General

So, do you guys just sell Woot t-shirts?

If you mean "shirts with Woot logos on them," then no. If you mean "shirts exclusively about Woot lore like the Bag O' Crap or LeakFrog," then no. If you mean "shirts designed by artists from around the world and sold by Woot featuring a wide variety of design styles and subject matter", then yes, in that sense, you might call these "Woot shirts." Believe it or not, the general public's appetite for Woot-logo merchandise is limited.

Wait, what is Woot?

Launched in 2004, Woot is a community of sites where - It's a collection of online stores that - OK, it's more like, uh… look, it's probably just easier for you to read the main Woot FAQ. That adequately captures the mystery and majesty that is Woot.

Browsing & Buying

Is the apparel on the front page the only stuff on sale from Woot Shirt?

No. This is Woot! so we’re always up to something. Our main category page is where you’ll find new and classic graphic apparel on sale every day. Have we mentioned that shipping is included in our price, too?! Yeah, we love you, too! Also, check out our app; you might just find a design or two on sale exclusively in the app. But you have to hurry, sales are short around here. If you want to see all of our stuff, check out our catalog, we’re sure you’ll find lots of designs to love but be prepared.....

So the shirts are available forever now?

Yes! Almost! Except in cases of rights issues, special-effect inks (glow-in-the-dark, metallic, etc.), limited-edition designs, discontinued shirt colors, or global collapse, all Shirt.Woot designs will now be available in perpetuity through our All Designs page.

When can I expect to get my order?

We make all of our stuff just for you when you order it and it ships in 1-2 days. Look at the shipping estimate next to the "ADD TO CART" button (shameless plug…seriously, though, hit the button!) gives a delivery estimate. Most Woot Shirt items include free standard shipping for everyone; standard shipping is 5 days from when we make your stuff. Amazon Prime members receive a free upgrade to express shipping (which is to say, two-day shipping once the item is made). Spikes in demand, holidays, etc. could affect the production time and hence the delivery date so keep an eye on the promise deliver date. But we have an awesome production team, so we keep our production times pretty tight.

What’s the deal with the Top 20?

Shirts in the top 20 are the best of the best of the best! Every Monday, we drop the lowest-sellers (the shirts ranked #21-27) off the Top 20 list and move the latest crop of new shirts into the fray. That's the Day of Reckoning. Just listen for the sound of bells tolling... they toll for tees...

Design & Production

Who's making these t-shirts?

Woot Tees are 100% cotton blank shirts. The designs are printed at Woot's own printing facility in our Carrollton, Texas headquarters. Although the people who make them do sweat occasionally, Woot Tees are produced in sweatshop-free conditions.

How do you make your apparel?

With pixie dust and a little whistle. Just kidding, we digitally print your apparel using the latest technology available. This makes it possible to make 'em quick and colorful. Just the way you like it.

Who's designing these t-shirts?

We're constantly recruiting experienced, talented designers who don't mind ruining their good name by being associated with us. Each day's shirt description includes a little bit about that day's artist, including links to their other work. If you like their stuff, you can check out what else they're up to. Otherwise, some of our shirts will be designed by our in-house staff. Also, each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we'll sell the winning t-shirts from our weekly design Derby (more about that below).

Artists

Can I design a t-shirt for Shirt.Woot?

If you're one of those experienced, talented t-shirt designers we were talking about, check out our submission page. Tell us about your previous design experience, and include some samples of your work. We'll take a look at every design and try to get you a response within a week!

How do I submit a design?

Over here on this page

How do I get paid?

In blood and agony. Or, if you prefer, in dollars. Check the artist agreement for specifics about Ts & Cs and payment stuff. We pay most US residents using Direct Deposit. If you’re an international artist, then payment by wire is available in most instances. If you're not in a qualifying country, or if you just like living in the 90’s, we can also cut you a check.

Before we can pay you, we'll need you to do some paperwork, and we're not talking about origami. If you’re a new artist, we’ll know…and because we know, we’ll send you the paperwork we need to get you good and paid, savvy? If you're a U.S. citizen, we'll need a W9 so we can rat you out to the Feds. If you're from the rest of the world we'll need a W8 to find out if you’re required to pay the doomed US income tax. This will be determined by the tax treaties (or lack thereof) between your home country and the IRS. If you are not subject to withholding taxes then it's up to you stay square with Uncle Sam, or Johnny Canuck, or Vladimir Putin, or whoever the mythical embodiment of your country is. Read the instructions if you think that will help for both the W8 or W9. Lastly, don’t be surprised if you get an email from us to complete a tax interview on the interwebs, this is required if there is additional information needed to determine your tax status.

