The Well Stocked Merch Table - Things You Should Be Selling

If you’re not selling merch at your shows you’re potentially missing out on a very good source of extra income. Even if it’s just one or two items to start with, have something for your old and new fans alike to purchase from you. Below is a list of items that bands I have been associated with have sold at our shows. Not every item will necessarily fit your program but should give you some product ideas and things to think about. Just be sure to have something available ‘cuz you ‘can’t sell from an empty cart’.

1.      Bumper Stickers: Who doesn’t love bumper stickers? If there is only one item you can afford to have printed, this is it. They are cheap to produce in bulk at around 15 cents each for standard black and white on vinyl. Plus they are also generally the hottest seller at the table. Selling a typical sticker for $1.00 will net you a nice profit margin but you can easily move these for $2.00 each or more. If you’re selling CD’s toss in a free sticker with each disc.

2.      CD’s or EP’s: Well of course if you’ve produced a CD you’re gonna have it for sale. But what if you haven’t made it into the studio to cut the next multi-platinum blockbuster? You’re still in luck. For small change you can have a live show recorded and mixed down to a decent quality production. Now, you can keep it street and burn them on your computer with a self printed insert for the case, which will actually work great for some bands or you could pony up some more cash and send the master recording to say DiscMakers and let them print a small professionally packaged run of your disc. One way or another be sure to have your music available for sale on your merch table. If you have an album or single that’s ready for public consumption, selling that at your gig should be the priority.

No matter how cool your merchandise is, ultimately, it’s your music that needs to get into people’s hands. The merchandise is, essentially, an “up sell,” something fun for people to buy and take home from your shows after they’ve purchased your music. If you’re putting more money into manufacturing clothing and novelty items than recording your music, it might be time to reassess your priorities. Erik Hawkins - Remix Magazine

3.      T-Shirts: I have mixed feelings about band t-shirts. Firstly most of them suck. Secondly most bands charge too much for them. So if you have a really cool design for your shirt and can keep your sale price at $15.00 or less then go for it. Remember that your band name does not need to be the main focus, make a cool design and people will buy the shirt for that reason alone. But the MOST IMPORTANT thing to remember is to market these to women. Sell shirts that the ladies will buy and wear. This means something other than the typical short sleeve tee. Spaghetti strap tank tops and cap sleeve tees work well. Keep the giveaways to a minimum or you will probably lose money or at best break even on your first lot.

4.      Can & Bottle Huggers: Another really inexpensive item that will bring you a very good profit with a sale price of only $2 or $3. Besides who doesn’t need another one of these to lose.

5.      8×10 Promo Shots: You’re probably gonna have these anyway and if you have them professionally printed there’s gonna be a minimum most likely of at least 100 or more so go for the best price break you can get and sell the bulk of them at shows. Popular bands with a solid following will really do well with these as people will by them and ask you to sign them. If your band is particularly unfortunate looking then maybe re-think this one.

6 Hats & Beanies: Hats can be a hit or miss proposition. If you’re lucky enough to be gigging regularly in a college town then by all means have some hat designs made up for sale. Otherwise go slow with these. Order the smallest run you can and test the waters. As with shirts the design is critical as is the style of hat or beanie. Try to keep the price around 10-15 bucks and you should be good.

7. Thong Underwear: Same thinking applies here, college town? Definitely. Otherwise you may just end up with a bunch of giveaways. Something funny or sexy will work better on the front panel of the panties then the name of the band. A woman would be more likely to buy that to show it off to her boyfriend than she would if it were just the name of a band he’s never heard of. Same goes for guys buying them for their girls. Price? Whatever you think your market can bear but always try to achieve at least 100% markup.

8.      Anything & Everything Else: Basically if you think it will sell or other bands in your locale are moving certain merch then you should be doing it too. Almost anything you can put your name, logo or website address on is fair game.

Not an all inclusive list but a good start. Is there something your band has found to be an especially good mover? Let us know. Got a really cool shirt for your band send me the link and I’ll post it here.

Check back real soon for tips and strategies on actually selling some of this stuff and for some good sources I have found and used for sourcing it too.

TK

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