No matter how much branded merchandise you sell as an offshore racing team, you’ll never come close to covering your season costs. And that maxim holds true from the Pro Class 1 to Bracket 700 categories. It’s an expensive sport. Gear sales are not a pot of gold.
Still, something is better than nothing.
And teams that put in the effort required to stock and sell their branded-schwag, this some real money to be made.
How real?
According to Beau Renfroe, the owner new Super Cat-class world championship-winning Dirty Money Racing team, his outfit sold more than $55,000 worth of Dirty Money-branded stuff to fans during last week’s Race World Offshore Key West Championships. (As proof for this reporter, Renfroe even produced his online sales platform overall sales receipt)
“Do you know of any other team selling that much branded merchandise in Key West?” he asked
I did not and—based on the few teams I asked about their own gear sale totals from Key West—still don’t.
Of course, factors from the popularity/notoriety of a given team to its logos, colors and slogans play big role in gear sales. So, too, does the quality of the product, which is where fulfillment companies such as I.R. Designs and T/K Kustoms come into play. Sell crappy T-shirts and you’ll make crappy money.
Still, according to veteran offshore racer Ryan Beckley, the chairman of the American Power Boat Association Offshore Racing Commission, team schwag-sales were booming this year at the Outer Mole spectator area.
“From what I saw, everyone was selling,” Beckley said. “Team Allen, Say Less MF, Raymarine, Demon Bikini, Coco’s Monkey, which also sells the Super Stock owners group gear, Dirty Money—all of the had lines of people buying gear. The same went for the Race World Offshore gear tent.
“The place was packed all well,” he added.
As noted above, offshore racing merchandise sales are no pot of gold—and they demand significant effort to succeed. But for the teams that put in the work, they’re something.
And something is better than nothing.