Shirt.Woot

Taking away a made in America product really interferes with my unwarranted nationalism, which as we all know, is a revolution inhibitor.

Shirt.woot! is attempting to start the american revolution.

Just want to make sure that the Lucky at Last shirts I ordered on Friday will be printed on AA?

tgentry wrote:You infer quite a bit. A lot.

If one (or many) of us are inferring, please correct it. You know the answers. Share them with us instead of cryptic, one-line responses and we won't be so pissed off.

JenDupre wrote:Well there we go. I don't know. The made in USA was the biggest selling point.

I definitely agree. That was one of the main reasons I fell for shirt.woot to begin with. It will make me think much harder before buying these shirts in future.

Been with woot! for almost 3 years now - and stayed because of shirt.woot!. This is the most disappointing news I've heard yet.

nmpls wrote:Awesome, worse fitting shirts.
For those of us who are tall, that 1/2 inch is huge. Give me tall shirts or bring back AA shirts.

Agreed, being a 6'6" giant these shirts sound like they are not going to cut it.

shirt.woot more like fail.woot!

Not super thrilled about the change, but like everybody else, I'll buy one shirt and see how they feel. There is no other shirt site quite as good as Shirt.Woot! I'm hoping they don't lose it.

moorerandall wrote:For those who also purchase from threadless their shirts arent 100 percent US either ...

There's a good reason why I have very few Threadless shirts ... and the reason has "Made in India" imprinted on it.

homer41 wrote:It's exhausting...but made easier when I'm wearing a shirt with a kitten on it.

Best post ever! :D

There is a lot of talk about the quality being similar, which is fine and all but it misses the point:

We want American made shirts. American's need jobs and American companies need business.

My business with new Woot shirts is done.

I wrote about the change in the newest shirt thread since it would have been a buy otherwise.

I'm just sad that this site changed so much since I first found it. I wish I would have found this site sooner. I loved seeing new shirts each day and choosing whether or not to get one. I liked the original price. The $12 price wasn't too bad and would have only changed things a little.

However, the change in shirt companies is a huge factor to me. I really liked that the shirts were made in America. I loved the feel of the shirts and the fit.

Now unless it is an amazing (NEED-TO-HAVE) design, I will pass.

I look forward to the new
keychains,
mugs,
coozies,
buttons,
trucker hats,
Christmas ornaments,
iPod cases,
pet bowls,
water bottles,
napkins,
table cloths,
place mats,
skateboards,
dog collars,
etc.
that this change will facilitate.

Exciting times!

For the distraught, here's a motivational speech.

The placement of the notice of the change of suppliers and sizes is poor, as in so poor I can't honestly believe it wasn't intentional to hide it from casual buyers.

Second, the well vocalized complaint on price increase, vs blank cost reduction. The way in which it was instituted lead us to believe it was to keep the product quality where it was, now that "promise" is being broken less than a month on. It smells badly now of being non-genuine and more of $$$ grab.

It's all gonna give me much more pause before I spend any money on a woot shirt in the future. Before it was instant to buy a shirt that I liked that came up. I knew the standard and quality I was going to receive for $10, it took any thinking out of the equation.

Now it's gonna be, are the new shirts actually the quality they say they are gonna be. And "trust me" I've been wearing test shirts.... from someone at the company doing a change has not even the whiff of impartiality. AA shirts have never disappointed. Do I really wanna spend my money on a sight unseen product of questionable quality.

It's doubt you've sown into my decision making. And with your shirts being the impulse purchase they are, I can't see how that is good for business and the "shirt.woot" brand as a whole.

I don't expect my post will go, "well we've seen the error of our ways..." But I wanted to put my disapproval of the decision out there non the less.

Whenever a company makes a change like this, be it a t-shirt supplier, an insurance provider, or whatever, it is always, ALWAYS about the dollar. Woot simply went with the lowest bidder whose quality best approximated the more expensive AA shirts. The fact that they went with a cheaper shirt RIGHT after a price increase (for a shirt which may or may not be lower in quality) is just inexcusable without a detailed explanation.

I've worked in the corporate field, and right now the Woot staffers are adhering to that exact PR game by avoiding concrete answers about the change laced with indistinct phrases like wanting "stability" and "flexibility." They have yet to address why they raised the prices right after a price hike, and when (or if) they do, it will likely be with more double-talk. Please prove me wrong Woot, if your bosses at Amazon will allow it.

