of Woot tees in anticipation of their "great" quality that I had heard about (hence the buying of at least two of each t-shirt I liked).

I definitely agreed with the lower one third of wooters that this will significantly affect how I buy shirts in the future. I already had to beg the wife on some shirts because "You have enough shirts." But the designs... the designs!!!

Pricewise, it's still better than threadbare with their 18,19 crap... what the heck, round up you fools it's a ... erm... nevermind. But the price up is still a hard cut. It was already 3 shirts for 30 on day one and 2 for 30 on day two... why not one shirt for 30 on day 100. Let's just throw crazy wrenches in all the pipes!

Anyways, I guess I'll browse you every so often now Woot. And to all those who say, "stop complaining, I'm already used to paying $15; get a job," if you shut your lazy faces and were there for every shirt on the first day to see it in it's gloriousness, maybe you'd have some words to type about it too.

Alligator snausages.

I'm also sad with the increase..yes sad for the 2 dollar increase. I buy shirts on a regular basis and have couple dozens already but i don't think I can muster an impulse buy for $12 anymore...

But! I might!! If shirt.woot would release more color variations in the future. I already have lots of light blues and blacks. I hate threadless very thin shirts. I love American Apparel.

partimejudas wrote:
And to all those who say, "stop complaining, I'm already used to paying $15; get a job," if you shut your lazy faces and were there for every shirt on the first day to see it in it's gloriousness, maybe you'd have some words to type about it too.

Alligator snausages.

i don't think that anyone is saying that you shouldn't be sad or even a bit miffed by the change. i certainly can't say that i'm not slightly annoyed.

what i think is offputting to some people is the whole "i'll never buy another woot shirt again!" stance, and the concept that asking a whopping $12 makes woot a bunch of greedy, money-hungry bastards.

did i like $10 better? of course! do i see the difference curbing impulse buys? sure. is $12 still better than the $18 plus shipping that other places ask? yeah. therefore, i'm perfectly willing to suck it up and deal.

i do totally get your ocd issue. personally i dig the number 12, so it's not a problem for me on that score, but i see where you're coming from there.

First day sales since price increase:

Monday 01/16: 825
Tuesday 01/17: 6000
Wednesday 01/18: 669
Thursday 01/19: 1240
Friday 01/20: 1557
Saturday 01/21: 2404
Sunday 01/22: 659
Monday 01/23: 321
Tuesday 01/24: 3797
Wednesday 01/25: 762
Thursday 01/26: 94
Friday 01/27: 1425
Saturday 01/28: 583
Sunday 01/29: 2975
Monday 01/30: 825

Mavyn wrote:Did you read anything after that, like where it was explained that woot shirts ARE AA blanks? Including the specific AA number blank in use?

-1

Can you explain why my shirts with the AA label are longer and actually go down to the top of my low rise jeans and the ones with the Woot label don't?
Thanks!

Sylkwyrm wrote:Can you explain why my shirts with the AA label are longer and actually go down to the top of my low rise jeans and the ones with the Woot label don't?
Thanks!

It's been mentioned that inexplicably the AA sizes are different depending on color. Can you verify?

Sylkwyrm wrote:Can you explain why my shirts with the AA label are longer and actually go down to the top of my low rise jeans and the ones with the Woot label don't?
Thanks!

Compare the non-woot label shirt style with the woot label style?

j5 wrote:It's been mentioned that inexplicably the AA sizes are different depending on color. Can you verify?

Mavyn wrote:Compare the non-woot label shirt style with the woot label style?

I noticed a small variation in sizes between colors, but not as dramatic as the size difference between the two different shirt tags. I have a dark blue shirt with the AA tag that fits my long torso perfectly going down a little bit past the top of my low-rise jeans and another dark blue with the WOOT tag that doesn't make it all the way to the top of my low-rise jeans. :-S Perhaps AA changed their shirt measurements and the long shirts aren't available any more....? :-(

Sylkwyrm wrote:I noticed a small variation in sizes between colors, but not as dramatic as the size difference between the two different shirt tags. I have a dark blue shirt with the AA tag that fits my long torso perfectly going down a little bit past the top of my low-rise jeans and another dark blue with the WOOT tag that doesn't make it all the way to the top of my low-rise jeans. :-S Perhaps AA changed their shirt measurements and the long shirts aren't available any more....? :-(

Freaky! I will have to go through my shirts to check this.
I wonder if the Woot tagged ones are custom made for Woot by AA to save on cotton. < conspiracy theory>

j5 wrote:Freaky! I will have to go through my shirts to check this.
I wonder if the Woot tagged ones are custom made for Woot by AA to save on cotton. < conspiracy theory>

Freaky indeed.

I have AA 2001 shirts from like 10 years ago (checkerboard tag), a Woot tagged beta shirt, and a variety of Woot/AA tagged since then, some side seamed, some not, covering all 20 colors (16 current + 2 retired + pink + teal).

I'll compare them all tonight.

I've noticed a difference in sizes and lengths by color and also by time. The first shirt I bought on shirt.woot was Cool Breeze. I ordered a 2X since 3X was not yet available. It was too small, but I was able to stretch it out and wear it. After each wash, it would shrink back up. I quit doing the stretching routine on it, for fear that I would ruin the shirt. So I put it away in hopes I could wear it some day, and I didn't order another shirt on woot until 3X was available.

In 2011 I started noticing that the 3X shirts were getting looser on me. This was partially due to weight loss, but a comparison with older shirts showed the difference. Although I was happy with the roomier, baggier shirt, I also noticed the neck hole seemed to be getting HUGE!

