I love the way you serve. You truly want to see everyone win, and have no real agenda, besides just being cool AF! I just want to tell you how much you're appreciated for the knowledge, coaching, support, community, and advice you so authentically share.
Started to realise going full POD was getting less and less achievable about 18 months ago, and I was not going to make it as a Jill, so I invested more into learning graphic design, website construction & branding. I have now built my own website for my graphic design business, and have just bought into Bricks page builder for WordPress to I can offer websites too. Having said that, I'll still be using POD as an integral part of the services I can now offer, so it's far from being a waste of my time. It's just that it is now more of a peripheral offering to my clients, as I've managed to evolve.
That's what I did. I stepped away and learned graphic design and I am now starting to use POD to complement my offerings. So, I will be selling printables and art. I've always wanted to design home goods. So I'm going to start with POD and learn to do things like rugs, shower curtains, and other home goods. And if I'm any good at it maybe I can grow from that. Congrats on your website building. When I can afford it, I will find you and get you to build mine🙂
Honestly, hands down the best and most brutally honest conversation about this industry. You managed to keep it real but also not make anyone feel absolutely defeated even if it's not the right path for them. Well done mate, well friggen done! BTW, I'm a Jack, but with a few roadblocks myself being based in South Africa. But it's not stopping me either, I can at least sell on Etsy and with Amazon starting operations here soon, I'm hoping they'll cut us some slack and allow us to use our bank accounts.
I am in between at the moment. I love your honesty and no filter content. I am still in the process of deciding which route to take. Thank you for this video.
Etsy deletes people’s accounts without ever explaining what they did wrong and gives them no option for appeal and often keeps their money for YEARS. You don’t own that business. They own your customer base and can take your livelihood overnight.
Etsy certainly has its issues. Most pod companies do and if it was up to me everyone would sell with Shopify and own their business but people can’t afford that starting out
Another misconception is that print on demand is your business. That's just the way you fulfill your orders, it's not your business. I see so many people who just make up some "cool" designs and don't understand why they aren't getting hundreds of sales. It's because you didn't create a business, you created some shirts without any business plan at all. Print on demand is just a way to manage inventory, it's not the core of your business. If your sales got big enough, you may choose to fulfill those orders in a different way to increase your margin. Print on demand is simply a tool, it's not your business.
i have to admit i don't fully understand what you mean here. I understand that you haven't physically created a product. But why isn't print on demand your business. You can create a brand, list items on shopify, and make tens of thousands of dollars. You could also sell your print on demand business... why cant you have created a business plan... i can tell you for a fact that my stores have detailed business plans, exit plans, etc
@@shimmymorris1 I see so many people that think they are in the print on demand business. The companies who actually print your items are in the print on demand business. If you are selling items to music lovers, then your business is selling items to music fans, not print on demand. PoD is a way to manage inventory. I have a non-profit. We had 2000 t-shirts printed. I did not use PoD because the costs were too high. I had a local printer silk screen the shirts front and back. Then I picked them up and ship them myself. This non-profit is NOT a PoD or silk screen business. Those are just two ways to buy and manage inventory. I see so many people that think putting up designs on a website is PoD. Nope. That's one way you can fulfill an order. It's not your business. I'm working on a business that will use PoD as a fulfillment option in the early days, but may transition to silk-screen for designs that prove popular to increase margins. Nothing has changed with starting a business. You still need a viable business plan. It doesn't have to be fancy, but on the reddit PoD groups so many don't understand how to start a business. They think PoD is their business. It's not. It's one of many ways to fulfill orders and manager inventory. Don't get my wrong, it's a great way to get started. But it's just a tool for your business to use, but it's not your business itself. As to the platforms, you've hit the nail on the head. The era of the platforms is about over. Ebay, Etsy, even Amazon Merch etc. can't figure out how to make money so they turn to taking it from sellers. That's why I am taking my time and building my own site. Don't have to worry about any of their BS, and it's mine once I've built it.