When do I get paid?

Jeez, you get right to the point, don't you? Payments are made around the 15th of each month for any sales from the previous month. In other words, if your shirt sold in January, we'll send a payment for any royalties you earned around the 15th of February. Got it?

Why do I get paid?

Um…because you designed a shirt we sold.

Who do I get paid?

Now you're just being annoying. Next question.

Is there a minimum payment amount?

Yes. We will hold your payment hostage until your account has accrued at least $20.01 in earnings. Once it has accrued to that amount, your payment will be sent to you the following pay cycle. So get out there and sell some shirts!

What are the methods of payment that are available?

We used to rely on carrier pigeons, but it got real messy and HR shut the whole thing down. Now we’ve upgraded to two main methods of payment: Electronic payment (through direct deposit or Wire payment), and mailed check. We’re always exploring new ways to get your money to you so be on the lookout for communication in case we decide to change anything.

How do I track sales stats?

Good question: we don’t actually know the answer…we’re just kidding! When your designs are featured, you will receive an e-mail that contains a link to see your sales stats for each design. We know this might sound primitive, but seriously, you’ll be fine because you know you’re getting paid.

What do I do if I have questions?

Consult your magic 8 ball? That’s usually what we do. But if you need more help than that, you can ask questions to our community of fellow artists via Artist Central on the Woot Forums, our Artist Facebook group, or you can reach out to the Shirt Team. They’re an elite force of skilled do-gooders. Sort of like Woot’s Navy Seals, but with less tactical gear and more baked goods.

How does copyright work?

You always own the copyright on the design, but in some cases of an exclusive design, we'll decide to file a formal copyright to protect your design from all those intellectual property pirates (and ninjas) that are lurking around the Internet. Don't worry, our filing this copyright doesn't in any way alter your ownership of the design. You'll hear from us if we decide to file formally, but even if we don't you're protected. Be sure to let us know at copyright@woot.com if you see an instance of somebody ripping off your Shirt.Woot design. We relish the opportunity to pursue anyone who infringes on your intellectual property. Give us an excuse, scumbags. Just give us an excuse.

Ordering & Shipping

Why are the shirts so cheap? Aren't all-cotton, sweatshop-free tees usually more expensive?

Yes, we do pay more to have Woot Tees made without sweatshop labor. No, they're not refurbished (good idea though, we'll look into that.) We simply have this compulsive need to sell cool stuff cheap. Much to our economic professors' chagrin, Woot staff still can't figure out this whole supply-and-demand thing.

What's the deal with shipping?

Standard shipping is free! If you’re an Amazon Prime Member, express shipping (see Super-Fast in the dictionary) is free! If you live outside of the United States, you will have to pay $10 for your order…which is to say we’re not stopping you from buying 37 shirts at a time to maximize your bolivar soberano.

What if I need my stuff sooner?

Uh, become an Amazon Prime member? OR select Express shipping (where available) and mentally prepare yourself to pay additional bucks for the confidence that you’ll get your shirt in time for that big Pi Day celebration or what have you. Not a Prime member, yet? Try it out for a month, free!

Did you say international orders?

Yes. Well, technically, we wrote it. But yeah, Woot Shirt is the only Woot site that accepts and fulfills orders to Canada and the other far-flung chunks of the planet listed in this blog post. We can't offer the same options as we offer to our Stateside customers and we have to charge you $10 for it. Unfortunately, this service does not offer a tracking number. Which is too bad. But at least we ship stuff to you.

How long do international orders take to arrive?

We expect most international shipments to take from 3–4 weeks, with many arriving sooner. If you haven't received your order within 5 weeks, please contact us through our Support page. And if you want to pop down to the local tobacconist, pick up a couple of Cuban cigars, and send them to us in a plain brown package, we won't tell U.S. Customs.

What if my overnight order doesn't arrive on time?

