What is the Pre-order Method
The Pre-order method: Instead of putting your money up front. Put the sample on your website with the margins that leave you with a profit. Market your sample (on social media or in person) and take the money you got from your orders, and put that money towards Bulk and Bulk shipping, and Shipping Labels for you everyone who ordered.
Advantages of Pre-order Method
This method has some pros and cons just like any method, however some advantages are the lack of funds you need to do this method you could start with 0 and only market your mock-up or you could only spend $70 on a sample to market. it is cost efficient, compared to the pre-made method, because you aren't giving the manufacturer your money upfront. You use the money you got from your customers from marketing the sample, to the manufacturer. Which takes care of all costs, if you set the right margins. compared to using your own money at the start and hoping to make a return on your investment. This way you know the exact amount of garments/products to order for bulk, and you won't be stuck with access to inventory, you'll be able to order and charge more or less depending on the response your product gets from the market when you launch it. The pre-order method, allows you to test the market and your audience before buying bulk, it can also allow you to be more flexible in a way, for example, if you or your customers wanted to tweak something on the product you could, it can also allow you to take away, or add a last minute garment/idea into your collection/product.
Disadvantages of Pre-order Method
Some Cons about doing the Pre-order method is that since you don't have the bulk on hand, you can't ship out the packages immediately after a customer has ordered, because that money has to go to your manufacturer first so that product can be made. You also have to make sure (in general) to have a manufacturer that you can depend on because at the end of the day the manufacturer dictates when your bulk/shipment gets sent out because they are the ones working on it. You also have to think about the customers who are waiting just like you are, it's always important to update them and be truthful and honest if your manufacture runs into any problems or delays. Trust is important and you can grow your trust with your manufacturer and community if you just effectively communicate and get on the same page. Worst case scenario you run into a problem where you manufacture runs into a problem and can't deliver the bulk, or you unfortunately got scammed, if this is the case, refund the customers who did not get there order and update your community and let them know what happened, and find a new manufacture that you can trust
What you should do during
As mentioned above you'll have to pay for the bulk and the shipping for it, but there's a time in between where you'll have to wait for the bulk, which usually, on average, should take around 1 month. Communicate with your manufacturer about the dates (when bulk will be shipped out) and constantly get video/photo updates on the bulk, so are you informed. Customer service is also essential during this time because you'll have to also communicate this with your customers on your website, product description and social media platforms, so everyone is informed and has an estimated arrival time for when their package will come, this makes the customer feel secure and trusting during this waiting period. If you don't communicate and emphasize that you are doing pre-order, this will result in a lot of complaints & chargebacks from you customers telling their bank that their product didn't come in, which then results in your funds being held, and your money along with the money the customer used gets sent back to the customer.
What you should do when bulk comes in
When the bulk order arrives, sit there for a moment and be grateful that the package finally arrived, and then take the package inside. And do a head count, make sure you were sent the correct amount you ordered. If you have packaging (like frost bags, ect) I would make sure the size labels are correctly labeled on them and match the size of the product. Check to see if there are any defects on your garment/product. If you have less than you ordered or you were sent defects make sure to contact your supplier/manufacturer and communicate what happened, and they should be able to troubleshoot your situation or possibly give you a discount. Don't ignore this behavior, if the manufacturer doesn't help you, find a different manufacturer that you can count on. If you stay with them you will feel like you're in a toxic relationship, constant lies and empty promises. If you can't count on your manufacturer, then your customers cant count on you. After you have made sure everything is good with the bulk orders, communicate with your community that the bulk has arrived and is in the process of being shipped out (Send out emails, post on your story, ect.). Now for the last place of your profit to be distributed to: Shipping Labels, i personally use Pirateship.com but you can use any shipping website you want. This is where you will be making individual shipping labels for your customers' packaging of their order. These labels say the shipping supplier, and who and where the package will be shipped to. This on average costs around 7-8 dollars for a hoodie but remember the shipping cost is usually affected by the weight and the distance of the package. After you have the shipping label printed, stick it on the package and ship it out to your customers.
Links to services and products:
Shipping Label printer:
high to low Rollo Label Printer: https://amzn.to/4tgqNZp
Nelko Label Printer: https://amzn.to/4f71F3X
Shipping Labels: high to low
Rollo Labels 4x6: https://amzn.to/3Ray2ot
Nelko Labels 4x6: https://amzn.to/3RoMCZy
Poly Mailers: Small to big
14.5x19 Poly Mailer: https://amzn.to/4cWGIr2
19x24 Poly Mailers: https://amzn.to/4uxqACa
24x24 Polymailer: https://amzn.to/3P0VHXV