@@shimmymorris1 I get what he's saying. But I'm with you. If you do POD through Amazon or whatever then you don't have control, therefore it's not really "your business" But setting up on your own website and starting your own brand...that is "your business" That is why I am going that path. I am starting with a shopify website with my own label. It will take a while, but i know it will eventually grow. I will have a full on ecommerce business, not just POD. So when are you going to start showing us how you are building yours with shopify? You said you were going to do that. I'm still waiting...😁 🤣🤣🤣 oh! and BTW I love your sense of humor, don't try to hide it, it's great!
It is such a breath of fresh air to not only find a UK based POD entrepreneur speaking from years of experience and having made it, but someone who is willing to share realism vs fantasy and getting wrapped up with other content who make it seem an overnight success. No truth, just views and likes and miss-selling or leading to those who want to make and earn from a honest business or hobby. Thank you for sharing, keeping videos short, sweet with golden nuggets and helping those achieving goals, experience and knowledge.
I started out as Jill but realized that I need to be Jack right now. I think I should've started out as Jack the whole time. I might go back to being Jill but I don't want the stress. I have a job but I enjoy designing and putting it on apparel. Good Video!
THANK YOU! for saying what I've been thinking for a while. So many on here say it's so easy, and with any business, it's really hard work to be successful. I appreciate your honesty and explaining the hobby vs. business idea.
Hello, my name is Jill. 😉 I’ve gotten into POD to help supplement my husband’s & mine retirement in 6 years. Still no organic sales but that’s what happens when you’re better at graphics than marketing. 😊 Forced to go the Amazon Seller’s route. Finally found a vid that shows you how to properly add items so I’m finally pushing off from the shore. Thanks for your vids!
Thanks so much, Shimmy! I appreciate you. I'm currently a Jill in a Jack suit. I want what Jill has, but I'm questioning my ability to get it. I WANT to do this, it brings me joy and I kinda need it too. I'm going to go back over your videos and try to sort it all out. Thanks again. 😅
Great video. I have tried all of the platforms you talked about except eBay and arbitrage, and at this point, I am settling back on Shopify. At least it's a biz that can be sold if successful. I have had a brick and mortar business for 25 years and then as a print broker business for the past 20 years. I have also been in ecom for 10 years trying different side hustles. Can really relate to this video.
Going the Shopify route. At this point… it’s about the attempt and consistency. I will succeed, with all these tip and best practices… I’m sure something positive will come out
I know someone who has a great job but lots of free time. He started cleaning business and uses a pressure washer to clean home exteriors and paving stones. He just figured it out. People with money don't do it themselves... they pay others to do it for them... and they pay well.
In POD, it is printing companies, who make most profit. Probably, it was more appealing and profitable, with less competition about 3-5 years ago... Now the printing companies are happy to offer 1$/Euro royalty per item sold...pathetic. It is like in an old Bricktop's saying: - "If I throw a dog a bone, I don't want to know if it tastes good or not"-
I don’t recommend using any printing company that has $1 royalties. Whilst I agree the printing company is making a lot of money. That doesn’t mean you can’t. Recently in my shop my profit per sale has been around $19… there’s still a lot to be made in the business if done right.
Thanks for making this video. I agree with your words of wisdom at the end. Sometimes something could be great and works out for others but it simply doesn't for you. I'm Jack. I did my research and enjoy creating some designs, I just want to see how far it goes. Just wanted to tell you though, that it's not about the kind of work you do, it's about your mentality and what you want. You can be a designer, an engineer, an accountant or whatever, all jobs are challenging, and at some point it becomes a quest to achieve and it's not following your passion anymore. because they stop being as easy as they were when you did them for fun. What differs is the environment, do you want a boss?, or do you want freedom, how much do you want to deal with people and cater to their orders, what do you want your work environment to be like. It doesn't matter if it's pod or anything else what matters is the level of freedom you want. So yeah don't be afraid to leave an over saturated market or something you find is too hard. find something you excel in and can easily do, but with the conditions you want.
This is an eye-opener Shimmy, thank you. I was trying to be Jill, maybe I'm Jack or is it jack-of-all-trades and doing neither. Oh well, never mind digital products are my Jill at present. I like your humour, keep it up.
