Vintage T-Shirt Forum & Community Authentication Appraisals

Yeah yeah, but somebody's gotta start this topic. I am going to be out west in a couple of weeks and have been searching for some good mills. I mainly do all my pillaging in the Midwest or down South and I am looking to branch out. I realize some of you t-shirt sellers are pretty secretive about your suppliers even though there's no reason to be. I feel to sell vintage you have to truly know and appreciate your product. The amish are known to be good successful people because they use their resources and help their bretheren out. So let's make like the amish and share some sources. Maybe Jimmy can make this an exclusive members only topic. Werd?

Jimmy, this is how you make more money right here.

You go first!

I usually hit the thrifts. I do buy in bulk from Mid West in El Paso, but I have stuff shipped to me rather than going to the site.

We're still waiting on Crazy Bubba to get us a list of mills to hit up!

I had tried looking up some places for Hermosa in NY but the guys that I'm friendly with either did wipers or had their wholesale customers' pickers in their plant (ie: no room for small pickers).

My dad's been doing this business for a couple decades so he would know more, but I only know one grader TX outside of houston.

You're always welcome to drop by here if you're ever in central america.

How much do you consider to be "bulk"? What kind of stuff does the mix have in it? What do they exclude?

Why do you guys insist on moving around and picking form different mills? You do realize that they all buy their rags from the same suppliers right? Wouldn't it be better to buy more quantity from one grader?

speaking for myself, this is more of a hobby and passion than a business. as such, i can't afford to buy in the quantity that most wholesalers offer. I can only do like 100 lbs worth of stuff at a time. even that's a stretch.

Good stuff, I like the feedback already. You're really doin it Jimmy. I've messed with Midwest quite a bit actually. It sucks you can't 'cherry pick' but the fact that their price per lb is pretty reasonable makes it worth while. As long as you can outsource the crap. It's usually best to order around 200 lbs minimum from them because when you get the bales, nothing is touched other than what their sorters are told to look for. I received 100 lbs from them before broken up into two different boxes and some of the stuff look like it had been sorted out. Which Houston spots have you looked at outside of the generic ones?

i'll have to try buying from Midwest in 200 lb bales. Do you order a specific grade of shirts? i usually ask for what they call "old and thin"

Hey I posted a similar topic ebay-advice-f18/vintage-sources-t13.html but only got advice from Mr. Bubba (thanks again!). I might check Midwest out next time I go out east. If you are coming to southern california I know a couple places you can check out.

I'd be interested to learn what vintage grades they make.

We've only ever made a separate military and dres grade. We usually mix everything, but i can see how separating things into specifics works better for the end users who may be very specialized in their fields.

let's all chip in for a 50,000 lb trailer and meet in some central location and have a picking party

I'm in!

Shotgun! Called it.

First you've got to find someone willing to sell you 50,000 of just vintage Tees