Other Earning Opportunity Make Money With Print On Demand

[Annie Beau]

it seems to be very random the way they allocate who they accept and who they dont. In the FB group there were people who on applcation provided a link to redbubble shops, some got in some didnt, then someone with no experience ar all gets in...very much luck of the draw. Maybe you could apply again in your partners name with a diffrent email and a completely different approach.
I dont understand how they can let one person have seweral hundred/thousands of designs up at once , surely the more varied the spectrum of designs the better it is for the platform

 

[Paulstar808]

I'm currently T100 but had my account for nearly 4 years (Yes i know). I tend to upload in little flurry's when I get time. A few of my designs seem to be gaining traction now and are selling 1-2 shirts per month on a regular basis. Not massive but I've not gone after the super popular comepetive niches. So 1-2 sales per month on a shirt I'm happy with. Just need to get a few more of these. I've surpassed the 100+ sales to tier up but currently only 72 designs live so need to get my finger out.

 

[snowwhyte]

It's been a long time since i posted in this thread even though print on demand is my main source of online income. I thought i'd post an update since i had a burst of motivation and uploaded a bunch of new designs. If anyone was thinking of starting POD it's a really good time because with the new AI art creators you don't need to be a great artist or designer. I started using Midjourney and it's a lot of fun and i was inspired to create a lot of new designs. There might be issues with copyright and product saturation in the longterm but i've already seen my sales increase since i uploaded my new AI assisted designs.

 

[sianib]

It's been a long time since i posted in this thread even though print on demand is my main source of online income. I thought i'd post an update since i had a burst of motivation and uploaded a bunch of new designs. If anyone was thinking of starting POD it's a really good time because with the new AI art creators you don't need to be a great artist or designer. I started using Midjourney and it's a lot of fun and i was inspired to create a lot of new designs. There might be issues with copyright and product saturation in the longterm but i've already seen my sales increase since i uploaded my new AI assisted designs.

Well done you. Definitely something to think about.

 

[Nate999]

It's been a long time since i posted in this thread even though print on demand is my main source of online income. I thought i'd post an update since i had a burst of motivation and uploaded a bunch of new designs. If anyone was thinking of starting POD it's a really good time because with the new AI art creators you don't need to be a great artist or designer. I started using Midjourney and it's a lot of fun and i was inspired to create a lot of new designs. There might be issues with copyright and product saturation in the longterm but i've already seen my sales increase since i uploaded my new AI assisted designs.

Hi. Do you use Midjourney for a specific site/product? I heard some people spend ages rescaling/cleaning up Images after using it. Thanks!

 

[snowwhyte]

I've only uploaded them to Amazon Merch but I haven't been doing much work on POD this year since my laptop broke and I had difficulty replacing it. AI is improving rapidly but there are still issues with using it. The POD sites haven't updated their terms and conditions to exclude AI images but it's possible they will. There have been multiple rulings that AI images don't have copyright so unless you do significant edits to make them your original art people can steal your images and you'd have no recourse. It's a minefield but there is still opportunity in it. It's just a matter of learning how to use it and the best way to integrate it into your design workflow.

 

[Nate999]

I've only uploaded them to Amazon Merch but I haven't been doing much work on POD this year since my laptop broke and I had difficulty replacing it. AI is improving rapidly but there are still issues with using it. The POD sites haven't updated their terms and conditions to exclude AI images but it's possible they will. There have been multiple rulings that AI images don't have copyright so unless you do significant edits to make them your original art people can steal your images and you'd have no recourse. It's a minefield but there is still opportunity in it. It's just a matter of learning how to use it and the best way to integrate it into your design workflow.

OK. Thanks for the info!

 

[PJC]

I added some POD mugs to my Etsy store via inkthreadable, a breakdown of my sale costs:

Sale price: £10 inc postage
Etsy fees: £1.54
Inkthreadable fees: £7.83
Profit: 63p

 

[BreeziOG]

I added some POD mugs to my Etsy store via inkthreadable, a breakdown of my sale costs:

Sale price: £10 inc postage
Etsy fees: £1.54
Inkthreadable fees: £7.83
Profit: 63p

£10 including postage is too cheap. I know Etsy like to push you into offering free shipping, but it's not feasible for most small businesses.

People WILL pay the extra for postage! I sell stickers, and you'd be surprised how many people will buy a single sticker that ends up costing less than the international postage cost - they're more than happy to pay £2.50 shipping for a £2 sticker. Don't be afraid of upping your prices or charging for shipping - if people want it, they'll pay it.