And, with our crap American economy and barren job market, it's a shame that yet another company is outsourcing their product to another country. You're part of the problem, Woot.

Not to be completely negative of our Woot brothers and sisters, however, I am a long-time customer who has always been impressed by their customer service, business model, and product (though I wish you were a tad more picky about the designs). I hope I continue to feel this way going forward despite these negative changes that apparently have a lot of folks contemplating jumping ship.

Proxgotsthafia wrote:If one (or many) of us are inferring, please correct it. You know the answers. Share them with us instead of cryptic, one-line responses and we won't be so pissed off.

THIS. Drop the irreverent act and just give it to us straight.

BTW, I also have a question about the Anvil shirts...do their sleeves nicely cling to the arms like AA, or billow out like most every other brand?

Well, at least my girlfriend will be happy about the change...she HATES how AA's shirts fit.

On the plus side, I'll no longer need to "adopt" that little Honduras kid... he'll find work.

And that will free up another $20 bucks for woot shirts.

caramelarrow wrote:Just want to make sure that the Lucky at Last shirts I ordered on Friday will be printed on AA?

Mine is! Wearing it and loving it right now.

Apparently, I'm one of the minority among the women because I have no problem with the fit of AA shirts. Save for the fact that I have to go up a size from my normal, but AA shirts aren't the only ones I have to do that for. And I'm quite happy with the other aspects of AA shirts in general.

I am sad to see the use of an American supplier fall by the wayside, though admittedly it wasn't the reason I bought shirts here. (Which isn't to say I don't feel very strongly about keeping Americans employed. Or buying American when possible.) I'm more bothered about the outsourcing in conjunction with the price increase. It just doesn't sit right with me and I'd welcome an explanation as to this.

jgarcia408 wrote:Im a little disappointed in this news. I thought one of the reasons for the price increase to $12 was to allow Woot to continue purchasing from the USA distributor, is that not correct?

I don't believe there was ever a mention that the increase was specifically to remain with an American supplier. There was a statement of maintaining "high-quality," though.

Uh Oh!
What will happen to shirtwhat now?

BluChez? You there?

fablefire wrote:I'm excited about women's shirts that will house my 36Cs sufficiently.

Which is why I would always go and get a men's medium. They fit perfectly. At least with AA.. I don't care if I'm female and should buy the 'female' sizes (ew, no, shorter sleeves), I'm willing to bet the new sizes will be too snug where I don't want them. I'd rather not have the outline of my bra showing from a mile away.

joelterrific wrote:Community is the backbone of Woot so as painful as this thread is to read, it's still strangely reassuring to be given the what's what from you all. Change like this isn't easy, and while I certainly don't expect a parade, I expect you to keep us honest and grounded while we continue to provide a world class platform for designers. Thanks for your feedback, your support and your business. I'll get back to my rampant profiteering and blatant disregard for decency. I might shout at a kitten or two for good measure.

If community is the backbone, why don't we get a say? I was fine with the price increased- surprised when I went to buy a shirt, a little sad that I'd have to pay another $2, but alright. It was justified. But now you're just trying to get money from every place possible. You're talking about honesty, and yet it's perfectly clear this is solely for cost reasons. AA is great. You're only doing this to raise a few more bucks. You sell I'm willing to guess like, ten thousand shirts a day, overall. (There's like, about 30 shirts for sale at the end of the week.) You don't have a lot of people's support, and I'm sure you'll lose business. Go change your FAQ. Please. They are NOT made in the USA, and that is one of the main reasons I buy from here. I'd rather pay $20 for an American made shirt than some outsourced place that, for all I know, is breaking labor laws and are made in sweatshops. I thought the backbone of Woot was American-made products. Apparently not.

Narfcake wrote:For those wondering the price difference ...

American Apparel 2001, $6.57 for 60+.
Anvil 980, $3.77 for 60+.

Keep in mind that these prices are NOT at the "I'm a huge customer" price level, but you can certainly see that there's a few bucks difference in it.

And that's only for 60. They'd only get cheaper when you buy more. Thanks for sharing.

trekmiss wrote:I've noticed the new size chart doesn't list a sleeve length. Can we get some measurements on the sleeve length? I'm also curious about the sleeve circumference compared to AA.

I'm wondering that too..

jeninmaine wrote:These Anvil shirts also knocked over a plant, pissed in my shoes and scratched up my favorite chair. They are very naughty.

