What do you think about this idea - customize scarf??

[SanGirl]

Hi all!

It would be great if I could get some of your opinions and feedbacks! I just have this idea of offering customize scarf to the market. The idea is still very rough and premature. I am in the process of checking its potential to succeed, like how much people will value this product and such. So, I will very much appreciate it if you could give me your advises and opinions. THANKS SO MUCH!

The ideas of customize scarf all started from me shopping for a scarf this xmas. I wanted a very thin, narrow, but super long scarf and I just couldn’t find the right one! Have you experienced something similar before? It would be just so good if I could have a scarf that’s exactly how I wanted it to be. Then one day, my friend told me about this lady who knits scarf for her customers. So out of curiosity, I went to her shop. It’s great! For $25, I could specify the width, length, color, and the type of yarn. and it’s hand-made too! haha

Anyways, so then I think, won’t others like this too? Maybe I can offer it to sororities and frats, school clubs and other organizations. So maybe instead of another sweatshirt or a pair of flip flops, you get a scarf, with your specified color and size, and with a label embroiled with your sorority/fraternity greek letter attached on one end of the scarf. What do you think?

I told my friends about this idea and I got many discouraging comments... yet, some of them are valid and caught my attention. I think some greek clothing shops sell scarf too, yet, scarf isn’t very popular it seems. Is this true? And why is it so? What’s your favorite greek merchandise and why?

Sorry for this long post... I just love this idea very much. Please tell me your ideas and thoughts. Thanks so much for your time! And Cheers!

[kddani]

Anyone who is hand knitting a scarf and only charging $25 for it is very much undercharging. Decent quality yarn for a scarf costs about that much. Hand knitting a scarf takes quite a lot of time, as well, so unless they're giving away their time for nothing, this is a poor business idea. Not to mention the fact that very few scarves could be turned out b/c of the time involved in knitting a scarf.

[Optimist Prime]

I have a hand made scarf, it was one of the nicest things any one ever did for me

[irishpipes]

Originally posted by SanGirl

Anyways, so then I think, won’t others like this too? Maybe I can offer it to sororities and frats, school clubs and other organizations. So maybe instead of another sweatshirt or a pair of flip flops, you get a scarf, with your specified color and size, and with a label embroiled with your sorority/fraternity greek letter attached on one end of the scarf. What do you think?

Only licensed Greek vendors can use our Greek letters as they are trademarked. I believe most if not all other NPC, NIC, and NPHC groups also have legal claim to their letters so that non-licensed vendors cannot produce merchandise without permission.

[kddani]

Originally posted by irishpipes
Only licensed Greek vendors can use our Greek letters as they are trademarked. I believe most if not all other NPC, NIC, and NPHC groups also have legal claim to their letters so that non-licensed vendors cannot prodiuce merchandise without permission.

Good point.

And the licensing fees aren't cheap.

Plus I don't know that I'd even care for a scarf with my letters and/or colors. I think it would look a little strange.

[SanGirl]

Originally posted by irishpipes
Only licensed Greek vendors can use our Greek letters as they are trademarked. I believe most if not all other NPC, NIC, and NPHC groups also have legal claim to their letters so that non-licensed vendors cannot prodiuce merchandise without permission.

O ya, you are right, they are trademarked... Thanks for pointing that out. How about if the greek groups order directly from the non-licensed vendor, for example, a sorority orders scarves with its greek letters embroided on each piece. Can this non-licensed vendor accept this order? Since its an order directly from the sorority itself, does it mean that the vendor has the permission to produce the merchandise?

[irishpipes]

Originally posted by SanGirl
O ya, you are right, they are trademarked... Thanks for pointing that out. How about if the greek groups order directly from the non-licensed vendor, for example, a sorority orders scarves with its greek letters embroided on each piece. Can this non-licensed vendor accept this order? Since its an order directly from the sorority itself, does it mean that the vendor has the permission to produce the merchandise?

In a word, no. There are deals in place with licensed vendors so that a portion of the sales price goes to the International organization as a trademark fee. So, if my chapter orders scarves from a licensed vendor for $25 a piece, maybe $2 each goes to AOII International. If my chapter orders scarves from you, AOII International gets nothing, and you could be sued for trademark infringement. No AOII chapter has the right to forego the licensing agreements made by the international organization. It does happen, because a non-licensed vendor may offer something at a lower price. The chapter may be ignorant of the licensing rules and may place an order based only on price. However, our HQ is cracking down on this and in any case the liability is still out there.

ETA: These licensing rules also apply to schools. I would guess that ALL schools at this point have licensed their names, mascots, etc. So, you would have a very difficult time customizing scarves for ANY group without violating licensing agreements. If you have noticed when purchasing anything Greek or school related, there is a tag attached that says that it is a licensed vendor. Those vendors would go to great lengths to protect their investments - meaning they would sue you if you are selling without paying the fees they are paying.