6 ms·

Show HN: Weekend Project - Monthly Startup T-shirt Subscription

22 points by zaveri 15y ago

thestranger 15y ago
Would be nice if you ironed the shirts before the pictures.
- earbitscom 15y ago
  Nah...I want to know what it will look like when I'm wearing it and this is definitely how my shirts typically look when I put them on.
specto 15y ago
Interesting, though for just a t-shirt a month, $23 seems a bit steep...
illdave 15y ago
I like the idea, and I'd consider using it (if it was available outside of the US) just as a way of supporting startups. It'd be good if you were able to guarantee more than just the t-shirt each month though. Stickers etc are usually pretty cheap, so receiving just a t-shirt for $23 might not make for the best month. Either way, good luck with it.
blhack 15y ago
$23/mo is way too steep for something like this. If I'm looking for neat t-shirts to wear, I can get shirts from shirt.woot for $10/each, with free shipping. Call it apples and oranges if you want, but to me, getting a random shirt from a company I've potentially never heard of isn't so enticing at $23/mo. That's more than I pay for my VPS, more than I [used to] pay for netflix, more than I pay for a couple of t-shirts I get to choose from woot. Etc. etc. etc.
- JonLim 15y ago
  I'm with blhack on this one - I initially thought it was $23 a month for a couple of shirts a month, which would have been great, but no way would I pay $23 a month for a single shirt.
  - jeremymcanally 15y ago
    Especially a shirt that is fundamentally a billboard for a company.
benwerd 15y ago
Isn't this what Valleyschwag did? They went bust, by the way. Be careful.
- aaronblohowiak 15y ago
  The core team became GetSatisfaction
  - benwerd 15y ago
    I didn't know that! Fascinating. Glad they turned it into something awesome.
cme 15y ago
$23/month does seem a bit steep, it'd be cool if you could work in a way for those start ups to get a percentage of the $$, that way we can feel like we are all helping the start up movement. I'd be more willing to spend $23/month if I thought it was going to help a start up in some way.
jxrlee 15y ago
Question: In the FAQs it says you do your own printing. Does this mean we are paying you $23 just to print whatever startup name on a shirt? My first thought was that you were getting these shirts directly from startups and not making them yourself. Also, agree with $23 being too expensive. $10 would be more in line with what people are willing to pay. Props to companies like inDinero for sending out free shwag (LOVE the shirt!:])
dreamdu5t 15y ago
How is this legal? You have permission from every startup to sell their logo?
- zaveri 15y ago
  Yes, we will have permission from the startup being featured for that month.
iamjoshua 15y ago
Most startups give away their shirts for FREE. If you want a better business model, work out deals with the startups where you promote their company by dispersing their brand to the masses with a surcharge. $10 a month would be an easy price point and mostly profit after shipping costs.
timjahn 15y ago
Definitely a niche idea. I believe a few others have tried this exact same idea and documented their failure here on HN, though, so interested to see how you're approaching this differently. In Chicago, there are only so many days a year you can comfortably wear a t-shirt out of the house, so unfortunately I'm not your customer. I also don't have $23 a month to throw at simply buying one t-shirt.
dpcan 15y ago
I'm with everyone else here. No way I'd pay $23 per month for 1 t-shirt of a company I don't know and probably who's services I don't even use. However, I may not be in your demographic at all. I haven't bought a shirt in years. I get shirts with fish on them for my birthday from my kids, and Mariners shirts from my family at Christmas - then I collect free shirts here and there. I have zero fashion sense, I wear what people give me, and I hate shopping :)
binaryjohn 15y ago
I like the idea. I mean, I REALLY like it. However, I'm with the crowd on this one, $23 is a lil steep for me. There's gotta be a way you can bring this price-point within the range of the work'n stiff.
brianbreslin 15y ago
Honestly I'd pay like $10/month max for this. Startup tshirts to me are promotional things, I don't care to show everyone I have a Digg shirt or Reddit or other startup shirt. If I'm involved in that product or a friend works there, diff story, but then they'd give me a tee for free. Good luck with this.
pdenya 15y ago
I agree with the other comments regarding $23 being too much for a t-shirt. That being said, even at $10/month I doubt I'd pay for schwag.
smcguinness 15y ago
It is http://www.startupschwag.com/ http://www.startupschwag.com/ that did this before right? I believe they did shirts and other stuff in a monthly shipment. Can't remember the price.
- rrival 15y ago
  $14.95+$4.60 S&H in the US.
earbitscom 15y ago
Show HN: My Weekend Project - Monthly Startup Banana Hammock Subscription

