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eBay Gym Apparel Idea

JAMES-L67

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Hi guys,

So recently I've been toying with the idea of starting an online gym apparel store. So far, this is what I've come up with:

- Focus mostly on eBay sales
- Found a producer of decent quality y-back tank tops in China through AliBaba
- Produce 4 designs from graphic designers on Fiverr
- Import 100 tanks as a start, 25 of each design, 10 medium, 5 small, 7 large, 3 extra large
- Have a friend who is a photographer, find a model and take good quality photos for thumbnails

Early stages as you can see, but exciting nonetheless. Sold at ~$20AUD a tank, I'm forecasting a profit of $850AUD for the first batch, including rough estimates for stock, designs, shipping in and out, photography etc. In the future, if the first 100 sales are relatively successful, I feel it would be smart to branch into other types of gym apparel such as shorts, t-shirts, hooded jumpers, tracksuit pants, hats, bags etc.

So my questions for you out there who are more experienced than I:

- What is involved in starting an eBay store and ensuring your ads are highly visible?
- For an order of 100 tanks, what would I be looking at for shipping to Melbourne, Aus?
- Are there any areas of the process I have grossly overlooked? (please remember that this is purely a fresh idea)

Thanks in advance,

James
 
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Y.B.

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You're going to have a hard time finding a supplier on Alibaba willing to print only 100 tanks
 

JAMES-L67

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You're going to have a hard time finding a supplier on Alibaba willing to print only 100 tanks

I've found a supplier who says "they will", but I get the feeling it would be for an inflated rate.

Would you have any other suggestions on where to look?
 

Y.B.

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I have the same issue now, for same industry/niche. I think you have to look for local suppliers.
 
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MoneyDoc

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100 tanks can be printed, it will just cost you $3-4 more.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Serks

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Hi James,

There are many more experienced users on here but just a few considerations off the top of my head:

-I'm guessing maybe $50-70 to have that shipped to aus but would depend on the supplier- I've come across posts on here with rough estimates based on weight before. Also remember they generally expect $US so will be more $AUS than expected

- I would also factor in costs of running an ebay store, % fees taken by ebay per sale as well as paypal

- have you got a USP or a particular brand or strategy or need to fill that you will employ to compete in this space or is it a matter of getting your feet wet with the skills/processes involved?
 

JAMES-L67

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Serks:

I've budgeted $100 for shipping, so if your estimate is accurate that would be ideal. What % do eBay take? I've never ran a store before, just had personal accounts. For the moment it's really just getting my feet wet with a sales oriented business. I currently run a successful mobile car detailing business (~$750AUD a week whilst studying a masters degree full time), so I want to venture out of service and into sales.

MendeGames:

Major competition on eBay varies from $18 for a plain colour tank through to $40 for the main competitors designs. From my (albeit short) analysis, most buyers tend to forsake price and brand and aim for shirts with the best design for the price range. Therefore, I feel if I can deliver designs of a higher standard and designs that buyers are actually looking for, I can charge low-mid range as a new supplier and still be successful.

Cheers for the replies,

James
 

Serks

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I haven't sold on ebay for a few years now so I couldn't tell you..

You're best off checking out their faq or fees page. The fees aren't massive but can be a nuisance if profit margins are low

The car detailing service sounds pretty cool good stuff :)
 

borntodominate

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I have a question, how are you going to compete with everyone doing the same thing?

there are literally millions of people selling "gym apparel"
 

JAMES-L67

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I have a question, how are you going to compete with everyone doing the same thing?

there are literally millions of people selling "gym apparel"

As outlined above, I will be mainly focusing on designs and price. I don't plan on being the cheapest, but I plan on having the best designs for a price slightly more reasonable than competitors.

A quick trawl of eBay shows 4 main competitors. Adonis Gear, NAKD, StrongLiftWear and Echt. SLW is by far the most expensive but best designs, and NAKD and Exht designs suck. To me that leaves a fair slab of market (on eBay at least) that has a need to be filled; Good designs, reasonable price
 

borntodominate

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As outlined above, I will be mainly focusing on designs and price. I don't plan on being the cheapest, but I plan on having the best designs for a price slightly more reasonable than competitors.

