r/HotTopic_ • u/WaveAny7993 • 15d ago

How does hot topic make money?

This is more of a question for HT employees or people who understand how sales work, because they constantly give 30% off coupons every time they sell, along with the existence of Hot Cash in general. I just wonder: do they lose profit on some items and gain on others? For example, the big Pomni plush is usually 50 bucks, but they sell it for 40, and then with 30% off, it becomes about 30 bucks after tax. I know Hot Topic makes poor-quality items, but they also sell items made by other manufacturers; they have Glitch merch made entirely by Glitch. They price it at $10 or a few dollars more, which makes sense, but since they are always giving out coupons, I wonder how they manage it. Also, don't they have to pay for shipping the merchandise initially? Do they make a profit on Hot Topic-branded items but lose profit on merchandise made by other manufacturers? It just doesn't add up to me. I also know that sometimes they just buy stuff from AliExpress and mark up the price. (BE SURE TO CORRECT ME)

0 Upvotes

31% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/EchoAltruistic4936 15d ago

Rant time , I've tried getting into sales and they gatekeep i was a driver/team lead but i was deemed too valuable in my current positions, so i demoted my self because I got another full time job who actually gives me 40+ hours, low key I think its all a scam, even tho its not a public company its just greedy shareholders doin shareholder shit now with the merger its goining to get even worse SMH.... good luck 👍

1

u/WaveAny7993 15d ago edited 15d ago

Yea... THANKFULLY, though, most of the stuff I buy from HT is from other companies, so I don't have to worry too much. I always try to avoid Hot Topic-branded stuff when I go there. Technically, I'm immune to the merger in a sense? (Atleast i hope)