A first online T-shirt collection works well as one or two styles in a few well-chosen colours, with enough depth in each size that your listings stay in stock. Anyone selling T-shirts online under own brand names, whether on Amazon, on their own website or both, gains more from a tight, well-photographed range than from a wide one spread thin.
This post covers how to shape that range, how the two channels differ in what they ask of you, and what we can prepare at production so the stock is ready to list.
Shape the range before you choose channels
Start with the collection, then fit it to where you sell.
How many styles
One style is enough to launch. Two styles work if they serve clearly different buyers, for example a regular fit for everyday wear and an oversized fit for a streetwear audience. Our four T-shirt styles are regular fit, oversized, heavyweight and long sleeve. The minimum is 100 pieces per style, with sizes mixed, so each extra style is a real commitment of stock.
How many colours
Two or three colours per style is plenty for a first collection. Black and white are dependable. A third colour that fits your brand gives the range personality. The colour split is confirmed at quotation.
Print or plain
Decide whether the collection is printed designs on one blank, or a blank-led range where fabric, fit and colour carry the product. Printed collections can test several designs on the same style. Blank-led collections need excellent photos and a clear story about weight and feel.
Own store and marketplace: different jobs
Your own website and a marketplace like Amazon do different things for a young brand.
| Your own store | A marketplace such as Amazon | |
|---|---|---|
| Who finds you | People who already know the brand, or find it through your social media | People searching the marketplace |
| What you control | Design, story, pricing, customer contact | Your listing content, within the marketplace’s rules |
| Packing | Your choice | To the requirements the seller confirms with the marketplace |
| Size chart | Your own format | In whatever format the marketplace currently asks for |
Many brands use both: the marketplace for discovery and volume, the own store for the full story and repeat buyers. Others start on one and add the other once the range is proven.
We do not have accounts, integrations or arrangements with any marketplace. Each seller confirms current requirements, including labelling, barcodes, packing and size charts, with the marketplace directly. We then label and pack to the specification the seller gives us.
Size depth and stock planning
Online buyers leave when their size is out of stock. Keep your listings complete by holding stock in every size you list, even if the larger and smaller sizes are only a few pieces each.
A practical approach:
- Put most of the 100 pieces into M and L.
- Keep S and XL at a solid level.
- Hold a small number of 2XL and 3XL.
- Track sales by size regularly and reorder before the core sizes run out.
For a fuller look at ratios, see our post on T-shirt size charts and size ratios.
What we prepare at production
Online sales depend on what happens before stock reaches you. At production we can prepare:
- Neck label or inside-neck print with your brand and size.
- Wash-care label with content suited to the destination country, confirmed at quotation.
- Hang tags, with barcodes if you supply them.
- Individual folding and polybagging, with size stickers.
- Barcode labels on the polybag, to the format the seller specifies.
- Carton marking by style, colour and size, so stock is easy to receive.
Our page for marketplace sellers explains how we handle labelling and packing specifications in more detail.
Listing photos and descriptions
Photograph bulk pieces, not only the sample. Show the T-shirt flat, on a person, and in close-up on the neck and fabric. Write the fabric clearly (cotton single jersey or cotton-polyester), the fit and a short fit note, such as “relaxed fit, size down for a closer look” on oversized tees. Publish measurements you have taken yourself.
Keep the copy consistent across channels. If your own store calls a colour “washed black”, use the same name on the marketplace listing and on the hang tag. Buyers who find you in one place and check you in another should see the same product, the same name and the same size advice. That consistency is a large part of what makes a small range look like a real brand.
A launch plan in order
- Choose style, fabric and colours.
- Request a quotation and sample.
- Test the sample: wear, wash, photograph.
- Confirm labelling and packing requirements for each channel.
- Approve the sample and place the order.
- Build listings while production runs.
- Receive, check and list.
We take enquiries from buyers worldwide. Shipping method, terms and documents are confirmed in the quotation, which matters if stock goes to more than one country or warehouse.
When you are ready, choose your styles from our white label T-shirts and send us your colours, size split, branding and the packing specification for each channel. We will build the quotation around it.