Kill them! Kill them with fire!

azdarkknight wrote:It has been interesting reading this thread so far. From what I can tell -
1) The ladies welcome the change as AA appeared to not be a good fit
2) There has been no answer (or maybe avoidance) to questions as to why the price increased to cover the increased costs followed so swiftly by a change to a cheaper supplier that is not USA made.

Really though, did we expect anything different once Amazon got their hands on Woot? Theyve let the dust settle now and people get comfortable with it so now its time to turn the screw. Ive noticed poorer quality general woots over the past months and now this.

I know that if I buy a shirt thats on the new blank and it does not fit correctly, then I will be returning it for a refund. I assume that Woot are going to be receptive to this due to this being a major change to their product?

I will now be going back to checking out the competition for American made shirts. Although I may not be a large buyer of shirts - I do know Ive sold many on behalf of woot by passing on the link for shirts that I knew appealed to friends/family.

I may just stick to randoms from now on.

Which blows because Amazon has decent customer service, and usually talks to people. This is coming from someone who's had packages lost in the mail and had them sent back out, had smooth returns (except for one gift return), and enjoys the benefits of Prime. If they're doing this to Woot, I don't want to know what's to come later on.

Except I doubt they'd do refunds, which is a low blow (like, super low), after introducing these. I'd say we should all get a free test shirt, but I know that'd be impractical. I don't even think I'll even go for Randoms, since I don't want anything other than AA. And since today's is being printed on these new ones, I don't trust them.

KimNicole wrote:I am not a huge AA fan. I am a huge fan of supporting American workers.

My last purchase will be the one last week. If you go back to an American vendor, please send an email as I won't be checking the site. In the meantime, I plan on facebooking this change and making it clear that I no longer recommend woot t-shirts.

If I want clever shirts printed on foreign made t-shirts I can hit up any number of store fronts here in the NYC area. They don't cost $12.

BTW: If you're going to justify a price change by saying you need more money to maintain your quality, you need to maintain your quality for longer than a month!

Couldn't have said it any better.

sukeban wrote:Yeah, I know, and I've bought shirts from other websites that have fitted OK. I'm just worried that everyone's saying that AA tees run smaller than expected.

Then again, my first woot tee has just shipped and I won't get to try it on until next week as soonest, so I really can't talk until I see it in person.

I've never had problems with AA's fit.

Narfcake wrote:Actually, RamyB and PatrickSpens are shirt.woot's top sellers; both have over 50 derby prints.

More reason for them to boycott. If they stop designing until the AA's come back, shirt.woot would suffer a MAJOR loss in sales. (I mean, come on, RamyB comes up once a week, and his designs appeal to both men and women, and children. Not so much men sometimes, but still.)

lozerette wrote:$2 more to keep it in the USA? I'll pay that!

Same price for imported goods? Not just no, but heck no!

The benefit of imported goods is that they're cheap. Woot is charging MORE for them now.

The benefit of American-made goods is that they support our economy, and generally (not always) have better quality.

As someone with almost NO non-Woot shirts, I am quite disappointed. Also, I now have to start the process of making sure EVERYONE I've recommended Woot to over the years knows about this change.

I expected more from you, Woot.

this.^ And I just realized I should start trying to find new shirts, if Woot ones are out now. And this is coming from someone with a rainbow of shirts from here in her closet.

talljay wrote:c) ladies who use them as sleep shirts

Just get like, a men's xl, or something. Right now I'm in a shirt I got from Sport's Authority (friend made me) that's a... Oh. Really oversized medium. Though I have various XL's I sleep in. They seem to do the job pretty well.

starstuff wrote:We want American made shirts. American's need jobs and American companies need business

^ this. 121%

tl;dr I'm a female, and I object these changes. :| And woot is just being greedy. I doubt I'm buying any more shirts, even for friends / family. Woot lost customers with the price hike, and now they're only going to lose more. It's kind of bittersweet I'm having a shirt delivered tomorrow..

Yep, I'm out too. The price change I could handle. That's business. The change from AA blanks is inexcusable, however. I don't care if you could only get 2 shades of green instead of 6. I bought shirts on here because they were 100% produced and printed in the USA. I'm hardly a Rah-Rah-Rah America! type but I do believe it is important to support stateside brands. Enjoy your extra couple of dollars in profits (because, you know, Amazon doesn't roll in it already) knowing you're no longer helping American workers put food on their table.

JenDupre wrote:Well there we go. I don't know. The made in USA was the biggest selling point.