Not even we can control everything: volcanic eruptions, military uprisings, highway banditry, and simple mistakes can keep your shirt from getting to you on the promised day. Delivery attempts count — if we try to deliver your shirt and you're not there, that's on you. Contact us through our Support page, and if we determine that you're right, we'll refund your shipping charge. Woot regrets that we cannot go back in time and make things happen differently.

I don't like my shirt. Will you buy it back from me?

If your shirt is defective, or if we sent you the wrong size, or we sent you some other shirt by mistake, let us know through our Support page. If you just realized you don't look good in orange, or you decided not to check the sizing chart before you placed your order, well, our impulse is to say that you got yourself a new washrag.

I missed a shirt I wanted to buy. Can I still buy it?

Of course! You can find daily designs you missed in our catalog. But remember, they are not on sale in the catalog so act fast if you want to save [more] money! You can use keyword search to find the special design (or designs, you know you want more than one) or browse by category…or both. You all are a resourceful lot.

The Derby

So what is the Derby?

The Derby is the happeningest design competition on the internet, that’s what! It is a weekly, themed design competition where artists from around the world submit their best designs for you to vote on. That’s right! YOU choose which designs are the best; and the winning designs (and artists) will have their design featured as our main offer after the Derby ends. We also select a few of the designs that didn’t win to feature on the site after the winners have had their hayday. Pretty rad, right?

So how does a Derby work?

The derby is the most entertaining and engaging design competition on the internet and the best part is you don’t have to be an artist to take part! You, the people, decide which design wins! When a winner gets their design printed, they (the artist) get paid the big bucks! So make sure you check back to see how the designs and artists you voted for are doing and be sure to bring your friends along. Check the Derby page to see what theme is getting artists riled up right now, what’s coming up, and make sure you log in to vote for your favorite designs! Artist Central section of our forums and join in the conversation! Who knows? Perhaps you’ll be the lucky winner in the next Derby with YOUR awesome design! Be prepared for fierce campaigning. Mud will be slung. Skeletons will be dragged from your closet. The weak will wither under the strain. Come on. Do you part. Vote. Buy. Support an artist!

Who can vote in the Derby?

YOU! Anyone with a Woot or Amazon account is eligible to vote. BUT, don't think you can stuff the ballot box. We want to make sure the winning designs are ones that customers (you) want to buy and wear. This restriction might seem anti-democratic, but voter fraud and prank voting are worse. AND, we do monitor fraudulent votes and will disqualify anyone that is stuffing the ballot box. Remember that whole entertaining and engaging competition thing we said earlier??

Who can participate in the Derby and how?

Anyone! Well anyone that has design skillz and access to some kind of design software. And a computer, you need some kind computer to create your work of art. You can see all that information and upload your submission here. Once you’ve submitted your masterpiece, sit back and relax TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS TO VOTE FOR YOU! You’re in it to win it right?!

How many times can I vote in the Derby?

Qualified Woot users can click the "I'd Want One" button for as many designs as they want, but only once per design. And you can revoke your votes at any time before the close of voting by clicking "Take It Back" in the same location where you previously clicked "I'd Want One". Wait, does that make sense? OK, yeah, we think it makes sense. We think. Also, those who submit t-shirt designs are prohibited from obtaining votes by any inappropriate means, such as offering prizes or other inducements to Woot users. These types of votes, or any automated or other improper votes don't count.

What's this "Fog of War" nonsense? Why can't I see the vote totals for the top four entries?

In the heat of battle, the vote totals of the nine leading vote-getters are hidden in a cloud of dust, smoke, and blood. We expect this to make the whole race more dramatic, and to keep pranksters from trying to game the vote. But more importantly, since we're planning on selling the top vote-getting shirt each week, letting you see the winner would mean 1 shirt of every 7 we sell would be known in advance. And that wouldn't be much fun, would it?

Will Shirt.Woot really produce and sell the design that gets the most votes in a given week?

