Blog Archives

Jiffy Shirts are Overpriced

8/15/2022

Jiffy Shirt Reviews

Jiffy Shirts is a reputable reseller of Sanmar apparel with margins of 40% on most of their product they dropship. Jiffy Shirts uses Sanmar's warehouses throughout the country to expedite shipments of shirts. Many craft and home businesses use Jiffy Shirt to purchase t-shirts and hoodies to decorate as a hobby to sell to their local church and PTA committee. The reviews on the Jiffy Shirt website rank it at over 4.8 stars with 30,000 primarily positive reviews.

Jiffy Shirt Warehouses

Jiffy shirts use Sanmar's warehouses in the following cities; Seattle, Reno, Dallas, Minneapolis, New Jersey, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, FL, and Phoenix. It would help if you remembered the time zones of each warehouse so you can meet their shipping cutoff times for same-day ships.

Jiffy Shirt Warehouse Cutoff Times for UPS shipments

Seattle: 4 pm
Reno, Nevada: 4 pm
Cincinnati: 4 pm
New Jersey: 4 pm
Dallas: 4 pm
Florida: 4 pm
Minneapolis: 4 pm
Phoenix: 4 pm

Jiffy Shirt Prices 2022 Comparison with Sanmar

PC61 Tshirt: $4.73 Jiffy and Sanmar $3.41
PC90H Hoodie: $21.27 Jiffy and Sanmar: $14.62
Jiffy shirt provides convenience for someone who doesn't have an account with Sanmar.

I would recommend Jiffy Shirt in the following situations.

You are a small company and do not have an account with Sanmar.
You only need a few pieces and don't mind paying a premium.
You want to pay online and have no hassle ordering.
You are willing to pay extra for inbound freight and handling.

Author

Erik Mickelson is a 2nd generation in embroider in his family's company.

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Yikes! Our Graphic Artist is on Vacation

8/8/2022

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We are starting our first day without our graphic artist, Steve Deland, who is taking a well-deserved vacation along the Oregon Coast. Steve has over 35 years of experience and is our foundation for creating incredible artwork for our customers. Walking into work this Monday morning, I felt helpless, like our company would crash and burn this week without an artist. The stress of customers calling asking about t-shirt artwork and needing it done quickly is a nightmare. We don't have anybody to replace Steve, so I am looking for a local artist to step in and help us on this week's art projects. I will take retired, current, and even kid artists so we can keep our business printing t-shirts.

A 5-year-old helps us with the artwork.

Ali, our shipping and receiving clerk, has a 5-year-old daughter named Selena, a talented youngster in the artwork world who will be assisting us. Little Giggles Daycare in Edgewood, WA, taught Selena graphic artwork using fingerpainting and crayons with which she created her graduation shirts.

Preview of Steve Deland's Artwork

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OSHA Compliant Safety Vests Explained

8/2/2022

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Safety vests are vital for the protection of workers. Safety managers must learn the different safety vest classes so the company complies with OSHA standards and regulations.

Why should workers wear safety vests?

Use safety vests to be seeable by traffic and pedestrians. The bright Hi-Visibility of safety vests comes in two popular colors. The colors are safety orange or safety green.

Class 1 OSHA Safety vest

For grocery courtesy clerks that push carts in a parking lot, a Class1 OSHA safety vest is a great choice.
Bicycle riding
Use the vest where traffic is traveling 25 miles less.
The amount of reflective tape is 155 sq. inches or 6 feet of tape 2 inches wide.

Class 2 OSHA Safety vest

Class 2 is the most required because they meet all standards to provide good visibility for high hazard areas with fast traffic.
All road construction mandates the use of a class 2 vest.
Do not use class 2 safety vests at night since they do not have enough reflective taping.

CornerStone® - ANSI 107 Class 2 Safety Vest

Style CSV400
100% polyester oxford
3M™ reflective taping
Reflective 2-inch tape
ANSI 107 requirements
360-degree visibility on the body.
Molded center front zipper closure
Dyed-to-match binding
Please fully zip to comply with ANSI/ISEA 107 standards.

Class 3 OSHA Safety vest

Night work must use class 3 OSHA vests with reflective sleeves, where an entire silhouette is visible

Class 3 ANSI 107 Surveyor Mesh Zippered Two-Tone Short Sleeve Vest

Style CSV106
Polyester mesh provides 100% airflow to stay calm.
Durable, reflective 2-inch tape
ANSI 107 necessities
360-degree visibility on body silhouette
Safety Orange

Purchase Your Custom Logoed Safety vests at Northwest Custom Apparel

We have provided safety vests since 1977 to thousands of construction companies in the Northwest. Give us a call and our staff will put you in the correct vest classification for your needs. Call us at 1-800-851-3671. "Safety First".