I agree, boycotting shirt.woot until they switch back. BOYCOTT! Join the movement!

Invisiblemoose wrote:Blah, Blah, Blah... Quoted JKoleszar... Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah

SQUEEE! Invisiblemoose Quoted me. My first post. I'm all geeked and excited. Thank you. :-)



Yeah.... It doesn't take much.

ceotty wrote:I don't believe there was ever a mention that the increase was specifically to remain with an American supplier. There was a statement of maintaining "high-quality," though.

They held a poll asking if people would be willing to pay more for *American* made shirts. It was linked in the comments on the day the price exchange went into effect. Sissy Sea Monters, was the first one I believe.

And, unless Anvil has changed it's shirts are the cheapees used by most local groups. Tight fighting, thick, non-stretching cotton and rough. I owned a fair number through the years and wouldn't wear them more than once or twice.

I just want to say that while everyone on here is making a HUGE deal about the reduction in price on blanks please stop the complaining.

There is so much more that goes into production of shirts than the price of the blank.

How a bout a mini breakdown hmmm.

The blank itself
The INK has gotten more expensive over the years
Photo emulsion and sensitizer to create the master print has become more expensive
The labor- US labor wages are increasing and so are requirements for benefits.
Shipping- Hello...has anyone shipped anything lately damn.

$12 bucks for a what I would consider custom shirt and free shipping its a no brainer it is still a deal yes the blank isn't made in the US but please be reasonable people you are still getting a good deal. Woot has to do what is best for the company and unfortunately that means using non-US origin shirts but I would rather see them doing this than stopping it because in the long run its a money loser.

j5 wrote:Uh Oh!
What will happen to shirtwhat now?

BluChez? You there?

I'm concerned with this as well.

Looking back, I've gotten almost 50 Woot shirts over the years. Woot isn't getting rich off of me, but I'm not a Skippy Squirrel either.
Woot made me a fan of the American Apparel shirts. So much, in fact, that when I've bought custom shirts from other sites, I've chosen AA whenever its an option. To be honest, I had no idea where they were made, and it wasn't a factor to me. (After all, a lot of place/companies call themselves "American so and so", but they are anything but that.)

So far, I commend Woot on being so forthright about their decision, and for being proactive enough to respond to posts from the community. This is a level of service that most service providers wouldn't even consider providing.

Woot, you have been honest with us to this point, so you have earned the benefit of the doubt from me. However, I will be following Ronald Reagan's approach of "Trust, But Verify". When I order my next Woot shirt, its going to be scrutinized carefully. If its still a good shirt, you'll continue to get my business. If its not, someone else will. That's how the free market operates.

Personally, it doesn't matter to me whether Woot makes $11.99 on every shirt or only a penny. What matters is a quality product at a fair price. Give me that and you'll get my 12 bucks. I do have to be honest and echo the other comments that combining higher prices with a cheaper blank puts a sour taste in my mouth, but if the shirts are high quality I will get over it over time.

Thanks for being so transparent. I enjoy Woot and sincerely hope this move doesn't bite you in the behind.

lonelypond wrote:Made in America would be great, but AA and what I'd heard of some of its business practices have made me uncomfortable on more than one occasion.

This. It's a bit surreal to be seeing American Apparel being upheld here as the ethical choice when the company and its CEO are about as dodgy as they come. Good riddance.

On the other hand, I've had Anvil shirts, and they're not actually very good. Ah well.

Just a thought (and this is probably coming a bit too late since it seems all decisions have been made and finalized at this point)- but what if you were to print first-day shirts on anvil (at $12 or whatever), and then continue printing shirts in reckoning on AA? Especially when buying in bulk, the price difference between anvil and AA is not more than $3, and it would give people who want AA shirts the option to wait until it was in reckoning to purchase. Maybe a solution like that isn't feasible because reckoning shirts don't sell in high enough volume or something but I figured it could be a thought worth mentioning.

Well, this does spell some color changes as there are no asphalt, grass, creme, or cranberry equivalents that I can see. Or purple. My hopes for purple are again dashed.

FAQ still says "made in the USA."

Yeah, what, is the woot off to distract us like kitties with a string?

Totally ignoring it.

Maybe the shirts will fit better, but the main problem is that if you (me) have large melons, the shirt design gets distorted anyway. Blah.

sillykris wrote:Drat it all! As a lady, it's incredibly hard to find shirts that are both consistently flattering and awesome. I've impulse-bought more shirt.woot t-shirts than any other specifically because they're exactly the weight, shape and fit that I can't seem to find anywhere else. I might, MIGHT try one of the new shirts-- but I have a feeling I might be scouring the interwebs for other places that print on the original shirts..

