Occasionally a prospective customer will tell me that they never pay for logo embroidery. I can assure you they have, whether it was a line item on their invoice or not. 

First, there is a cost to produce the product, whether it be shirts, towels, or even golf bags. Post manufacturing, embroidery is added.  Therefore the cost to produce a shirt with embroidery costs more than just a shirt. Some companies build the embroidery cost into the product cost, and some don’t.

At CEOgolfshop, we don’t include the cost in our prices. It’s always a separate line item.  We have customers who sometimes need blanks as well as logo embroidered items. Why should they pay extra for blanks?   Additionally, the price may vary. For example, the cost to logo a shirt is much less than for a golf bag or luggage. Our embroidery charges always reflect the actual cost.

Here’s another way to save. Look at our process for shirts.

Advance ordering process:

1.   Manufacture

2.   remove wrinkles

3.   add tissue

4.   fold

5.   polybag

6.   carton and ship.

On-demand orders:

1.   Manufacture

2.   remove wrinkles

3.   add tissue

4.   fold

5.   polybag

6.   carton and ship to USA warehouse

7.   Pull customer order from inventory

8.   Remove from polybag

9.   Add logo embroidery

10.                 remove wrinkles

11.                 add tissue

12.                 fold

13.                 polybag

14.                 carton and ship to client

Please note, not everyone follows all these steps above. Before buying, always ask how your shirts will be delivered. Sometimes the price is right, but the shirts just arrive thrown in a box after the embroidery, resulting in massive wrinkles and zero organization for distribution. CEOgolfshop ALWAYS delivers product ready for distribution to the end user, not needing ironing or packing. 

Obviously, there are cost savings if you advance order. Requirements for advance orders vary from 6 weeks to 120 days depending on the product and quantity. Whether you advance order or not, our quality is always impeccable. 

I’m often asked ” which logo golf balls should I buy?”.  If you are a golfer, the question is easy. But if you are in marketing, and don’t golf, it’s much tougher. All the big brands make good golf balls. 

By brand preference, I’d suggest; 

1. Titleist

2. Nike

3. Callaway

Our top sellers in order are: 

1. Titleist Pro V1

2. Titleist NXT Extreme

3. Titleist NXT

Here are some tips: 

For lower cost tournaments, under $150 per person, choose a ball for an average player.  Usually this is a Titleist NXT golf ball. The Titleist DT solo is popular at breast cancer tournaments, though we’ve never had a request for them. 

For higher cost tournaments, which usually attract lower handicap players, and players who spend more money on their golf gear, the Nike One Platinum is a great alternative when you don’t want to go with the traditional Pro V1 logo balls, want to save a few bucks, or just to take advantage of promotions. I also recommend the Titleist NXT EXTREME LOGO golf balls. It’s a mid-priced ball, and a lot of players may not have tried it. Let’s face it, golf balls get lost, so this may be a good value, and the recipient will definitely appreciate the gift, even if it’s not a Pro V1. 

You may notice that I’ve recommended mostly Titleist. We don’t make more money on them. They are simply the most widely respected to the largest audience. So while some players may love Bridgestone, Precept or Nike, on average, it’s easiest to please the most people with Titleist. If you’d like an equivalent ball, we’re happy to recommend other brands that offer equal or better value. 

Are people buying complete outfits for golf only or are they buying golf clothes that they can wear for every day casual too?

I think the trend for men is to buy clothes that crossover for almost everything. Then a few select pieces in the wardrobe are golf only. For the ladies, almost everything has been golf only, with some golf clothes that crossover to casual sportswear. The complete opposite. I think we’ll see a more balanced wardrobe for ladies in the future where maybe half of their golf clothes are now worn for other activities.

This is an important trend in the industry because the manufacturer that meets the demand best will have bigger marketshare in a declining economy.

Bugatchi Uomo has done a tremendous job of offering both types of apparel. They are the king of sportswear in my opinion because you can find the unusual and you can also buy the classics. It’s easier to expand your clothes within the brand than it is to go out and try all different brands, each with different fits.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… C: wait… SD: wait…

CEOgolfshop.com is committed to offering videos to help shoppers in a variety of areas. Admittedly, the first few videos are a bit rough, but improvements will come quickly. For now, they get their point across and deliver valuable buyer information.

The goal was to get a few done quickly without getting bogged down in creative nuances and we anticipate the realism will be helpful.  Videos will answer common questions from customers as well as demonstrate products. 

Our first videos: 

Bugatchi ribbed shirts- All fabrics are not alike- yucky pilling on expensive shirt made of the same fabric as Bugatchi. 

Bugatchi Women shorts CEOgolfshop shows the fit and function of VL901 shorts by Bugatchi Women. 

Bugatchi Men’s ribbed shirts - crew neck, mock neck PF1643 and ACF1643 comparison and comments.  

Q: We need white logo shirts for an event with the logo on the left sleeve. What do you recommend for 75+ shirts?

A: Consider these three options based budget and on the who your recipients are:

Red Rock Polo Shirt- 100% Pima Cotton Interlock, Short Sleeve. This is our own private label shirt and is far better than the typical shirts offered by promotional products companies. They are made in the same plant as other pricier brands.  Choose for tight budgets and when you have a cross mix of recipients ie sales, support staff, etc. It’s considered a mid-tier employee shirt.  However, t’s also given out at events with senior executive staff and they like it too. Priced at $26.50 each with logo.

Bugatchi Uomo Polo Shirt- (color- White & Asperine. 1525F57) 100% Egyptian cotton, double mercerized. This is a very light, very soft cotton and in white is somewhat see-through. For golf tournaments with executives this is a favorite. Alternatively, Fairway & Greene also has a mercerized polo, with a bit heavier cotton, though still lightweight. Priced at $42.50 each with logo. Call for specific quantity discounts.