 

[Annie Beau]

I added some POD mugs to my Etsy store via inkthreadable, a breakdown of my sale costs:

Sale price: £10 inc postage
Etsy fees: £1.54
Inkthreadable fees: £7.83
Profit: 63p

if i was buying a mug i would expect to pay a tenner plus postagee

 

[rich110991]

I added some POD mugs to my Etsy store via inkthreadable, a breakdown of my sale costs:

Sale price: £10 inc postage
Etsy fees: £1.54
Inkthreadable fees: £7.83
Profit: 63p

I’d make them £11.99 or £12.99 + £2.99 postage.

 

[homie]

I added some POD mugs to my Etsy store via inkthreadable, a breakdown of my sale costs:

Sale price: £10 inc postage
Etsy fees: £1.54
Inkthreadable fees: £7.83
Profit: 63p

Do you have to do anything for that 63p though, apart from list it? If its all automated and drop shipped then might as well leave it ticking away in the background. Maybe bump the price to £10.99 and see if they still sell. Every penny helps.

 

[snowwhyte]

Cartooning might lend itself to doing stickers. Redbubble has it's issues but some people make decent money selling stickers on there or you could find a sticker supplier and sell through Etsy. There's lots of options in print on demand if you have artistic/design skills.

 

[nate99]

Would love to do some puns and jokes on t-shirts etc. I've had a look at Michael Essek's stuff and it looks good but pricey.

But aside from that, thought it was a good idea to ask here. Soooo...

Best advice for a beginner?
Realistic time put in/amount of designs/goals/earnings?
Anyone to follow/books etc?
Best sites
Anything else I've missed?


Cheers!

 

[snowwhyte]

Would love to do some puns and jokes on t-shirts etc. I've had a look at Michael Essek's stuff and it looks good but pricey.

But aside from that, thought it was a good idea to ask here. Soooo...

Best advice for a beginner?
Realistic time put in/amount of designs/goals/earnings?
Anyone to follow/books etc?
Best sites
Anything else I've missed?


Cheers!

It depends where you're starting from. Do you have any design experience? Know how to use Photoshop or some design software? You don't need to have experience. I didn't know anything when I started but step one is probably learning how to create the designs.

 

[nate99]

It depends where you're starting from. Do you have any design experience? Know how to use Photoshop or some design software? You don't need to have experience. I didn't know anything when I started but step one is probably learning how to create the designs.

I've used Canva and Gimp a little bit. So I know some basic design stuff. I've heard people using Midjourney to good effect. Thanks

 

[snowwhyte]

Yeah, Midjourney is super cool and a lot of fun. Do you mainly want to do t-shirts? The starting point for that would normally be Amazon Merch if you can get in. Redbubble is also an option and they don't require you to apply for an account so lots of people start there. There have been lots of changes on Redbubble and they are struggling financially though so although I wouldn't totally discount it I don't recommend putting all your time and energy into it.

Do you use Discord? I could recommend you a Discord group for people who are using Midjourney for POD. They have people who are new to print on demand and just getting started with AI art.

 

[nate99]

I have an old Merch by Amazon account - never sold anything! - but it's still active. Is it advised to buy your own shirts to get out of tier 10?

I made two small sales on redbubble years ago spaced about 5 years apart! Only had about 10 simple designs up though.

Yeah the Discord link would be great, thanks!

 

[snowwhyte]

I bought a few items to get out of tier 10 when I first started Merch but I'm not sure that I recommend it now. The problem is that while you do need 10 sales and full slots it's still at Amazon's discretion whether they will tier you up. I know someone who had was tier 10, had 100's of sales and still waited a year to get tiered up out of T10. So it depends if you have the money to take the chance, knowing it still might not do anything.

If you already have an account though that's great. At least you don't have to worry about trying to get past their application process. I would review your listings, maybe swap out your designs for new ones and see what happens.

I'd also review your Redbubble store and check out the changes on that site. They introduced a tier system which was very unpopular with their designers. I know quite a lot of people aren't putting much work into Redbubble anymore because the fees have increased and their sales have dropped.

 

[PJC]

Do you have to do anything for that 63p though, apart from list it? If its all automated and drop shipped then might as well leave it ticking away in the background. Maybe bump the price to £10.99 and see if they still sell. Every penny helps.

I decided to bump up the price of all my other mugs by £1.50-£2 and then leave the one that is really selling at the same price. As you say, I'm not having to do anything for the 63p each time and my store is getting a good boost as a result.