Thanks @Sasha. I figured I could address others in my response to you:
Do you and, if so, what experience do you have with merch that would translate here?
When it comes to merch, I have experience of selling wall art online, targeting a particular, niche Philadelphia audience. Earlier than that, I rolled out a CPG bundle product online during the pandemic. In this last case especially, I personally managed every stage of the process, up until the final step of delivering packages to the courier. In many areas, I feel decently versed as Iāve spent four years in last-mile delivery, CPG fulfillment, delivery tech services, and the data & micro-transactions that follow - so Iām quite familiar with maintaining profitable & competitive pricing models. The difference here is acknowledging crypto dynamics (i.e. fluctuating prices, gas fees).
Great point @Evil regarding gas - definitely something to think through. This would most likely influence sales volume (High gas ā Less customers, Low gas ā More customers). Costs such as the delivery fee can be addressed case-by-case and for example, can be strategically absorbed in the price of the item.
Though I have light experience with marketing, one thing I am not is a marketing expert so I would definitely want to hear from more people that have a better understanding and approach @Mr.and89 . But generally, looking for some insight & guidance here from professionals in the community - would definitely love to work with those experienced individuals (Any recommendations are appreciated).
Will there be options for quality/blanks vendors or youāre thinking of picking a blank for each type of product yourself and using it for all orders? If so, what level of quality are you aiming for?
In the beginning, the service would leverage a couple of mid-high quality third-party vendors I have experience with that would provide print on-demand services with various options. My thought is to echo that same (or similar) level of optionality in the beginning at least. For example, for wall art: allowing users to select a gallery wrap of .75ā vs 1.5ā.
In general, the service should deliver more than satisfactory quality and as it expands, we could provide a spectrum of quality by throwing more vendors into the mix.
What pricing for some example end products are you aiming for? T-shirts, hoodies, caps.
Since weāre shooting for good-great quality, Iād aim to stay competitive in the initial stages especially; this means, to your example, staying in the $20-$30 range for shirts & caps and $40-$55 for hoodies.
What sorts of products do you plan on supporting out of the gate and then maybe down the line? E.g., will socks be available or is this just T-shirts.
Those products are dependent on the target customer segments. I have 2 targets in mind. The first are crypto enthusiasts that want to create and gift a custom item to another person. This could be for a birthday, Fatherās Day, etc. With this segment, items that wrap around photos & moments such as canvas photo prints & photo pillows would work well.
The second segment wraps around NFT artists, collectors, owners. As weāve seen, there are plenty of NFT owners that create prints in many forms of their NFT(s). With this platform, theyād get great quality custom NFT-based products where they could checkout with crypto.
Would love to hear what others think regarding target markets.
Will you be also providing some custom designs for people to select from or is this strictly upload-your-own-image type of shop?
I donāt see why we couldnāt have both. Iād imagine in the beginning if we were to incorporate some preset designs, we could start with a few then expand later. Initially, to prevent biting off more than it could chew, the website should at least deliver on its core value which wraps around customization, then as we move forward, we could incrementally incorporate more and more features (with feedback).
For the budget, is this for 6 months of operation, 12, 24?
The proposed budget covers the initial 6 months for the platform. I definitely feel the marketing plan and associated expenses warrants more elaboration, perhaps something @Mr.and89 , @Kuddo, or others could help provide insight on. Otherwise, this should provide enough runway to get things started. After launch, reviewing week-to-week and month-to-month financials, cash flow, and burn rate will give us an understanding on performance and how we could, for example, tweak marketing efforts to grow profitability. As @furiousanger mentioned, itās a great opportunity to corner the market; we simply have to start the work with the proper foundation and learn.
Iād like to continue to hear everyoneās thoughts to then turn this rough idea into a solid draft.