One thing I’ll add to what you say in this video, is that even if you can’t afford Facebook ads, you can still put in the work, build your portfolio, while you’re working on saving that money. There’s no real reason to put off the hard work, whether you have the money for ads or not. You’ll wish you’d done all that graphic designing earlier, if you wait til you have the money to support your he business model
Thank you Shimmy so much for this video. You have saved me a lot of wasted time and effort. I’m now planning on going down the Etsy and Teemill or Shopify route. I’m a Jack by the way and one of your Skillshare students.
Thanks for the honest information, very useful for beginners like me. And is there any advice for beginners on how much to charge or how much money to deposit with a print on demand provider (printify/printfull or others). And maybe if there can be a discussion about this, which I see no one has ever discussed in detail. thanks again
Figuring out what to charge will be based on research unless you’re creating a Shopify store in which case there is no competition. I charge $26.99-$31.99 for T-shirts. Why would you be depositing any money with a printing provider. You only pay when a sale comes through
I really needed to hear this, I liked your opinion and I'm gonna give it a try. I also really like the way you said that everyone should have the equal Opportunities but maybe our world right now is not at that level... So, for now, making use of what is available to us is the right option and the only option.
The one issue with Amazon Merch is that getting accepted is luck of draw and you can only apply once. Getting an Amazon Sellers accont is another option but the cost is 39.99$ per month.
How much capital do you need to start a POD with printify? Asking because you have to pay printify up front for each order right? If a product takes off how much money should you have in your account without being worried? Also im just finding this on youtube in the last few weeks. Ive watched a lot of youtubers. Lots of different advice out there. I just want a side hustle for some extra money thats fun that I can do from home. I guess that makes me more of a Jill than a Jack.
For now I'm a Jack while I'm developing skills, settling on a style, and building a catalog. I'm fortunate to have a career that is my main thing while I see what I can do with POD.
I am making sales each month on my RB shop and actually love designing/marketing. Since they started charging us on our profits I make less. I am trying to get freelance design work and sell a bit in local stores but I would be a better inheritance person! Getting clients/customers or a simple job is difficult!!!🤑
Yes that’s true. Getting clients is hard! That’s amazing you’re getting sales with RB. Have you tried other platforms that’ll have much higher margins?
@@shimmymorris1 I am on other platforms such as TeePublic and others but I find it difficult to manage so many at the same time. I mostly get sale from RB. I do have a FB & IG Biz account and design/upload/market daily. I am a Professi9nal Graphic Designer so it's easy for me. I study so many YT videos such as yours & others and learned almost everything about POD. I don't know. I have almost 3000 designs and am Branding myself but still difficult. Hope to apply to Amazon KDP next.
You should call them Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 😀 Now seriously, if you want to be Mr. Hyde, you have to think of it as a gamble. Because you need to set a monthly budget for marketing, and sometimes you might be successful with it, but other times it'll be a complete disaster!
I don't think marketing is a gamble. It's a test. You are trying out things to see what works best with your niche and designs. :D Thanks for watching and commenting. I actually have no idea why I said Jack and Jill haha
still need to find out if I am Jill 🙂 looking into POD since last year and almost moving into it... in addition to YTA, which is super slow in my case.... super very mega nice video 🙂 you've got a new subs
I started etsy 14 months ago and doing about 7-10 sales perday, but id like to see that number double by the end of this year, its so much work and people say its passive income, its not, bc of constant customer service and it cost money. I hope to increase my sales
That is awesome. I have 8 sales in 3 years, lol. I did just revamp my store, but I think I have learned the final piece of the puzzle...research first...that Im going to start an entirely new store with different more profitable products.
Well done! That’s awesome to hear! It’s definitely not passive income! I can’t stand it when people say that. There’s sooo much work. Only after getting hundreds of sales and ranking higher in the search results does it become slightly more passive. But never fully passive
I'm a Jack truly wanting to learn to be Jill. I started in POD on Spreadshirt and Redbubble initially, and managed to sell on both. But I canceled my Redbubble account after the recent changes. What still holds me back from being Jill is that I have 4 designs that always sell, and I don't have hundreds of designs, so I think if it were 40/50 I could have a nice extra income. I also managed to upload designs on Merch but haven't made any sales there. I applied for approval on Etsy to learn about niches, and I wanted to try sponsoring my prints on other platforms and shops.