22 points by zaveri 15y ago

thestranger 15y ago

Would be nice if you ironed the shirts before the pictures.

earbitscom 15y ago
Nah...I want to know what it will look like when I'm wearing it and this is definitely how my shirts typically look when I put them on.

specto 15y ago

Interesting, though for just a t-shirt a month, $23 seems a bit steep...

illdave 15y ago

I like the idea, and I'd consider using it (if it was available outside of the US) just as a way of supporting startups. It'd be good if you were able to guarantee more than just the t-shirt each month though. Stickers etc are usually pretty cheap, so receiving just a t-shirt for $23 might not make for the best month. Either way, good luck with it.

blhack 15y ago

$23/mo is way too steep for something like this. If I'm looking for neat t-shirts to wear, I can get shirts from shirt.woot for $10/each, with free shipping. Call it apples and oranges if you want, but to me, getting a random shirt from a company I've potentially never heard of isn't so enticing at $23/mo. That's more than I pay for my VPS, more than I [used to] pay for netflix, more than I pay for a couple of t-shirts I get to choose from woot. Etc. etc. etc.

JonLim 15y ago
I'm with blhack on this one - I initially thought it was $23 a month for a couple of shirts a month, which would have been great, but no way would I pay $23 a month for a single shirt.
- jeremymcanally 15y ago
  Especially a shirt that is fundamentally a billboard for a company.

benwerd 15y ago

Isn't this what Valleyschwag did? They went bust, by the way. Be careful.

aaronblohowiak 15y ago
The core team became GetSatisfaction
- benwerd 15y ago
  I didn't know that! Fascinating. Glad they turned it into something awesome.

cme 15y ago

$23/month does seem a bit steep, it'd be cool if you could work in a way for those start ups to get a percentage of the $$, that way we can feel like we are all helping the start up movement. I'd be more willing to spend $23/month if I thought it was going to help a start up in some way.

jxrlee 15y ago

Question: In the FAQs it says you do your own printing. Does this mean we are paying you $23 just to print whatever startup name on a shirt? My first thought was that you were getting these shirts directly from startups and not making them yourself. Also, agree with $23 being too expensive. $10 would be more in line with what people are willing to pay. Props to companies like inDinero for sending out free shwag (LOVE the shirt!:])

dreamdu5t 15y ago

How is this legal? You have permission from every startup to sell their logo?

zaveri 15y ago
Yes, we will have permission from the startup being featured for that month.

iamjoshua 15y ago

Most startups give away their shirts for FREE. If you want a better business model, work out deals with the startups where you promote their company by dispersing their brand to the masses with a surcharge. $10 a month would be an easy price point and mostly profit after shipping costs.

timjahn 15y ago

Definitely a niche idea. I believe a few others have tried this exact same idea and documented their failure here on HN, though, so interested to see how you're approaching this differently. In Chicago, there are only so many days a year you can comfortably wear a t-shirt out of the house, so unfortunately I'm not your customer. I also don't have $23 a month to throw at simply buying one t-shirt.

dpcan 15y ago

I'm with everyone else here. No way I'd pay $23 per month for 1 t-shirt of a company I don't know and probably who's services I don't even use. However, I may not be in your demographic at all. I haven't bought a shirt in years. I get shirts with fish on them for my birthday from my kids, and Mariners shirts from my family at Christmas - then I collect free shirts here and there. I have zero fashion sense, I wear what people give me, and I hate shopping :)

binaryjohn 15y ago

I like the idea. I mean, I REALLY like it. However, I'm with the crowd on this one, $23 is a lil steep for me. There's gotta be a way you can bring this price-point within the range of the work'n stiff.

brianbreslin 15y ago

Honestly I'd pay like $10/month max for this. Startup tshirts to me are promotional things, I don't care to show everyone I have a Digg shirt or Reddit or other startup shirt. If I'm involved in that product or a friend works there, diff story, but then they'd give me a tee for free. Good luck with this.

pdenya 15y ago

I agree with the other comments regarding $23 being too much for a t-shirt. That being said, even at $10/month I doubt I'd pay for schwag.

smcguinness 15y ago

It is http://www.startupschwag.com/ http://www.startupschwag.com/ that did this before right? I believe they did shirts and other stuff in a monthly shipment. Can't remember the price.

rrival 15y ago
$14.95+$4.60 S&H in the US.

earbitscom 15y ago

Show HN: My Weekend Project - Monthly Startup Banana Hammock Subscription