FAQ
The questions asked on a first call, each answered in a sentence or two.
ReviewedThe deal
What does it cost?
Nothing up front. There is no fee, no retainer and no minimum order, and we are paid only from the profit we make.
What is the split?
A share of the profit while we run the range. It is put in writing before you sign, and it moves your way as you grow; for the figures, book a call.
Do you take equity, or rights in the name?
No. We take a share of the profit and no equity, and your name stays yours.
Who pays for the advertising?
We do. The media budget is written into the contract, with a cap and dates.
What happens if we stop working together?
You keep the store, the artwork, the supplier contacts and the filings. They sit in a runbook you own, which we update every month.
What you already have
We already sell merch. What happens to it?
It stays 100% yours. We add new products only.
Do we have to move our store?
No. We work inside the store you already run, added as a collaborator and never given your password. If you would rather have a separate store, we build one on your domain and pay for it.
We are under contract with another merch company. Can we still talk?
Yes. Tell us on the call whether a contract or an exclusivity is still running, and who owns the artwork.
The online store
Who holds the stock?
Online, nobody. Each order is printed after it is placed and posted straight to the buyer, so there is no stock for you to pay for or store.
Where is it printed, and where are the warehouses?
One print partner prints every online order in its own factories, and each order goes to the one nearest the buyer: US orders print in the US, EU orders in the EU. There is no warehouse of your stock. A tour is the exception: its run is printed ahead and travels with the dates.
What do we have to do?
Approve. Every design goes past you before it goes live, and for a tour you send the dates.
Who deals with customers and returns?
We do. Customer service, returns and chargebacks are our job, and returns come to us, not to you.
How are we paid?
Monthly, with a statement, and a live dashboard in between.
On tour
Who runs the merch table?
A vending partner, chosen to fit the tour’s routing and room sizes, staffs the table, runs the till and handles sales tax there. We supply the range and the stock, settle with the venue and send you one statement.
Who pays for the tour stock, and what if it does not sell?
We buy the run, sized from what the store has sold, and we carry the risk. What is left after the last date goes into the online store.
How far ahead do you need to start?
The tour run is printed six to eight weeks before the first date, and the artwork has to be approved before that. Send the first date as soon as you have it and we work back from there.
Do venues take a cut of merch sales?
Some do, and the rate differs from venue to venue, so tell us which rooms are booked and what each charges. The Featured Artists Coalition keeps a public directory of UK venues that charge no commission, and over 700 have signed up.
Filed or disclosedSource: Featured Artists Coalition, 100% Venues · checked
The first call
Do we need to be touring?
No. The store sells all year, with or without a tour. The table sells on the night, when there are dates.
How long is the call, and who is it with?
30 minutes, with Oliver Weisfeld, who founded Divini and takes every first call himself.
What should we bring?
Whatever you have of these six. None of it is needed to book.
- The tour
- Dates, territories, the number of shows, and the venues with their capacities.
- The audience
- Typical paid attendance, and a link to the store or past sales per show.
- Merch today
- Who designs it, prints it, sells it at shows and runs the store.
- The venues
- Which are booked, and what each charges on merch sales.
- The timeline
- The first show, or the first drop.
- The decision
- Who signs: the manager, the artist, the label or the business manager. And who should join the next call.
How quickly do you reply?
Within one working hour. A merch estimate follows within one working day.
Something else?
Book a call, or write to contact@divini.co.uk.