Generally, yes. Unless:

• We determine that the design contains elements created and/or owned by someone other than the designer or Woot, or that would otherwise infringe on the intellectual property rights of third parties (such as trademarks or logos);
• We determine that the design's content is offensive or obscene;
• We determine that the design defames, misrepresents or contains disparaging remarks about other people or companies;
• We determine that our staff and equipment cannot produce the design due to technical or physical limitations;
• We determine that the designer, or someone else, cheated to rig the number of votes received in this design's favor or otherwise received votes improperly;
• We determine that design is not exclusive to Woot - i.e., the designer (or a designate) has previously produced and distributed this design, or one substantially similar;
• We determine that the entry does not fulfill that week's Derby theme;
• We determine that the design involves Woot logos, lore, inside jokes, etc.;
• The design requires printing on the front and back of each shirt;
• We determine that the design is in violation of Woot's policies and practices in some way other than those specified here.

T-shirt designs that run afoul of these guidelines can be disqualified, if we feel like it. Additionally, we reserve the right to make changes to any design for production purposes - for instance, reducing 7 colors to 6, or changing the shirt color if it's one that we don't have access to. If you're a designer who'd be offended by us fiddling with your submission, make sure it follows our technical requirements.

OK, fine, but where can I find those technical requirements?

The Derby submission page will tell you all about colors, resolutions, file types, and other Derby arcana. The designer who reads carefully now avoids heartbreak later.

Let's get to the important part: do the first-, second- and third- place winners get paid for a typical derby?

Of course. What kind of deadbeats do you think we are? Generally, the designers of the first-, second- and third- place entries that we sell will receive $1,000 each for day one sales, plus $2 for every shirt sold after the first day by Woot. By participating in the Derby, you're agreeing to this as your sole compensation if we sell your t-shirt. The specific details around compensation that you'll receive if your design ends up being one of the winners are found in the terms and conditions that you agree to when you submit your design for a Derby.

Someone appears to be breaking the rules of the derby. How do I rat them out?

If you spot a t-shirt design submission that appears to have been borrowed, copied, shamelessly stolen from some other source, or you believe a design infringes on the intellectual property rights of a third party, you can report it to your friendly derby-meisters by going to the offending design's vote page (by clicking on the design image) and clicking the red "TATTLE ON THIS" button in the upper right corner. When tattling, don't forget to provide specific examples or links to the original work.

How do I delete my entry?

We all make mistakes, especially you. So we'll give you 24 hours from the time you submit your design to remove it from consideration. After that, it's all ours. We do this so our voters can be reasonably sure their votes and attention won't be wasted on t-shirt designs that vanish at the last minute. We know, it sounds weird, but you wouldn't believe some of the stuff we've seen in this job. We've aged like twenty years since the first Derby. The things people are capable of…

Do I still own my t-shirt design?

All designers will retain ownership of any t-shirt design submitted in the Derby (even if your design was selected as a winner or Editor’s Choice). We want you to be the first place you come to with your most awesomest designs so we make it easy for you. If your design is not selected, join in the artist community in our forums and join our Artist Facebook group. See the artist agreement if you want all the details.

You chose to run one of my designs from the Derby…now what?

"Now what?" "Now what?" Now you've got a new lease on life, that's "now what". If your design did not win a daily award and you did not see it in the runner’s up sale, never fear. We might select it to run in another Wooty Mcwooters event; we’ll let you know if we want it. We might put it up for sale as a daily, or one of our other Shenanigans our editorial team deems appropriate! Check the artist agreement for specifics about Ts & Cs and payment stuff.

Our Release?

We will not be held responsible for any late, misdirected, incomplete, undeliverable, garbled or stolen t-shirt designs or votes; or for any typographical, printing, human, mechanical, electronic, network, computer, or other errors relating to or in connection with the Derby such as errors or problems that may occur with the administration of the Derby, the processing or judging of t-shirt designs, the incorrect uploading of a t-shirt design, the determination of the winners, the tabulation of votes, or in any other Derby-related materials.

We are not responsible for lost, interrupted or unavailable computer, network, server, Internet Service Provider (ISP), satellite, telephone, cable transmissions or for electronic, website, telephone lines, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or telephone malfunction or error, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties, including inability to access any website associated with the Derby.

We may disqualify anyone from participating in the Derby or winning if we determine that such person is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Derby by cheating, deception or other unfair playing practices, or intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other participant. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE DERBY MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK ANY AND ALL REMEDIES AVAILABLE FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION. We also reserve the right in our sole discretion to cancel or suspend any portion of the Derby should any cause corrupt the administration, security or proper execution of the Derby.

Sponsored Derbies

Once in a while we host sponsored Derbies! Check back from time to time.