What is inside a blank price
People assume a supplier's price is mostly "profit". It is not. For a $3.90 230gsm cotton crew, the typical structure looks like this:
| Component | Share of price | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Fabric | 45–55% | Weight, yarn type (open-end vs combed), cotton origin |
| Cut and sew | 18–24% | Collar construction, side seams vs tubular, stitching detail |
| Washing / finishing | 4–8% | Garment dye, enzyme wash, snow wash, bleach |
| Packaging and handling | 3–5% | Polybag, size stickers, carton |
| Freight to the warehouse | 7–10% | Ocean vs air, volume, port |
| Supplier margin | 6–10% | Volume, payment terms |
The important insight for you, as the buyer: fabric is more than half the cost. Which is why a 160gsm tee and a 230gsm tee are not "a bit different" — the heavier one has roughly 40% more fabric in it, and no supplier can hide that difference.
Landed cost, not list cost
The number on a supplier page is rarely the number you pay per shirt. Add, in this order:
- Extended sizes. 2XL and up cost more per piece — typically $0.75 to $2.50 depending on size. If 16% of your order is 2XL and you price every size the same, you lose on 16% of your stock.
- Freight. Domestic ground on a 100-piece order is roughly $35–60 depending on distance and weight. On 100 shirts that is $0.35–0.60 per piece — small, but not zero.
- Payment and platform fees. Even a "free" store charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
- Samples and mistakes. Budget 5% of the first order for reprints and mis-sized goods. Everyone needs it.
A useful habit: write the landed cost per piece on a sticky note before you set the retail price, and never look at the list price again. At 100 pieces a $3.90 blank lands closer to $4.21 once extended sizes, freight and the mistake budget are folded in. At 600 pieces the blank itself is $3.55 and the loading is smaller because freight per piece drops.
Extended sizes are where this gets expensive quietly. A 4XL can carry a $1.90 surcharge on a $3.55 blank — more than 50% of the base price. Price it as the same shirt and every 4XL you sell eats the profit on two mediums.
Pricing the finished shirt
There are two defensible ways to set a price, and one indefensible one.
| Method | How | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-plus | Landed cost × 2.5–3.5 | You have no comparable product and need a floor. Fast, safe, leaves money on the table. |
| Market-anchored | Price against what the category sells for, then check the margin | You are selling where buyers can compare — always check this even if you use cost-plus. |
| Cost-plus at 1.2× | "Cheap enough to be the cheapest" | Never. It attracts the customer who will leave for a $1 cheaper shirt and leaves nothing to fund order two. |
For a printed cotton tee sold direct, the market in the US sits roughly between $22 and $38. A blank at $3.55 plus print at $1.35 gives you $4.90 of goods; at $28 you keep $23.10 before fees and shipping. That is healthy. The mistake is pricing at $16 "to get started" — at that price, after fees and shipping, you are working for free.
What the channel takes
| Channel | Typical take | Also required |
|---|---|---|
| Your own Shopify store | 2.9% + $0.30 + payment fees | A domain, traffic, and patience |
| Etsy | ~6.5% transaction + ~3% payment + listing fees | Handmade/vintage positioning, strong photography |
| Amazon (FBA) | 15% referral + fulfilment fees | Barcodes, brand registry, an account that takes weeks |
| TikTok Shop | ~6–8% + payment | Content volume; the shirt is secondary to the video |
| Local markets / events | Stall fee $40–250 per day | Cash handling, stock transport, a full weekend |
| Corporate / team orders | 0% — you invoice directly | A phone, an invoice, and patience with purchase orders |
The channel changes the price, not just the fee. A $28 shirt on your own store and the same shirt at a market stall are different products to the buyer — one is "a brand", the other is "a purchase in the sun". Price accordingly instead of averaging the two.
Three price points that work
Same shirt: 230gsm blank at $3.90 (100 pieces), one-colour print $1.35, extended-size loading $0.30, freight to you $0.42, mistakes 5%. Goods cost per sellable shirt: about $6.24.
| Retail | Channel cost | Shipping you pay | Left per shirt | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $18 | ~$1.60 | $4.50 | $5.66 | Thin — one return and it is gone |
| $28 | ~$2.30 | $4.50 | $14.96 | Workable, and the usual landing zone |
| $38 | ~$3.00 | Free (built in) | $28.76 | Works only with a story, a fit or a niche |
The gap between $18 and $28 is the difference between a side project and a business. Note that the goods cost is the same in all three columns — the price decision is worth more than any supplier negotiation you will ever win. Squeezing $0.20 off a blank is worth less than fixing a $6 pricing error.
Pricing traps
- Quoting "shipping included" without loading the freight into the price. $4.50 per shirt is 16% of a $28 price. Put it in the number before you publish it.
- Charging the same for every size. Covered above, still the most common silent loss.
- Discounting in month one. A launch discount teaches your first 30 customers the real price is 20% lower.
- Forgetting the second order. Order one's revenue has to fund order two. If the price only covers order one, the business stops at 100 shirts.
- Ignoring returns. Apparel return rates run 5–15%. At $28 with a 10% return rate you lose $2.80 per shirt sold on average if you eat the return.
Next: put your own numbers into the profit calculator and see where you land.