Name: ______________________ Date: __________ Station: ______
Lesson 5.12, two days. Day 1 is pages 1 and 2. Day 2 is pages 3 to 5. Every price on this handout is a realistic 2026 figure written for class, marked, and not a real store's price today.
Word bank: price, quality, shipping, return, size, seam, stitch, label
Turkish: fiyat, kalite, kargo, iade, beden, dikiş yeri, dikiş, etiket
Portuguese: preço, qualidade, frete, devolução, tamanho, costura, ponto, etiqueta
Spanish: precio, calidad, envío, devolución, talla, costura, puntada, etiqueta
Page 1. Day 1: the four kinds of places you can buy clothes
Fill one box for each kind of place. One advantage, one risk.
| Kind of place | One advantage | One risk |
|---|---|---|
| Discount store (big box, everyday low price) | ||
| Mall brand store (a brand with its own store) | ||
| Secondhand shop (thrift, consignment, resale) | ||
| Online marketplace (a listing from a seller you do not know) |
Page 2. Day 1: the four quality checks
Run all four checks on the sweatshirt at your station. Write what you find. Check the box if the answer is a good one.
| Check | How you do it | Garment ___ : what you found | Good? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Seam strength | Hold the fabric on both sides of a seam and pull gently sideways. Look for gaps, loose thread, or the seam opening. | ☐ | |
| 2. Fabric weight | Hold it up to the light against a white card. Heavier fabric blocks more light. Feel the weight in your hand. | ☐ | |
| 3. Stitch density | Lay the ruler on a seam and count the stitches in one inch. 8 is low. 10 to 12 holds. | ______ stitches per inch | ☐ |
| 4. The label | Read it. Fiber content percentages? Care instructions? Country? Is there a brand label at all? | ☐ |
My guess at the price of garment ___ : $__________
The real price: $__________ Vendor type: ______________________
Was I close? ______ What surprised me: ________________________________
Hidden costs of buying online
Build the landed cost from the packing slip the teacher passes around.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Listed price | $__________ |
| Shipping | $__________ |
| Sales tax | $__________ |
| What you actually paid | $__________ |
| If it does not fit: return shipping | $__________ |
| Days you waited | __________ days |
The five hidden costs: shipping, return shipping, a restocking or return fee, sizing risk (you cannot try it on), and time.
The hidden cost I think matters most is ______________________ because ________________________________
Page 3. Day 2: the price and spec sheet, eight items
All eight are plain pullover hooded sweatshirts unless the notes say otherwise. Prices marked.
| # | Vendor type | Price | Extra cost | Fiber content | Fabric weight | Seams | Stitches per inch | Care label | Sizes available | Returns | Delivery | Notes from the tag or the listing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Discount store | $12.99 | none | 60% cotton, 40% polyester | 7.5 oz | Single-needle throughout | 8 | Machine wash cold, tumble dry low, do not bleach | S, M, L, XL | 30 days in store, free | Today | Thin. Flat cord drawstring. Cuffs have no stretch fiber. |
| B | Discount store, two-pack | $19.99 for two ($10.00 each) | none | 50% cotton, 50% polyester | 7 oz | Single-needle throughout | 7 | Machine wash warm, tumble dry low | Youth M, Youth L only | 30 days in store, free | Today | Sold only as a two-pack. Youth sizes. |
| C | Mall brand | $44.95 | none | 80% cotton, 20% polyester | 9 oz | Double-needle at shoulders and armholes | 11 | Machine wash warm, do not bleach, tumble dry low | XS to XXL | Free in store, any time | Today | Ribbed cuffs with 5% spandex. Metal eyelets. Logo on chest. |
| D | Mall brand, heavyweight | $69.00 | none | 100% cotton | 12 oz | Double-needle throughout | 12 | Machine wash cold inside out, tumble dry low | XS to XXL | Free in store, any time | Today | Bar tacks at both pocket corners. Metal-tipped drawstring. Heaviest fabric on this sheet. |
| E | Secondhand shop | $6.50 | none | Label reads 80% cotton, 20% polyester | Feels about 9 oz | Double-needle at shoulders | 10 | Label faded, care instructions unreadable | Size L only, one item | None. Sold as-is. | Today | Cuffs are pilled. Drawstring is missing. Small ink mark on the left cuff. Brand label faded. |
| F | Secondhand shop | $8.00 | none | 100% cotton | Feels about 11 oz | Double-needle throughout | 11 | Machine wash cold, tumble dry low | Size M only, one item | None. Sold as-is. | Today | No visible wear. Brand label cut out. Drawstring present. |
