Ten reasons why Threadless is the best in the business

Published on 3^rd March 2008 in Websites, tagged Threadless.

I discovered online clothing retailer Threadless in late 2006 and since then, it’s the only place that I’ve bought my T-shirts from. Since placing my first order on December 29, 2006, I’ve spent a total of $341.80 there. What can we learn from its success and why do I keep going back there? Here are ten reasons:

Threadless is all about community. Artists submit designs, which are then rated by other site members over a week. The best entries are picked by Threadless staff and are turned into actual clothing. Not only does getting your shirt printed give you money, but kudos in the community. Here’s the key factor though; because customers choose the best shirts before they’re on sale, the designs that get through are almost certain to sell out. It’s a fantastically self-referential concept and one that keeps the quality extremely high. Getting your customers to do your quality assurance for you is pure genius.

High incentives attract talented artists. If your design gets selected for print, you get $2,000 in cash, $500 Threadless Gift Certificate (can be redeemed for $200 cash), $500 in cash each time your design is reprinted, up to $10,000 more if you win a “Bestee” in the Threadless Awards and Alumni Club membership.

RSS feeds are used very effectively to update community members and customers. The weekly feed (right) is kept extremely simple, allowing you to browse through without actually visiting the site.

Easily anticipated updates keep people coming back every week. New designs come out every Monday and because of this strict schedule, Threadless members begin to associate that day with the site. Even if people aren’t on there often they’re probably going to return on a Monday.

Affordability is a huge draw for me. Even though my shirts are flown all the way across the Atlantic, they’re still the same price or cheaper than going into a shop here and buying one. If you wanted to get an equivalent product from a normal shop in the UK, you’d expect to pay at least double what Threadless offer them for.

Designs are of a very high quality and there are plenty of them. If you can’t find something you like on Threadless, then you’re really not trying hard enough. When I wear a Threadless shirt, a lot of the time people will compliment me on it and ask where I got it. ‘High Street’ retailers don’t stock anything nearly as humourous or artistically unique as the Threadless shirts.

Limiting production adds a huge amount of value to shirts. I don’t want to look like everyone else or buy the same clothes that Average Joe has. When you get a Threadless shirt, you know that you’re one of a few thousand owners around the world and that you’re highly unlikely to ever see it on anyone else.

Excellent web design makes Threadless extremely easy to use. Not only does the site look fantastic, but it includes features which make buying shirts a breeze. For instance, you can view the catalogue by size, so you only see items that are available and that will fit you.

Street Team points encourage loyalty and community. If you submit a picture of yourself wearing a shirt, you get $1.50 credit and if you refer a friend who then buys a shirt then you get $3.00. The more shirts you buy, the more points you accumulate. I think I’ve even bought a shirt which only cost me the shipping because I had so many points.

Shipping internationally greatly increases Threadless’ potential customer base. The cost of postage is a little expensive, but I’ve never had a shirt go missing and they’ve always turned up in good condition.

So there you go, Threadless dissected for your pleasure. It’s one of the few retailers I’ve seen take full advantage of the power of community and their success is something we can all learn from.