I used to sell shirts, but never sold very many of them. But I use my press each October for the annual Disney meet.
This year, the guys have an option of a pocket tee, instead of having the same one us ladies wear. Brian has always had the pocket tee and he felt that the guys should have a choice.
There won’t be as many of us this year. But being the way I am, I wanted to make sure I had enough shirts, with a couple left over in case I screw up. I’ve got one shirt where I printed the front graphic upside down. It happens.
I only have one pocket tee, I need more and I need a larger size. And I need more of the larges that don’t have pockets, I’ve only got two left. So, I figure I’ll call up the place that I usually order from. Shirtwholesaler.com. In the past, I could mix and match sizes, and if the total is at least a dozen, I’ll get a discounted price.
I ordered 12 Large White 5280s. And I ordered 4 XL White 5290 and 8 L White 5290. Not that I needed that many, but because I’ll most likely be using them in the future and since I’ll be getting a discount for the dozen quantity, I’d be foolish not to go for it.
Here is a screenshot of the website’s pricing:
So, for a dozen of the plain shirts (5280), they’ll cost $2.38 each. The 5290s will cost $4.00 each. Right? Is that not how you read it?
I placed the order this weekend, you don’t get an invoice right away, but they send you one. The phone rings. “We no longer carry the 5290s, we have the 5190s instead.” Okay, how much are those? “$5.26 each.” I figure Brian will use them eventually, so I okay the substitution.
Then I get the email with the final cost.
Holy crap!
$135.53? For two dozen teeshirts? WTF?!?
I call them up. I was told that I didn’t get a discount on the 5280s because you have to buy a carton to get the discount. (I was charged $3.98 each shirt; looks like that is a special color price, but their website was down when I was on the phone.) I told her “cancel the order, I’ll go to Wal-Mart”. Then I went online and did some research, found another internet store, jiffyshirts.com. I compare pricing.
Okay, there’s no discount until you order a hundred bucks worth. Hmm. Let’s see, the 5280, what does that cost? What? What!? $1.92 each? Why, that’s a savings of (counting on fingers….) $2.06 per shirt!
Let’s see the other one….don’t find that exact shirt, but here’s a 6.1oz Hanes Pocket Tee, tagless. $3.55 each. The ones I ordered from shirtwholesaler have tags (bothersome at the neck) and I was getting charged $5.26 each (which does match their website and does include a discount for ordering a dozen). And it’s a savings of $1.71 per shirt. And I don’t need to order a dozen to get this price. I only order nine of these and ten of the other. Because I don’t need to justify buying a dozen to save money, right?
No sales tax.
Overnight shipping? $3.96. The order should be here by eleven tomorrow morning. Shirtwholesaler.com was charging me $14.95 for shipping.
So, my bottom line is a savings of ($135.53-55.04) $80.49.
Wow. Am I ever glad they screwed me.