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Embroidery Pricing Matrix Increases Profits

8/2/2022

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Price your embroidery with a pricing matrix based on cost of item

Pricing your embroidered apparel with a pricing matrix allows you to increase your profit percentage on lower cost items such as t-shirts and baseball caps. The matrix will allow you to say price competitive on higher cost products such as North Face Jackets. An example is when you sell a t-shirt for $8.00 (cost is $2.00) you are making 75% margin($6.00 /$8.00) *100 = 75%. You are making a high profit percentage on this t-shirt.

North Face Jacket Margin Scenario

Let's look at the North Face Jacket that you sell for $90.00 and the cost is $50.00 you are making a 44% margin. ($40.00/$90.00)*100 = 44%. You are making a $40.00 profit which is way more than the $6.00 profit on the t-shirt with a margin of 75%.

What if we kept the same margin as the t-shirt?

You wouldn't be price competitive if you sold the North Face Jacket at a 75% margin. $50.00/(1-.75) = $200.00 selling price. You need to have different margins based on the cost of the item.

Quantity of items and embroidery decoration

If you are adding the embroidery to the items you need to include your decoration costs and the quantity you are embroidering. Let's say we are selling 12 t-shirts. The embroidery selling price is $8.00 with a $4.00 cost per item.

T-shirt profitability (12 t-shirts) $120.00 profit (75% margin)

T-Shirt Selling Price Blank $8.00 (cost $2.00)
Embroidery Seling price $8.00 (cost $4.00)
T-Shirt with Embroidery Selling Price: $16.00 per t-shirt
Total Cost $6.00 (profit per shirt $16.00 - $6.00 = $10.00 profit
Units sold 12 t-shirts * $10.00 profit = $120.00 profit on the order

North Face Profitability (12 jackets) $528.00 profit (44% margin)

North Face Jacket Selling Price Blank: $90.00 (cost $50.00
Embroidery selling price $8.00 (cost $4.00)
North Face with Embroidery Selling Pricing $98.00 per jacket
Total Cost: $54.00 (profit per jacket $98.00 - $54.00 = $44.00 profit
Units sold 12 jackets* $44.00 profit $528.00 profit on the order.

Example Margins based on Cost of Item

Conclusion

As you can see you will make more money by doing the same amount of embroidery work by selling higher priced North Face jackets. Remember when you will have to decrease your margin percentage to stay competitive in the marketplace. "Work smarter not harder."

Author

Erik Mickelson is a contributing author to custom apparel blogs and editor of www.apparelgraphicacademy.com

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Custom printed safety green long sleeve t-shirts with a pocket

8/2/2022

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History of safety green t-shirts with a pocket

High-visibility safety green t-shirts with pockets were developed in the late 1980s at the request of OSHA to make construction workers visible on their job sites. The color, safety green, was developed by chemist Jimmy Jennings in Santa Barbara, California, while experimenting with different colors for a model rocket. Jimmy was hoping to create a vibrant color to paint the rocket to be seen in the air and the bushes when it fell back to earth. While launching the rocket while the green paint was still wet, it dripped back onto Jimmy's white t-shirt and stained it with a 6" green mark. Jimmy, being cheap, didn't toss the t-shirt away and wore it around town to the local bars. While drinking one night, Jimmy was crossing State Street, and a speeding car came up and swerved and nearly missed him. Jimmy attributes him not being killed by the safety green ink stain on his t-shirt being seen by the driver. The following day Jimmy contacted his friend, Justin Bosworth with OSHA, and told him about the green paint and how it saved his life. Bosworth was ecstatic after finding out about the safety green since he was also looking for a better way to prevent job site injuries. Jimmy said he could transfer this ink into a dye and manufacture green long-sleeved safety t-shirts in mass quantities in the border town factories in Tijuana, Mexico. Years followed, and Jimmy created a distribution network with t-shirt distributors throughout the United States. The long sleeve safety t-shirt with a pocket became the perfect protective t-shirt for construction workers. The t-shirt was lightweight, safe, and fashionable. The workers liked the addition of the pocket so they could carry their pens and notepads. The long sleeve safety t-shirt with pocket sold over 23,000,000 printed t-shirts nationwide in 30 years. Jimmy still sells t-shirts and trucker caps throughout Santa Barbara and the California Coast. Jimmy has ventured away from safety gear and is into local surfer trucker caps and t-shirts.

