How does Idaho Merch work?
Signing up as a member is essentially giving Idaho Merch a license to create, list, and sell products with your logo on it’s E-commerce website idahomerch.com. Once you sign the independent contractor/licensing agreement and then send us your high quality logo files, we will get to work creating and listing products that display realistic mockup images. When a customer buys one of your products, you will receive a royalty payment of 25% of the listing price. We will track your balance and pay you at the end of each quarter
What else is required of the artist or business?
Aside from signing the license agreement and submitting your logo and font files, you don’t really need to do anything other than get paid. However to get the best experience and results from your Idaho Merch shop, we recommend posting a link to your shop page on your website and other social media pages. Some signage at your business or elsewhere can’t hurt either. We also want you to think of Idaho Merch as a low risk way to get creative with your merchandise offerings. If you have an idea for something and want to see the response it gets before carrying it in house, you can try it out on our store. There are no limits to how many designs or products you can list. Also, we will obviously be doing plenty of marketing on our end too and will provide you with resources as they become available.
Why 25%?
To put things into perspective, 25% of a $24 T shirt is $6. For a $30 hat it’s $7.50 and for a $40 sweatshirt it’s $10. Since Idaho Merch takes care of all labor, materials, website maintenance, production and fulfillment costs, that 25% is ALL PROFIT for you with no up front financial risk and no overhead.
Think about what goes into managing your own online store. In addition to the cost of the goods, you pay transaction fees, hosting fees, listing fees, etc. Fulfilling an order takes time digging through your boxes that are taking up valuable storage space and then even more time packaging and shipping the item. You also spend time making sure your inventory matches the products you have listed. If it’s not up to date and someone orders a product that’s out of stock, you have to hope your printer can restock quickly or cancel the order. A good online product offering requires keeping large quantities of various styles, sizes, colors, and designs. There is often pressure from customers to carry “this style” in “this color/size,” and when you make the investment to satisfy the request, the product might not sell and you’re stuck with dead stock. This can get spendy and time intensive real quick. When you factor all of this stuff in, it can be a challenge just to turn a profit at all doing it yourself, let alone 25%.
Another way to look at it is if a brick & mortar shop bought your items at the standard wholesale rate of 50% of retail price. For each T-shirt you’d get $12 a piece, but then you must factor in the production cost of the tee and unless you are printing yourself, doing better than $6 a shirt for a multi-colored design will be highly unlikely. The average cost of a single color basic T-shirt is from $5.50-$9.00. You must also account for the time you spend ordering and reordering and also setup fees for each design and for additional colors which are around $20-$40. We don’t charge any setup fees.
Are the products high quality?
We use retail quality products from well-known brands like Next Level, Canvas, Delta, and Yupoong (hats). For some of our “traditional fit” items we use well-known brands like Gildan and Jerzees. The printing method is called Direct To Garment (DTG) which uses a large machine that can print “one-off” items with no limitations on the number of ink colors. The result is a very similar feel to a screen printed shirt. All hats are embroidered.
How does product fulfillment work?
When an item is ordered, it is produced on demand and then packaged and fulfilled by us or one of our production partners and then shipped directly to the customer. It usually takes about a week for the customer to receive their order from the time they place the order. All customer service inquiries are handled by Idaho Merch. You may direct customers to our website or ask them to submit questions to info@idahomerch.com.
Can I put my Idaho Merch products on my own website?
Yes, you can embed products from our shop into your own website! This only works with individual products, not entire categories. This is likely a job for the person who manages your website but it should be pretty easy on most website platforms. We use a WordPress site with the WooCommerce plugin which uses “oEembed code.” If you also use WordPress, it is as simple as copying and pasting the URL link for a specific product and pasting into the content area of a page. You don’t even have to mess with html or any of that stuff (see example product below). While this is a very cool feature that we want you to utilize, Idaho Merch does not offer any support when it comes to embedding products into your site other that what is on this page. The person who manages should be be able to accomplish this easily. For good measure, here a a few links that might help:
How to Embed WordPress Posts and WooCommerce Products
Using Embed Blocks on Squarespace
What if a listed product doesn’t sell?
The beauty of all of this is that if a listed item in a particular size, color, style, or design doesn’t sell, that product never actually existed other than as a high quality mock-up image on our website. You may never sell sell a 3XL green tank top with your logo on it, but you could list it just in case somebody did want that.
What sizes are available?
Most of our garments are available in sizes XS, S, M, L, XL, 2XL, and 3XL and in some cases up to 4XL and 5XL. All of our available hats are one-size-fits all or in the case of the Flexfit hats, sizes S/M and L/XL are available.
How do Artists/Businesses get paid?
For the time being all quarterly payments will be made via check.
Can I see or order a sample?
If you are in the Boise area we can run a sample by so you can check out the quality of the merchandise. We can mail you a sample print t-shirt swatch upon request. If you would like to order your own sample with your logo on it, please email info@idahomerch.com along with an .ai or .psd file for the design you want and we will discuss how you can order a sample at a discounted rate.
What if a customer wants to exchange or return an item?
Because each of our items are made-to-order, we do not allow any returns or exchanges for items purchased on this website. If there is some sort of issue with the order we generally try to work with the customer to find a solution where everyone is satisfied. If you receive an inquiry related to an order, please direct the customer to our website where they can review our policies and they can submit questions by email to info@idahomerch.com.
Can I list products that I sell at my business?
All of your items that are listed at idahomerch.com are printed or embroidered on demand after being purchased. We can’t sell any of your in house inventory, but we can create and list similar styles to those that you offer in house.
Can we still have our own separate online store if we are a part of Idaho Merch?
Absolutely. Idaho Merch can either be a primary online presence or an additional marketplace where your products are available online. Most of the people who sell on Idaho Merch will likely have their own online store(s).
Will this hurt our in house merchandise sales?
Our goal is not to take away from your in house merch sales, but instead provide an additional revenue stream, expand your catalogue, satisfy more customers and also, help you grow your brand. The listing prices are most likely a little higher than the ones at your business so if the product is available in both places, then directly from you is the best place to buy it.
After signing up, how long am I under contract?
If you decide you no longer want to have your products on our site, you can stop at anytime. Simply send us a written notice and we will remove your products. Either party may terminate this agreement at any time by giving the other party ten (10) working days’ written notice. All monies owed to the Client as a result of work performed prior to such termination shall be paid to the Client within five (5) days of such termination.
Can I check my balance or see sales info?
With your quarterly payment, you will receive a sales report that shows gross sales as well as individual items sold so you can see which items are performing well. You can also email us at info@idahomerch.com and request a report for a specific date range. Limit 1-2 times per month please.
Who is Idaho Merch?
Idaho Merch Founder, Streeter Johnson, has been designing, screen printing, and selling locally inspired t-shirts and gifts online and in shops since 2011. His brand “The C.O.T.” offers over 30 different Boise and Idaho inspired designs, and his other brand “Ingrained Apparel” offers wood grain inspired designs for all 50 states. He has managed online stores through WooCommerce, Shopify, Etsy, and Big Cartel. Through this and his experience screen printing merchandise for local breweries, restaurants, and other small businesses he has become an expert in the world of apparel and merchandise. In late 2018 he created Idaho Beer Gear (idahobeergear.com) then soon realized that the same business model would not only be beneficial to breweries, but also to other Idaho Businesses, Brand, Bands, and artists. By being a part of Idaho Merch, you are supporting a fellow Idaho entrepreneur. Big Thanks for that:)