| G | Online marketplace | $9.99 | Shipping $6.99. Return shipping $5.95 paid by buyer. | "Cotton blend," no percentages given | Not listed | Not visible in the photos | Not listed | Not shown in the listing | S to XXL by size chart only | 14 days, buyer pays return shipping | 12 to 20 days | 3.6 stars from 812 reviews. Reviews say "runs small" and "thinner than expected." |
| H | Online marketplace, printed cropped style in this season's color | $24.99 | Shipping $4.99 (free over $35). Return shipping $5.95 paid by buyer. | 60% cotton, 40% polyester | 8 oz | Single-needle throughout | 9 | Machine wash cold, do not iron the print | XS to L by size chart | 14 days, buyer pays return shipping | 5 to 8 days | Listing says the printed graphic "may crack after washing." The style is what is popular right now. |
Screen the items against your buyer
| # | Can it work for my buyer? | If no, which limit does it break? (money, time, size) | Total my buyer pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | |||
| B | |||
| C | |||
| D | |||
| E | |||
| F | |||
| G | |||
| H |
Page 4. Day 2: the three buyer cards
Your station gets one card. Read it out loud. Underline the three limits: money, time, and size.
Buyer Card 1: Ana, one sweatshirt to last two winters
Ana is in seventh grade. She walks to school, about fifteen minutes each way. She wants one sweatshirt she can wear four or five days a week from October through March, for two years. She washes it about once a week.
- Money: she has $50 saved and she would rather not spend all of it.
- Time: no deadline, but she wants it before the weather turns.
- Size: adult M. She has stopped growing quickly.
- Other: nobody in her house can drive to a store to make a return, and she does not want to pay return shipping.
- What she cares about most: that it still looks and feels good in the second winter.
Buyer Card 2: The Okonkwo family, buying for three kids
Three kids, ages 7, 10, and 13. All three need a sweatshirt. The cold week starts next Monday.
- Money: $60 total for all three.
- Time: they need all three by Monday, which is five days from today.
- Sizes: Youth M (age 7), Youth L (age 10), adult S (age 13).
- Other: the 7-year-old will grow out of anything within about a year. The 13-year-old cares what it looks like. Whoever shops has a car and can return things in person.
- What they care about most: three sweatshirts, on three kids, by Monday, without going over $60.
Buyer Card 3: Dev, a specific look for one event
Dev is in eighth grade and is performing in the school talent show in three weeks. He wants the printed cropped style in this season's color, the one everybody is wearing right now, for the show. He will probably wear it a few more times after.
- Money: $30.
- Time: three weeks, but he wants to try it on and be sure at least a few days before.
- Size: S.
- Other: the look matters more to him than the fabric weight. He knows it will not last for years and he is fine with that.
- What he cares about most: that it is the right style and color, and that it arrives in time to be sure.
- * *
Page 5. Day 2: the recommendation poster and the defense
Copy this onto the chart paper. Everybody at the station signs it.
Our buyer is: ______________________
We recommend item: ______
Total our buyer pays, including shipping and tax: $__________
Quality reason 1: ________________________________________________
Quality reason 2: ________________________________________________
One hidden cost we accepted or avoided: ________________________________________________
Second-best item and why it lost: ________________________________________________
Signed: ______________________________________________________
Sentence frames
- We recommend item ___ for ___ because ___.
- The total is $___ , which is under the buyer's limit of $___ .
- Item ___ has ___ stitches per inch and ___ seams, which means ___.
- We avoided the hidden cost of ___ by ___.
- Item ___ lost because ___.
Questions we will ask the other stations
Write one question for each of the other two stations before they present.
Station ___ : ________________________________________________
Station ___ : ________________________________________________
Closing line
The item I recommended was ______. If my buyer had twice the money, I would have said ______ instead, because ________________________________.