I keep holding out on Amazon because of how hard it is to get accepted. I don’t want to burn a Shop Name, Email Address and Phone Number if I’m rejected. I’m told that you can’t reapply with the same information and I don’t want to keep creating Names and Emails, or changing my phone Number every time I apply. So I’m trying to build up my Etsy Shop (which is getting its Star Seller badge at the end of the month) and build up my social media so it looks more enticing and show more earning potential when I do apply to Amazon, in hopes that it’ll help me get accepted easier.
@@shimmymorris1 Thank you! For that AND the information you provide! On that note, do you have a video on how far out we should start focusing on designing and uploading for each holiday? I usually kick designing into high gear 4-5 months before each holiday and upload 2-3 months prior. Excluding Christmas, which I’m going to try to keep most of them up year round. Does this sound like a typical or sound strategy?
Ebay's fees are also high and getting higher. They now expect you to pay their fees AND advertise yourself. Amazon might work, but their algorithms will essentially steal your designs if you sell at all. Opening your own store is about the only option.
Thanks, I appreciate the vid. Would you still say target the big merchs - Ebay/Etsy, if RUclips is your platform that has links to a print on demand site?
Funnily enough, 3 sales a day at a profit of $/€20 per sale would quite easily replace most 9-to-5s in my country. Our minimum wage just this year got raised to €700. The average is around €1K-€1,2K. €20*3*31 (assuming 3 sales every day per month), that's almost triple our minimum wage. $3K-5K p/m income here would classify you as rich.
Question, why is the "build your own website" option always Shopify? I'm a WordPress developer by trade and I wonder why when I watch these videos it always has to be Shopify?
Great info Shimmy... I am curious to know your thoughts on selling POD on Amazon in the near future. Amazon has started using there own brand to sell items that other Amazon sellers are selling. With the newer A.I. tools and apps, I could see Amazon having an A.I. app that allows customers to answer a few questions and have the design they want. Amazon is still doing the samething of printing and shipping the item like today, but now with an A.I. app they don't need us Merch sellers.
Yes I’ve heard about this idea and it is very scary. Just asking a.i to make something. I don’t think a.i is there, but also what I’ve found with print on demand is customers don’t know what they want until they see it. A customer might not be creative and have T-shirt ideas, they might just be browsing and come across your T-shirt that they like and then buy… that’s what I feel might happen
They've suspended my eBay account after I was submitted my five first POD products, they've told me that my store makes a risk to eBay community, I was a little stressed, so I asked them to cloture my account definitely, I resign, not get fired.
@@shimmymorris1 I contacted them but to no avail. They said that their decision was final and my account will not be reinstalled. Note that my designs comply with the content policy and have been approved on Amazon Merch and Etsy. I don't understand what they are planning.
I subscribed from a different account to help you out! Do you have any sense of where Spoonflower fit in this landscape (if you can create seamless patterns - I can)? I have an Etsy printables shop but struggling to make sales.
I created quite a few of what I considered good designs on Spoonflower. NOT A SINGLE SALE. It’s been about a year since I started that and I gave up adding to the designs about 4 months ago. One problem with the site that prohibited growth of designs for me was the fact that you have to buy at least one sample of EACH design before you can sell it. After not seeing any sales it got VERY disheartening.
Wow thank you!! I haven’t used spoonflower much so it’s hard to comment but it looks and sounds like all the other tier 2 pod companies. I just don’t think they’ll ever make anyone decent returns
@@goilo888 Yeah, that part about buying the samples turned me off. You can make really good seamless patterns with AI. You just have to upscale them. Can sell them as digital downloads. I don’t do it cuz you need collections of listings to compete with others who do this and there are many. But AI does a good job with this.
