Merchandising

[Fab]

Some of you may have already seen my posts on identi.ca about finally working out a solution for the LO merchandise (well, until we get enough money together to buy stuff in bulk and get it printed ourselves, that is). All the Linux Outlaws merch is now being handled by Zazzle. We have stores for the following locations:

http://www.zazzle.co.uk/linuxoutlaws
http://www.zazzle.com/linuxoutlaws
http://www.zazzle.de/linuxoutlaws
http://www.zazzle.ca/linuxoutlaws
http://www.zazzle.com.au/linuxoutlaws
http://www.zazzle.co.nz/linuxoutlaws

We know the stuff is expensive and it currently includes 20% markup which goes directly to us and supports the show, but this was the only solution we could find that is in a quality that I don't have to feel ashamed for. I have looked for over a year and Zazzle is the only print-on-demand company that does good enough quality prints (DTG) and also ships to the EU etc. without you having to pay duty and taxes. That's why the prices are higher too because they include those taxes, apparently they have a special deal with the respective post offices. I will test order some merch soon and let you know if that works from Germany.

That's also why it's very important that you order from the domain you are shipping the stuff to (ie. .co.uk for the UK, .de for Germany), otherwise you'll have to pay taxes again.

I will add a lot more stuff in the coming weeks (including mugs), but please let us know what you think. We are open to suggestions, especially on the pricing too. Currently we make £5.50 on a £27.50 shirt, for example. We are in the process of setting up a dedicated account and PayPal account for the show and all of that money will go in there. If we make enough, we might have enough capital one day to order blank shirts and get screen printed stuff ourselves which we could sell more cheaply.

Hope you enjoy the merch, I'll let you know on the ordering process and quality once I test ordered some.

[Dan]

Merchandiding?

Nice work dude!! I know it's expensive but at least we have something available for people in multiple regions now. I ended up paying these prices with the likes of MySoti and Cafepress anyway because I got a bill for £20 from UK customs I wasn't expecting. I think it's much better to know the full price up front, people can make an informed decision then

As Fab says if we can get enough capital we should be able to eventually source bulk runs of these things and bring prices down. I know I've failed personally on this in the last year . I found most suppliers want near £1000 to supply 100 t-shirts and we just don't have that money to invest right now. I can't really take a loan for it either at the moment. I can get good quality blank shirts for a lot less and then try to get them printed, I will probably do that when I can, but having more than one design and a wide range of colours is really expensive. We want to make sure we have a good selection of designs at the best possible quality. There's little point in putting out poor quality stuff with our name on it, it would only make us look bad and besides, if people are giving us their money I want to send them the best product we can in return. I'm beginning to sound like Alan Sugar now so I'll shut up.

P.S - You're all fired!!!!! (waves finger)

alan-sugar.jpg (13.86 KiB) Viewed 1537 times

[NYbill]

hmmm... i was just fired before i was even hired!

new shirts! nice. i think i'll have to get one. (a #blamepopey shirt. LOL)

ok, everyone. get your new LO uniform!

EDIT: "If me make enough" was that a Freudian slip, fab? we know where the money is going now, dan!

[Dan]

hmmm... i was just fired before i was even hired!

new shirts! nice. i think i'll have to get one. (a #blamepopey shirt. LOL)

ok, everyone. get your new LO uniform!

EDIT: "If me make enough" was that a Freudian slip, fab? we know where the money is going now, dan!

LOL, damn you caught him out Bill. I wondered where those donations were going

I should explain for the benefit of the International readers. Alan Sugar does The Apprentice TV show in the UK, like Donald Trump does in the US.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apprentice_%28UK_TV_series%29

[B1ackcr0w]

And for anybody who doesn't know who Popey is, he's the guy you should complain to if absolutely anything goes even slightly wrong with Linux.

[Fab]

Merchandiding?

Fixed.

alan-sugar.jpg

Who's that? He looks like General Hague.

[Fab]

EDIT: "If me make enough" was that a Freudian slip, fab? we know where the money is going now, dan!

Damn it! I wasn't fully awake it seems...

[B1ackcr0w]

EDIT: "If me make enough" was that a Freudian slip, fab? we know where the money is going now, dan!

Damn it! I wasn't fully awake it seems...

On the contrary, I think you had your eyes wide open

[lostnbronx]

I will add a lot more stuff in the coming weeks (including mugs), but please let us know what you think.

Yes, please stock up on the mugs. Accidents can happen at any time, you know.

[phayz]

I love the idea of owning a little piece of LO. Personally I'll wait for the mugs to become available (assuming they do at some point).

Fab and Dan - I think you've made a good decision in choosing quality products over lower-priced but crappier products.

Are there plans for an LO nightshirt? This would make the question "Who would you rather sleep with..." moot. With your LO nightshirt and headphones on, and an LO episode playing, you'd have all your desires satisfied.

PS - Has popey given his stamp of approval to the T-shirt devoted to himself?