A quick trawl of eBay shows 4 main competitors. Adonis Gear, NAKD, StrongLiftWear and Echt. SLW is by far the most expensive but best designs, and NAKD and Exht designs suck. To me that leaves a fair slab of market (on eBay at least) that has a need to be filled; Good designs, reasonable price

What about fitwear, gymshark etc?
 
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borntodominate

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Neither have a strong influence on Aus eBay markets. Very strong in ecommerce no doubt, but eBay not so much. In fact, a search for fitwear brings no results on Aus eBay, and Gymshark only 2 items.
That's good to hear. I wish you luck man, I've got a online fitness magazine. Maybe we could cross promote or something
 

PureA

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You say that other brand designs suck however someone is clearly buying them or they wouldn't be in business. Put yourself in the customers shoes why would you buy your brand over another, how is your brand different? This is an extremely saturated market and whilst I appreciate this means nothing when you have an edge, you don't have an edge, anyone can do what you are doing. Sorry to be negative but take time to figure out a unique angle and execute through that.
 
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James Fake

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I'd get your first batch made local.. clothing has too many quality issues to handle at first... let alone trying to work with a Chinese company. Save that for later when you need to scale..
 

SEBASTlAN

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You say that other brand designs suck however someone is clearly buying them or they wouldn't be in business. Put yourself in the customers shoes why would you buy your brand over another, how is your brand different? This is an extremely saturated market and whilst I appreciate this means nothing when you have an edge, you don't have an edge, anyone can do what you are doing. Sorry to be negative but take time to figure out a unique angle and execute through that.

There are so many gym apparel brands it's crazy. And no one really has loyalty to one (in my experience), whatever looks cool is what gym rats will buy.

to the OP I would say though start with teespring or similar to see what designs customers really want, and then go bulk via China..
 

ThexArm

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It would be good for you to check how are the sales for the brands you mentioned. Premium brands may have higher price but only be selling a few. I don't think you wanna sell only few.

Check @terapeak they have 1 week free trial gives you enough time to check it out.
 
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JAMES-L67

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PureA:
I understand, this is why you post ideas here first before going through with them ;) that said, in Australia I do believe there is a piece of market not being filled. Whether or not that slice of market is large enough to make any substantial profit or not however is another story

Sebastya:
This is exactly why I feel it wouldn't be that hard to cut out a slice of the market for myself. I personally know I hold no loyalty to a brand, I simply buy the best design at the best price, and I feel most gym goers think the same

ThexArm:
All 4 manage roughly 250-400 sales per month. This is only for eBay sales.
 

SEBASTlAN

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PureA:
This is exactly why I feel it wouldn't be that hard to cut out a slice of the market for myself. I personally know I hold no loyalty to a brand, I simply buy the best design at the best price, and I feel most gym goers think the same

Yep - so how do you know your designs are better/will sell more?
 

Envision

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I dig the idea man, Im actually doing the same thing as you and have been for some time. What someone said above is true. There is no loyalty to a certain brand everyone wants a piece of something which is cool because everyone needs nice clothing. It will be difficult to compete in AUS regardless of your means of sales just because Gymshark and DOYOUEVEN have such a strong prescense there.

I would create a unique angle you can approach your potential customers from which would entice them to buy from you. Because those two brands already have those things leaving no reason to buy from you.
 

JAMES-L67

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I dig the idea man, Im actually doing the same thing as you and have been for some time. What someone said above is true. There is no loyalty to a certain brand everyone wants a piece of something which is cool because everyone needs nice clothing. It will be difficult to compete in AUS regardless of your means of sales just because Gymshark and DOYOUEVEN have such a strong prescense there.

I would create a unique angle you can approach your potential customers from which would entice them to buy from you. Because those two brands already have those things leaving no reason to buy from you.

Yeah that's the next step of the development process I guess :)
 

teabag

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Spreadshirt.com

Upload your design to what ever clothing (Tees, Singlets etc).