Thanks for the reality check. It's easy to get infatuated with the POD idea especially if you watch a lot of "how to POD" content on RUclips. It seems easy in a 20 minute video but the amount of learning and work required is not going to be that same 20 minutes. Of the example, I guess I'm more Jill. I want to increase my income, but I am Jack in that as an artist I only want to sell stuff I like creating anyways. I don't have the time for printing my own merch & especially packaging orders. If I want to sell internationally POD helps so much as our shipping is a total business killer. So all in all POD seems like an easier way to get more revenue from the art I'd be doing anyways. I'm not Jill in the sense that I'll be following trends and trying to find niches etc. 😂 If I get 500-2k a month I'll be really happy. (and hey, if I ever have the time and inclination, I can always make another shop based on trends & niches)
Yes how to content can be a pain when the difficulty and time to succeed isn’t discussed. It sounds like you know what you want to do and that’s great!
I think both Etsy and Amazon Merch is just not available to so many people, so that leaves a stand alone website. Basically you’re saying POD is not viable for most people. So yes it does suck, but appreciate you’re honest.
Stop selling on Redbubble. That would help. It’s not to late though. We started a new store in January to prove it wasn’t too late and that store is profitable everyday. Yesterday we had a $1000+ day
Very helpful videos on extremely enjoy your easy to understand explanations of the business I'm wondering does facebook let you advertise adult items I noticed they're very prude when it comes to adult items when I upload my items from eBay they ban them and say I was naughty which is my concern about a men woman lingerie adult type of material to be able to advertise on Facebook
I hear a lot of people saying how hard it is to get into Etsy. I'm wondering if the fact that I made my account back in 2020 so I can buy stuff. It's only till a month ago that I registered my seller account. I feel people set themselves up for failure if they go in with the I want money now mindset. Right now I just want to learn a routine learn the industry and it's customers
That’s the best thing to do. To start with the learning phases. Learn as much as possible and don’t expect fast sales. It seems like you’re on the right track.
i think that if you can't get 500$ to 1000$ to invest in bussiness then bussiness its not for you at all. if you wanna sell somthing you need atleast 100$ to start
Shimmy, I bought a course for POD for Shopify.. 😕I have yet to start and I do NOT have much $$ to start. I would like you to do a Video on reality of Money spend for Shopify as I still have no idea what the reality of it . The course is using FB ads, and start them as testing for $1 so you can see what works. But in the mean time, you have to pay for Spotify monthly and other platforms monthly. Can you do a reality check video for Just Shopify stores spending? Thank you. Love your no nonsense approach😃
brilliant video, shimmy!! im a jack at heart, but wld love to become a jill 😅 instinctively i agree with u tht most platforms are not made with yr profit in mind. im dipping my feet in MOD, and im on the fence about Etsy... ive heard about the copycats and that makes me anxious. i wld also consider amaz seller centr, but i suspect it wld not work for small margins such as tshirts n mugs.
Thank you ! Seller central is good but super complicated. I personally wouldn’t worry about copycats, they’re out there. They always will be. There’s no avoiding them… but by not uploading because of them, you’re stopping yourself from earning as well.
@@shimmymorris1 you're right, Shimmy... I shouldn't let that fear of copycats block me. Thank you for replying!! I've followed you for years, but subscribed only recently, when you asked 😊 I'm looking forward to seeing you open the coveted silver plaque to mark your 100K subs over the next few weeks 😉
Print on demand doesn’t require startup capital. That’s the whole point. Anybody can do Etsy. It’s only 20 cents per listing per 3 months. The problem is capitalism’s problem of overproduction. You are competing against so many others, especially in the more popular niches. So you end up in small niches with not enough customers but still competition. Amazon merch on demand does not let you build a brand, and you have no choice over anything related to production like you do when you choose your own print on demand manufacturing partners. As far as jobs, only the top 20% make a middle class wage, and the competition is beyond fierce. Good luck
only 20 cents can add up quickly when you're adding so many listings. I still think shopify is the best in terms of building a business and a brand. But being successful with amazon or etsy is very possible, and far more likely than the other platforms out there
I don’t see organic marketing with sellfy so in that case I guess it would go under the same category as Shopify. But if I had to pick between the 2. Id go Shopify every time
Going the Shopify route about to begin my first campaigns. That said I wanted to let you know you sold me on custom cat in a previous video so I'm all in on that platform so that limits me on what I can connect to. I can't however experiment with ETSY they banned me for doing what they requested which was uploading an ID to further verify my account suddenly boom permanent suspension. I appealed it appeal denied. Anyway I was wondering if I could do Amazon via Shopify since I can't connect custom cat directly. My philosophy is use multiple streams to supplement my Shopify account. A few hundred on other sites helps.