Bugatchi Uomo Ribbed Shirt-  65% modal rayon, 35% polyester, sku 1643F57, 1643F50. This microfiber shirt is nice for both on and off the course. The ultimate in luxury feel is also a perfect look worn under your sport coat. As a golf shirt you’ll really like the way fabric breathes. If it gets wet, it quickly dries and still looks fresh. This shirt wears extremely well and looks like new over time. For golf tournaments with executives this is a favorite. Alternatively, Bugatchi has the same fabric in a CREW NECK. A lot of senior executives prefer the crew neck so we recommend you check with a few of the probably recipients to see what they wear.  Priced at $56.50 each with logo.

All of these short sleeve shirts are very soft, and stay that way wash after wash, without pilling or fading (if colored shirt). The collars don’t get all out of shape, though the Ribbed shirt will hold the original shape the best. Call for specific quantity discounts. We’ve included the dollar estimates above to help guide you to a budgeting decision, though prices may vary over time and by quantity ordered.

Club Glove recently requested we offer their products to our customers. We will be adding a few top products to our ecommerce store immediately.

The entire line of products is available and we’re thrilled we finally have quality products to fill the void since the last leather golf bag was discontinued by one of our other suppliers.  Every bag can be customized with your company branding or other personalization. Club Glove Golf Bags in our store.

Nearly every Touring Golf Professional in the U.S. carries their clubs in a Club Glove travel bag.

All Club Glove travel bags and luggage are manufactured in the U.S.A. and constructed from Invista Cordura. Invista Cordura is actually three times stronger than similar nylon fabrics in the market. Though considerably more expensive, it has been a key ingredient to the durability and success of the company’s products.

There is a great business article on Free Shipping at shop.org. It’s something we’ve been grappling with over the last year. Everyone knows there is a high cost of shipping since they are paying at the pump higher prices than ever. Our lowest cost to ship is now about $15, regardless of what we charge customers.

We recently changed our return policy. But think about the impact. We pay to get product from the manufacturer warehouse to us. Then we ship to the customer. If something comes back, we pay to ship it a second time. That’s up to $45 in shipping costs on a consumer order, depending on the initial volume/cost from the mfr warehouse. if the product is defective, we also pay to return the product to the warehouse from our corporate offices, since it may not be OK for individuals to ship anything direct to a manufacturer, and the shipping expenses on a minimum $200 now rise up to $60! If the customer orders the minimum $200, about 25% goes just to shipping.

What do you think? What is the most important factor for you to purchase at CEOgolfshop.com vs another online store?
- Free shipping promotions.
- Product selections.
- Great customer service.
- Whoever has the lowest price, including shipping.
- Whoever has the lowest price, I don’t look at shipping unless it seems unreasonable.

NATIONAL RETAIL FOUNDATION (NRF) Foresees Challenging Holiday Season, Forecasts Meager Sales Gains of 2.2 Percent
–NRF/BIGresearch to Unveil New Consumer Survey Info at 1 p.m. Media Briefing–

Washington, September 23, 2008 — The National Retail Federation today released its forecast for the upcoming 2008 holiday season, projecting that sales will rise 2.2 percent this year to $470.4 billion.* This gain would fall well below the ten-year average of 4.4 percent holiday sales growth and would represent the slowest growth since 2002, when holiday sales rose 1.3 percent.

“Current financial pressures and a lack of confidence in the economy will force shoppers to be very conservative with their holiday spending,” said NRF Chief Economist Rosalind Wells. “We expect consumers to be frugal this season and less willing to splurge on discretionary items.”

A number of economic indicators point to a challenging holiday for retailers. A struggling housing market and rising unemployment accompanied by meager income gains will continue to hamper the consumer throughout the season. Food and energy costs will remain high. With the current financial industry crisis continuing to chip away at consumer confidence, NRF does not foresee an economic turnaround until the second half of next year.

The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry’s key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.6 million U.S. retail companies, more than 25 million employees - about one in five American workers - and 2007 sales of $4.5 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents over 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com

Contact: Kathy Grannis (202) 626-8189
Holiday Headquarters: www.nrf.com/holidayhq

With the July/August issue, Golf For Women ceased publication and more recently, its web site was incorporated into golfdigest.com. While editors cited a tough economic market, most women found it difficult to understand the failure. The only common agreement in the closing forums was that apparel advertisers were pretty off base with their $1000 outfits, not a typical investment for the average golfer.

Will Golf Digest fill the void? I’ve been receiving it for free for quite a while and I’ve been thinking I’d rather save the trees. Other than the recent addition of an Annika column, it’s missing the appeal of the women’s interest stories and women specific tips. The reaction among women has been overwhelmingly negative and I think we’ll see the emergence a dominant internet site that attempts to fill the void. Why would any advertiser for women’s products want to pay $45,000 for ads in a magazine subscribed to largely by men?

The LPGA announced it will require players to speak English starting in 2009, with players who have been LPGA members for two years facing suspension if they can’t pass an oral evaluation of English skills. There are 121 LPGA Tour international players, 20% of the total which includes 45 from South Korea, and 26 countries overall. After a huge backlash, about national origin discrimination, The LPGA withdrew the requirement.

In both of these cases, you have to wonder, how well did they think this through? Did they talk to the people it would affect and ask for their input? Was there another solution that would have resulted in greater unity and acceptance?

Just like getting out to vote, it’s important to get involved. If you see room for improvement at your golf club or favorite charity tournament- volunteer to help! You may be helping to prevent changes you never wanted.

Christine Speedy is CEO of CEOgolfshop.com and an Executive Women’s Golf Assn. member.