Goes live onto Spreadshirt Marketplace.

People buy shirts for the price you set - You get X % and Spread Shirt gets Y %.

You don't have to ever touch a piece of clothing as it is all dispatched from SpreadShirt warehouse world wide.

This is how the company doyoueven.com became successful. They "sponsored" a crap load of athletes who shout out and sell their gym apparel for them, which is bought through the Doyoueven website - that has a SpreadShirt application built in.

Once they became a social hit online, they started printing and shipping their clothing locally to increase their profits.
 
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Discourse

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Props to you dude. I hope that this venture will move from the idea stage to execution stage.

So many posters saying this wont work out because of X, Y, Z. For a second I thought I was in r/entrepreneur.
12 publishers thought Harry Potter wasn't going to work out, and rejected it. And you know how that story went.
Let the man try.
 

JAMES-L67

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Sorry for the late reply, been busy selling my car.

Spreadshirt actually isn't a bad idea, completely slipped my mind earlier. Thanks for the tip!

Discourse: So true. Just because someones doing something well, doesn't mean you can't do it better ;)
 

Lex DeVille

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Here are my thoughts:

- F*ck market saturation. There's always a way.

- You will need an edge, but that's just an obstacle.

- I like the idea of getting shirts printed locally first.

- Consider making YouTube videos to build a social presence. Link back to your site. If other brands are flawed, you might be able to gain traffic by pointing out those flaws, and how your clothing fixes those flaws. For instance if the armpits tear easily, maybe you can show how double-stitching solves this problem in your shirts.

- Consider teaching an online course: Udemy to reach another large audience, increase your revenue, and link back to your site.

- I think you can gain loyal customers who will stick to your brand if you can prove you know what you're talking about, if you listen to customer feedback and really give them what they ask for, and if you can prove that you are out to build a better brand for the right people, instead of just a brand for making money for you.

Either way, get started and let us know how it goes. Have you started yet?
 
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JAMES-L67

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Here are my thoughts:

- F*ck market saturation. There's always a way.

- You will need an edge, but that's just an obstacle.

- I like the idea of getting shirts printed locally first.

- Consider making YouTube videos to build a social presence. Link back to your site. If other brands are flawed, you might be able to gain traffic by pointing out those flaws, and how your clothing fixes those flaws. For instance if the armpits tear easily, maybe you can show how double-stitching solves this problem in your shirts.

- Consider teaching an online course: Udemy to reach another large audience, increase your revenue, and link back to your site.

- I think you can gain loyal customers who will stick to your brand if you can prove you know what you're talking about, if you listen to customer feedback and really give them what they ask for, and if you can prove that you are out to build a better brand for the right people, instead of just a brand for making money for you.

Either way, get started and let us know how it goes. Have you started yet?

I'm currently studying a Masters of Clinical Exercise Physiology, and have a Bachelor in Exercise and Sport Science. I was considering tying this in with a clothing label, possibly by running a blog focusing on the science behind fitness. I know (yet again) that the fitness blog market is saturated, however as I have spent the last 5 years studying in the field, I KNOW I can bring something to the table that is lacking.

As to getting started, so far I've come up with a few quick sketches to give to Fiverr designers, scoured Fiverr for good designers, contacted a few Chinese suppliers, and quickly sought out Aussie suppliers. Been relatively busy the last few weeks, so haven't spent as much times as I would like to on business ventures
 

Michael Haynes

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Hey James, I'm new to this forum but I figured I could be of some help here. I work for one of the largest brands of fitness clothing in Europe. We have a strong presence in Australia and the USA as well. I'd like to not mention the brands (there's two of them owned by one company).

I run the B2C department for our store. Think of it like this.. You can go to nike.com to buy nike apparrel, or you can go to a retailer who sells nike.. Well I run nike.com... (not actually nike, but you get the idea). We do not sell on amazon or ebay nor do we allow our retailers to. We feel that it devalues the brands and it's much harder to keep control over the products, marketing, and pricing if our retailers have totally free reign.

If you have any questions that I can help with, I'll be glad to. Just ask!
 

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