Hey nice work! Sorry to hear about Etsy! That’s so annoying. In terms of printing provider. I switched to printify at the beginning of the year and I think I’ll be sticking with them for the long term. I just how they offer embroidery soon. Multiple streams is definitely a good idea just focus on streams that can bring in a good amount of money. What do you mean Amazon via Shopify?
highly potential. I have seen many people going viral for interesting t-shirts. But the one challenge for doing print on demand on Tiktok Shop is to manage the shipping time.
I love the way you serve. You truly want to see everyone win, and have no real agenda, besides just being cool AF! I just want to tell you how much you're appreciated for the knowledge, coaching, support, community, and advice you so authentically share.
thanks!! really appreciate that. means so much!
Started to realise going full POD was getting less and less achievable about 18 months ago, and I was not going to make it as a Jill, so I invested more into learning graphic design, website construction & branding. I have now built my own website for my graphic design business, and have just bought into Bricks page builder for WordPress to I can offer websites too. Having said that, I'll still be using POD as an integral part of the services I can now offer, so it's far from being a waste of my time. It's just that it is now more of a peripheral offering to my clients, as I've managed to evolve.
That’s incredible! Well done for adapting and working with the times. That’s an amazing skill to have!
That's what I did. I stepped away and learned graphic design and I am now starting to use POD to complement my offerings. So, I will be selling printables and art. I've always wanted to design home goods. So I'm going to start with POD and learn to do things like rugs, shower curtains, and other home goods. And if I'm any good at it maybe I can grow from that.
Congrats on your website building. When I can afford it, I will find you and get you to build mine🙂
Honestly, hands down the best and most brutally honest conversation about this industry. You managed to keep it real but also not make anyone feel absolutely defeated even if it's not the right path for them. Well done mate, well friggen done! BTW, I'm a Jack, but with a few roadblocks myself being based in South Africa. But it's not stopping me either, I can at least sell on Etsy and with Amazon starting operations here soon, I'm hoping they'll cut us some slack and allow us to use our bank accounts.
Thank you so much😊 really appreciate that! It’s good you can sell on Etsy and hopefully Amazon very soon!
Your honesty is very much appreciated, from a "Jill " type fine artist. Liked and subscribed 🤘
I am in between at the moment. I love your honesty and no filter content. I am still in the process of deciding which route to take. Thank you for this video.
You’re welcome!! Hopefully I can help when you decide what route to go down.
The unfurnished truth. So nicely done. Thank you!
I love that we can always count on your honesty. Thank you
You're welcome!! thanks so much for watching
Etsy deletes people’s accounts without ever explaining what they did wrong and gives them no option for appeal and often keeps their money for YEARS. You don’t own that business. They own your customer base and can take your livelihood overnight.
Etsy certainly has its issues. Most pod companies do and if it was up to me everyone would sell with Shopify and own their business but people can’t afford that starting out
Great to listen to your reality check. Like the couch chat approach too,....made me make a cuppa tea and snuggle up for a listen!!!!😆 Cheers☕
Haha that’s awesome!
yeah, im all laying on the sidewalk with my blankies at 1am watching these lol.
Another misconception is that print on demand is your business. That's just the way you fulfill your orders, it's not your business. I see so many people who just make up some "cool" designs and don't understand why they aren't getting hundreds of sales. It's because you didn't create a business, you created some shirts without any business plan at all. Print on demand is just a way to manage inventory, it's not the core of your business. If your sales got big enough, you may choose to fulfill those orders in a different way to increase your margin. Print on demand is simply a tool, it's not your business.
i have to admit i don't fully understand what you mean here. I understand that you haven't physically created a product. But why isn't print on demand your business. You can create a brand, list items on shopify, and make tens of thousands of dollars. You could also sell your print on demand business... why cant you have created a business plan... i can tell you for a fact that my stores have detailed business plans, exit plans, etc
@@shimmymorris1 I see so many people that think they are in the print on demand business. The companies who actually print your items are in the print on demand business. If you are selling items to music lovers, then your business is selling items to music fans, not print on demand. PoD is a way to manage inventory. I have a non-profit. We had 2000 t-shirts printed. I did not use PoD because the costs were too high. I had a local printer silk screen the shirts front and back. Then I picked them up and ship them myself. This non-profit is NOT a PoD or silk screen business. Those are just two ways to buy and manage inventory.