So glad that I am not the only woman who likes the AA women's blanks. I am middle-aged, very small chested, and medium build. I get that the AAs are probably too tight in the chest for most women but that's not a problem for me; what I like the best about the AA women's is that the shoulders fit right (don't hang down to mid-arm) and the sleeves aren't too tight or too short.

On a more philosophical note, this would make me sad even if I wasn't a wooter. We hear all the time that small businesses have made America, that they will save America's economy, etc. But it seems that these days whenever a small business reaches a certain level of sucess it is taken over by a big business which has a responsibility to its stockholders to make the greatest possible profit - without regard for American jobs. So sad, but bigger than woot or even Amazon.

KimNicole wrote:BTW: If you're going to justify a price change by saying you need more money to maintain your quality, you need to maintain your quality for longer than a month!

This!

The blank change might not stink so bad if it wasn't following on the heels of a price hike.

However, the cold harsh truth is this: Looking at recent sales of shirts, even if every disgruntled member vanishes from the site, Woot won't feel the effects for very long.

I guess I'm also in the female minority, because the WM in AA shirts fit me like a charm. I'm a pretty tiny gal, and I loved that they were so perfect for me. I just got into Woot shirts a few months ago, and the quality and fit justified it every time for me. And made it much easier to get 3 randoms each month, because even if I didn't care much about the design, I still liked the shirt quality (and could trade it!) and that they were US made. I honestly didn't even think twice after the price increase, because I was surprised they weren't more expensive already.

But anyway, I guess I'm just preaching to the choir on this one, obviously the majority of people are unhappy. I just thought I should also throw my voice out there as one of the disappointed.

I hope this doesn't thwart my plans of pumping my wardrobe full of Woot shirts....but, it very well may.

Shmuel510 wrote:This. It's a bit surreal to be seeing American Apparel being upheld here as the ethical choice when the company and its CEO are about as dodgy as they come. Good riddance.

On the other hand, I've had Anvil shirts, and they're not actually very good. Ah well.

I liked the AA shirts well enough, but as far as ethical business practices, "Made in USA" is about all American Apparel has going for it.

I'll just have to wait and see how the Anvil shirts seem in terms of fit and quality, and how much space I can find in my shirt drawer.

I've seen one Anvil blank in recent years that I would approve of, and it's not the one being used.

I'm not interested in Anvil tees. I'm not impressed with any of this. I didn't like the $2 price increase but I paid it because that's the way things go, but I was buying an AA tee. Not an Anvil.

In my opinion they should have asked the customer base if they didn't want the backlash after.

I prefer made in the USA. I buy faster and more when it is. The FAQ should have been changed when this shirt went live today.

And, holy crap, mods need to stop the commenting. They aren't making this any better. Answer intelligently and informatively. Don't snark.

Add me to the list of women who really love the fit of the AA shirts. I can comfortably wear either WL or WXL. The fit of AA is perfect and the quality of the shirt is unmatched by the other Ts that I own.

You will RUE this day, shirt.woot! RUE IT!

moorerandall wrote:I just want to say that while everyone on here is making a HUGE deal about the reduction in price on blanks please stop the complaining.

There is so much more that goes into production of shirts than the price of the blank.

How a bout a mini breakdown hmmm.

The blank itself
The INK has gotten more expensive over the years
Photo emulsion and sensitizer to create the master print has become more expensive
The labor- US labor wages are increasing and so are requirements for benefits.
Shipping- Hello...has anyone shipped anything lately damn.

$12 bucks for a what I would consider custom shirt and free shipping its a no brainer it is still a deal yes the blank isn't made in the US but please be reasonable people you are still getting a good deal. Woot has to do what is best for the company and unfortunately that means using non-US origin shirts but I would rather see them doing this than stopping it because in the long run its a money loser.

If a Woot guy or gal would just say THIS instead of just meaningless one-liners, clear shilling for Anvil product (of COURSE they're going to say Anvil is as good if not better), or nothing at all, I would find the changes acceptable.

Woot's print quality has always been excellent, but AA is the only t-shirt I've ever felt fit me just right, in addition to being super-comfortable like no other. I'm willing to give the new guys a chance, but if Anvil dips below the level of AA quality one iota, I'm outta here.