It's a lotta money out of pocket, so I have to make sure that I could at least sell enough to make it back.

Given how much it would cost me to get these done, I was thinking of selling them for:
$18

Seem fair?
Be honest because I don't want to waste my money getting these done if they're just gonna sit.

No, I wouldn't unless you put "Cock riding" on it.

But I think you should consider getting them printed anyway. You'll probably never make back your money, but you'll probably sell some. Every t-shirt you sell is an advertisement for your band so it may be worth the cost.

The words on the back are an in-joke that isn't very funny - I'd just remove them. Also, that color is a pretty strong deterrent to success.

I took the words off the back and I am going to talk to the tee folks to see if the yellow square is get-rid-of-able.
Helps the price a smidge and, the absence of the square would help the look.

I feel like if you could get them into the $10-$15 range then you would be a lot more successful. Also the colors are ugly as it is now.

Agree that the yellow on yellow probably isn't the best way to go.

I think you'd be fine with the yellow square and the chicken (the album cover yes?) and nothing on the back. But I'd go with white, black, red, or green for shirt color.

Also, I'm not the best to ask about band tees. I've only bought 2 in the last 10 years and both were Drive By Truckers tees.

$18 is seriously pricey for a concert tee. $10 for anything local/regional seems to be about top price, $15-20 for a national touring band. Quality wise, those shirts look like they would sell for $5-10 around here. They don't look terrible, but the print on both the front and back doesn't appear to be high quality

Yeah, design arguments aside, at $18, you can look forward to selling them to your families and friends max. Go find another place to get shirts. Local bands around here always seem to be able to find someone to make things up they can sell for $10.

What company you looking at to do the manufacturing?

I may be doing t-shirts soon as well.

And should add, some kind of less fancy single color print job you could charge less for would seem like a better idea to me than a bunch of pricey shirts no one buys.

Also I don't know if looking at making these as a means to make money (or even pay for themselves) is the best way to come at it. Think of them as little billboards. If they cost you $13 and you charge $12, you just got someone to walk around Chicago advertising you once or twice per wash cycle for a dollar.

no, i have enough t-shirts.

I agree with most of what's been said in this thread. Try to do a simple, but decent looking cheap t-shirt, and look at it as a marketing investment.

Also, if you're going to have the chicken on it, I think the shirt should say "The name of the album is NOT Cock Ridin'."

bassplayerwilleatyou is a t-shirt screening pro now. he could really cut your costs down im sure.
i do think you should rethink the design.
i think a larger...simple line drawing of the same exact thing... printed in 1 or 2 colors.

it needs a skull and it needs to be black

1. the design just isn't very interesting.
2. i get why you chose yellow, but it's not something i'd wear.
3. font choice is terrible.
4. $18 is waaaaaay too much.
5. fuck the shirt. spend that loot on putting out a limited edition, yellow vinyl 7".

just got this in the mail.

who wears yellow t-shirts?

I think you should put, "Ride with Todd's Cock" on the back. A little penis humor would help sales.

I don't do yellow.

THEM