I see so many people that think putting up designs on a website is PoD. Nope. That's one way you can fulfill an order. It's not your business. I'm working on a business that will use PoD as a fulfillment option in the early days, but may transition to silk-screen for designs that prove popular to increase margins.
Nothing has changed with starting a business. You still need a viable business plan. It doesn't have to be fancy, but on the reddit PoD groups so many don't understand how to start a business. They think PoD is their business. It's not. It's one of many ways to fulfill orders and manager inventory.
Don't get my wrong, it's a great way to get started. But it's just a tool for your business to use, but it's not your business itself.
As to the platforms, you've hit the nail on the head. The era of the platforms is about over. Ebay, Etsy, even Amazon Merch etc. can't figure out how to make money so they turn to taking it from sellers. That's why I am taking my time and building my own site. Don't have to worry about any of their BS, and it's mine once I've built it.
@@shimmymorris1 He's saying POD is just what you use to print your product. your brand is the actual business.
@@shimmymorris1 I get what he's saying. But I'm with you. If you do POD through Amazon or whatever then you don't have control, therefore it's not really "your business" But setting up on your own website and starting your own brand...that is "your business" That is why I am going that path. I am starting with a shopify website with my own label. It will take a while, but i know it will eventually grow. I will have a full on ecommerce business, not just POD. So when are you going to start showing us how you are building yours with shopify? You said you were going to do that. I'm still waiting...😁
🤣🤣🤣 oh! and BTW I love your sense of humor, don't try to hide it, it's great!
A business is a business, a brand is a brand irrelevant of how you fulfil it. That statement does not make sense.
It is such a breath of fresh air to not only find a UK based POD entrepreneur speaking from years of experience and having made it, but someone who is willing to share realism vs fantasy and getting wrapped up with other content who make it seem an overnight success. No truth, just views and likes and miss-selling or leading to those who want to make and earn from a honest business or hobby. Thank you for sharing, keeping videos short, sweet with golden nuggets and helping those achieving goals, experience and knowledge.
thank you! appreciate the kind comment
I started out as Jill but realized that I need to be Jack right now. I think I should've started out as Jack the whole time. I might go back to being Jill but I don't want the stress. I have a job but I enjoy designing and putting it on apparel. Good Video!
THANK YOU! for saying what I've been thinking for a while. So many on here say it's so easy, and with any business, it's really hard work to be successful. I appreciate your honesty and explaining the hobby vs. business idea.
thank you! I think it's really important to spread this message so people are aware it's not all fun and games
Value, Value, And Experience, Expertice, Masterpiece
Hello, my name is Jill. 😉
I’ve gotten into POD to help supplement my husband’s & mine retirement in 6 years.
Still no organic sales but that’s what happens when you’re better at graphics than marketing. 😊
Forced to go the Amazon Seller’s route. Finally found a vid that shows you how to properly add items so I’m finally pushing off from the shore.
Thanks for your vids!
Nice one!! Have you tried Etsy and merch on demand?
@@shimmymorris1 rejected by Merch & perm suspended after 1 month on Etsy. 🤷🏻♀️
Hey Shimmy, thanks for not sugar-coating this Print on Demand business, and for telling it straight. Refreshing! Much appreciated! djh, esq 🇦🇺
You’re welcome! Glad you liked it
Thanks so much, Shimmy! I appreciate you. I'm currently a Jill in a Jack suit. I want what Jill has, but I'm questioning my ability to get it. I WANT to do this, it brings me joy and I kinda need it too. I'm going to go back over your videos and try to sort it all out. Thanks again. 😅
You’re welcome!!! If you want to this properly and earn good money. Aim to sell on those platforms as that’s where it’s at.