Toward the end of 2011, and with more weight loss, I had progressed from a 3X down to an XL. When I pulled out my Cool Breeze shirt in size 2X from 2007, the size compared almost exactly to the XL from 2011, except the XL was a little longer.

Color wise, I've noticed navy, black and creme shirts seem a little bigger than the others. I don't have all colors, so I can't say for sure. Cranberry definitely fits tighter than the other colors I own, but since the cranberry shirt I have is from 2008, it could be the time difference and not the color difference.

Sorry for the long story. I tried to keep it short, but didn't succeed.

Narfcake wrote:Freaky indeed.

I have AA 2001 shirts from like 10 years ago (checkerboard tag), a Woot tagged beta shirt, and a variety of Woot/AA tagged since then, some side seamed, some not, covering all 20 colors (16 current + 2 retired + pink + teal).

I'll compare them all tonight.

I defer to your superior inventory. Can you check shirts from other sites using AA also?

j5 wrote:I defer to your superior inventory. Can you check shirts from other sites using AA also?

Sure - I'll check my Tilteed and older Threadless (pre-2009) shirts too. I have some Cartoon Network promos that are on AA blanks too.

j5 wrote:First day sales since price increase:

Monday 01/16: 825
Tuesday 01/17: 6000
Wednesday 01/18: 669
Thursday 01/19: 1240
Friday 01/20: 1557
Saturday 01/21: 2404
Sunday 01/22: 659
Monday 01/23: 321
Tuesday 01/24: 3797
Wednesday 01/25: 762
Thursday 01/26: 94
Friday 01/27: 1425
Saturday 01/28: 583
Sunday 01/29: 2975
Monday 01/30: 825

It wouldn't be ridiculous to guess that first-day sales have been cut in half by the price increase. The question is were they making $2 or less in profit per shirt before the increase? If so, this might have been worth it. If not...

thatrobert wrote:The question is were they making $2 or less in profit per shirt before the increase? If so, this might have been worth it. If not...

I do believe their margins were indeed that tight.

A colored AA blank bought by the box is near $6 already; even with large quantity discounts, I say they're at least $5/each by the time they arrive in Texas. Smartpost ... I'm going with TeeFury's price of $2.50 as a basis. Consumables, like ink, plastisol ... 0.50, perhaps? Fixed cost consumables like screens, emulsion, transparencies, etc. Overhead like employees, utility bills, etc. And artist commissions.

Narfcake wrote:Smartpost ... I'm going with TeeFury's price of $2.50 as a basis.

I think that's being extremely generous. I'd cut that in half at least.

edit:
fresh numbers! Get yer fresh numbers here!
Freeeeesh numbers!

Monday 12/26: 613
Tuesday 12/27: 653
Wednesday 12/28: 3418
Thursday 12/29: 311
Friday 12/30: 3279
Saturday 12/31: 1499
Sunday 01/01: 941

Monday 01/02: 2909
Tuesday 01/03: 1240
Wednesday 01/04: 2166
Thursday 01/05: 2469
Friday 01/06: 3441
Saturday 01/07: 1305
Sunday 01/08: 908

Monday 01/09: 4321
Tuesday 01/10: 3340
Wednesday 01/11: 1346
Thursday 01/12: 1593
Friday 01/13: 1632
Saturday 01/14: 1433
Sunday 01/15: 1835

------------Increase----------------

Monday 01/16: 825
Tuesday 01/17: 6000
Wednesday 01/18: 669
Thursday 01/19: 1240
Friday 01/20: 1557
Saturday 01/21: 2404
Sunday 01/22: 659

Monday 01/23: 321
Tuesday 01/24: 3797
Wednesday 01/25: 762
Thursday 01/26: 94
Friday 01/27: 1425
Saturday 01/28: 583
Sunday 01/29: 2975

Monday 01/30: 825
Tuesday 02/01: 619
Wednesday 02/02: 526
Thursday 02/03: 1371

The price raise certainly bothers me. I'll still buy a shirt from time to time, but I won't impulse buy them like I have before.

The only reason I don't buy as many shirts as I used to, is because I don't like a lot of the shirts I've seen more recently.

seems like woot is still doing okay. they've got about a 14% reduction (based on j5's numbers above), but a 20% raise in gross profit. the rise from $10 to $12 doesn't really bother me (although i do prefer nice round numbers), since i rarely buy the daily anyway. since i can only buy maybe 1 shirt each week, i prefer to wait for the reckoning and get one that won't be around the next week. just my $0.02.

OK, kids, it's chart time.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of TheGolux, DiannaSprinkle, and Narfcake, we have a decent record of first day sales for the past several months.
This chart only goes back to October, however and is current as of last night's numbers.
Trend lines are included for 3rd, 4th, and 5th order polynomial curve fit.
click for larger.
Enjoy...or not...either way.

j5 wrote:OK, kids, it's chart time.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of TheGolux, DiannaSprinkle, and Narfcake, we have a decent record of first day sales for the past several months.
This chart only goes back to October, however and is current as of last night's numbers.
Trend lines are included for 3rd, 4th, and 5th order polynomial curve fit.
click for larger.
Enjoy...or not...either way.

It looks like things have been dropping off since Christmas. I appreciate the work you put into it, but it seems to me that without numbers from Jan. and Feb. of previous years, it's hard to say if this is price induced or just a normal winter trend.
(by the way, what 3rd, 4th, and 5th order polynomial curves?)