u/DesertFalcon1204

Hi everyone,

I'm currently working on launching my first clothing brand. I have a strong vision for the brand, and I've already spent quite a bit of time designing the identity, building my own custom website from scratch (hosted on Vercel), creating the branding, and planning everything out.

The problem I'm facing now is manufacturing.

Because my starting capital is quite low, my original plan was to use Printify. I like the fact that there's no inventory risk, but after researching more, I'm starting to worry that it might not match the image I'm trying to build.

For example, someone visits my website, sees a premium-looking brand, then clicks "Buy" and gets redirected to a Printify Pop-Up Store or another external checkout. I'm worried that this could reduce customer confidence or make the brand feel less premium.

Another concern is the product itself. With Printify, I'm limited to blank garments and small print areas. My long-term goal is to create clothing that has its own identity, not just graphics printed on blank T-shirts.

So I'd really appreciate advice from people who have already been through this.

Here are a few questions I have:

• If you were starting today with a very limited budget, would you still choose Printify?
• Are there any better alternatives to Printify that are more suitable for building a premium clothing brand?
• Are there manufacturers that offer very low MOQs (around 10–30 pieces) while still producing good quality garments?
• Where do you usually look for manufacturers? (Alibaba, Made-in-China, Turkish manufacturers, Portugal, agents, etc.)
• Have you worked with any manufacturers you'd genuinely recommend?
• Does anyone know manufacturers that are willing to work with new brands or students?
• If you have any trusted contacts or factories you've worked with, I'd really appreciate any recommendations.
• At what point did you move away from Print-on-Demand and start manufacturing your own products?