Jimmy's suggestion for Safety Green Long Sleeve T-Shirts with a Pocket

Jimmy's favorite choice is his innovative and comfortable Port and Company style PC55P long-sleeve safety green t-shirt with a pocket. When working outside, you need to focus on the task at hand. Stay safe with these brightly colored safety green long sleeve t-shirts. Stay relaxed, secure, and noticeable in safety long-sleeve pocket t-shirts. Safety shirts are also available with screen-printed safety stripes and your custom logo above the pocket. Keep your L&I claims down, workers happy, and advertise your construction company on safety green t-shirts.

Where to purchase Safety Green Long Sleeve T-Shirts with a pocket?

Since 1977, Northwest Custom Apparel, has distributed Jimmy's safety t-shirts with custom screen-printed logos and safety stripes. Inventory is available in safety green and safety orange sizes up to 6XL and talls. Delivery is 2-3 weeks for new orders, and repeat orders are 2 weeks in production. We suggest calling us to start your order at 1-800-851-3671. We ship nationwide via UPS or Fed Ex. Ask us about our rush service for safety green t-shirts and low minimum order sizes.

Author

Jimmy J is a contributing author from Santa Barbara, California for over 50 years. You can find Jimmy selling trucker caps and t-shirts up and down State Street during Fiesta.

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Online Company Store Definition

8/1/2022

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A company store is a custom web store built for a company and stocked only with their logoed apparel. Businesses who want to supply custom apparel to their staff have the store available to the public or internal workers.

E-commerce is an efficient solution.

E-commerce through a custom web store is a highly efficient solution for businesses that desire a way to sell branded merchandise to their employees. This blog describes the hidden costs of manual order management for businesses and the opportunity presented by custom web stores, also called company stores, to streamline, expand and differentiate your business, all with lower time investment.

Efficient Order Management

For companies that want to add a way to sell branded merchandise to employees, the public, and safety programs, the company store is a perfect solution. You will avoid phone calls and back-and-forth emails to your embroidery shop and place your order with a simple click. A company store with pre-approved products also avoids a lengthy approval process since.

Forrester Research 90% Order Management Savings

Forrester Research estimates that B2B companies can reduce order management costs by up to 90 percent by implementing e-commerce solutions. 52 percent of B2B executives say they have reduced their
customer service costs by transferring customers online and 56 percent have customers they can only serve profitably online.

Company stores are quick and easy to create and maintain

Start your company store by contacting your NW Custom Apparel's account executive
Decide what products you would like to offer in your store
Find a clear high, resolution copy of your company's logo
Create an employee survey to see what apparel they want in the store.
How long would you like to keep the store open?

Author

Erik Mickelson is a 2nd generation embroider with Northwest Custom Apparel with an extensive knowledge of company stores.

Young man in early 40's with blue polo shirt with a green screen behind him

Erik Mickelson

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Jiffy Shirts are Overpriced

Jiffy Shirt Reviews

Jiffy Shirt Warehouses

Jiffy Shirt ​Warehouse Cutoff Times for UPS shipments

Jiffy Shirt Prices 2022 Comparison with Sanmar

I would recommend Jiffy Shirt in the following situations.

Author

Yikes! Our Graphic Artist is on Vacation

A 5-year-old helps us with the artwork. ​

Preview of Steve Deland's Artwork

OSHA Compliant Safety Vests Explained

Why should workers wear safety vests?

Class 1 OSHA Safety vest

Class 2 OSHA Safety vest

CornerStone® - ANSI 107 Class 2 Safety Vest

Class 3 OSHA Safety vest

Class 3 ANSI 107 Surveyor Mesh Zippered Two-Tone Short Sleeve Vest

Purchase Your Custom Logoed Safety vests at Northwest Custom Apparel

Embroidery Pricing Matrix Increases Profits

Price your embroidery with a pricing matrix based on cost of item

North Face Jacket Margin Scenario

What if we kept the same margin as the t-shirt?

Quantity of items and embroidery decoration ​

T-shirt profitability (12 t-shirts) $120.00 profit (75% margin)

North Face Profitability (12 jackets) $528.00 profit (44% margin)

Example Margins based on Cost of Item

Conclusion

Author

Custom printed safety green long sleeve t-shirts with a pocket

History of safety green t-shirts with a pocket

Jimmy's suggestion for Safety Green Long Sleeve T-Shirts with a Pocket

Where to purchase Safety Green Long Sleeve T-Shirts with a pocket?

Author

Online Company Store Definition

​E-commerce is an efficient solution.

Efficient Order Management

Forrester Research 90% Order Management Savings

Company stores are quick and easy to create and maintain

Author

Author

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Jiffy Shirt Warehouse Cutoff Times for UPS shipments

A 5-year-old helps us with the artwork.

Quantity of items and embroidery decoration

E-commerce is an efficient solution.