12/07/2007

School apparel is a tricky business. Supporters will buy it to support you regardless of the quality, athletes don’t have a choice where they buy practice gear and PE students don’t want to wear uniforms anyways. This is a good position to be in if you are the organization providing the goods. You control all of the chips.

With that said, why would you want to provide a lower quality product to any of these people? The answer is clear, PRICE….. With schools coming under more and more budgetary pressure it only makes sense to buy the lowest price goods. Lowest price doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice quality.

How do I increase quality while staying the same on price? That is a good question.

The answer is clear. Buy on the internet. The internet gives you access to a global garments market. This is a market where purchase volume is all over board. With higher volume comes lower prices to the garment supplier. The larger apparel resellers not only get end colom pricing, the lowest available, but they receive better financing and shipping terms. All of these factors effect the end price of the garment.

The price of the garment is not the only factor in the cost of custom apparel. Most imprinted garments are either screen printed or embroidered. There is a HUGE difference in a good screen printer/ embroiderer and a bad screen printer/ embroiderer. Not only are there large gaps in quality, but the price can be drastically different as well. I know that every community has someone that owns a small screen printer and an embroidery machine. It could be a small business, a buddy in his garage or the school vocational program. They may do fantastic work, and that is great. I am all for supporting local business. On the other hand, if the quality of the imprint is bad, and it is more expensive, is it right to punish local consumers.

At ESC Promotions we have been offering custom apparel to schools and corporations for over ten years. We have made every mistake in the book in our pursuit for the best product at the lowest price. We believe we have figured it out. We have relationships with the largest apparel wholesalers and we buy in large enough quantities to receive the best pricing. We contract with only the highest quality screen printers and embroiderers. This is in order to provide quality imprinted apparel to our valued clients. Whether you order from ESC Promotions or not, I hope you take the advice I have given in your pursuit of your organizations apparel. Happy Shopping.