Thank you for making this video.
I am wanting to start a POD side hustle and this info is very helpful
Glad it was helpful!
Finally, honesty. Bravo! 👏🏻
Thank you!
Wow, Shimmy! Thank you for telling it like it is. Some tough decisions to make after watching this. Seriously good food for thought. Thank you!
thank you!
Awesome video. Great message. You put things in perspective. Really takes the pressure off. Thanks. Good luck reaching 100K.
JACK-FINALLY HONEST ADVICE. THANK YOU💖☀️
You are so welcome
Definitely a jack lol I've made 2 sales on red bubble, I am happy to make any sale with no expectation
good for you!
Great video. I have tried all of the platforms you talked about except eBay and arbitrage, and at this point, I am settling back on Shopify. At least it's a biz that can be sold if successful. I have had a brick and mortar business for 25 years and then as a print broker business for the past 20 years. I have also been in ecom for 10 years trying different side hustles. Can really relate to this video.
Nice! Yes. Shopify is 100% the future
I guess I’ll never know until I try.
Going the Shopify route. At this point… it’s about the attempt and consistency. I will succeed, with all these tip and best practices… I’m sure something positive will come out
woohoo! good luck. LMK how i can help
Damn...This video really opened my eyes. Thanks for the informative and honest content. I am going to switch up to becoming that Jill person
Thank you for making this video! You're telling the truth.
You’re welcome!
I know someone who has a great job but lots of free time. He started cleaning business and uses a pressure washer to clean home exteriors and paving stones. He just figured it out. People with money don't do it themselves... they pay others to do it for them... and they pay well.
Yes exactly!!!!
Love your work, Brother! 💪 ❤
I appreciate that!
In POD, it is printing companies, who make most profit. Probably, it was more appealing and profitable, with less competition about 3-5 years ago... Now the printing companies are happy to offer 1$/Euro royalty per item sold...pathetic. It is like in an old Bricktop's saying: - "If I throw a dog a bone, I don't want to know if it tastes good or not"-
totally agree, as a person who saw it that way even 5 years ago
I don’t recommend using any printing company that has $1 royalties. Whilst I agree the printing company is making a lot of money. That doesn’t mean you can’t. Recently in my shop my profit per sale has been around $19… there’s still a lot to be made in the business if done right.
Thanks for making this video. I agree with your words of wisdom at the end. Sometimes something could be great and works out for others but it simply doesn't for you.
I'm Jack. I did my research and enjoy creating some designs, I just want to see how far it goes.
Just wanted to tell you though, that it's not about the kind of work you do, it's about your mentality and what you want. You can be a designer, an engineer, an accountant or whatever, all jobs are challenging, and at some point it becomes a quest to achieve and it's not following your passion anymore. because they stop being as easy as they were when you did them for fun.
What differs is the environment, do you want a boss?, or do you want freedom, how much do you want to deal with people and cater to their orders, what do you want your work environment to be like. It doesn't matter if it's pod or anything else what matters is the level of freedom you want.
So yeah don't be afraid to leave an over saturated market or something you find is too hard. find something you excel in and can easily do, but with the conditions you want.
👍good advice
Nice advice! This is a really important topic!
Just got yourself a new subscriber. Been thinking about POD for some time, I’m definitely a jack, at least for now. Thanks, great video. Xxx
aw thank you so much! Really appreciate that
This is an eye-opener Shimmy, thank you. I was trying to be Jill, maybe I'm Jack or is it jack-of-all-trades and doing neither. Oh well, never mind digital products are my Jill at present. I like your humour, keep it up.
thank you so much! being a jack of all trades isn't a bad thing in my opinion
One thing I’ll add to what you say in this video, is that even if you can’t afford Facebook ads, you can still put in the work, build your portfolio, while you’re working on saving that money. There’s no real reason to put off the hard work, whether you have the money for ads or not. You’ll wish you’d done all that graphic designing earlier, if you wait til you have the money to support your he business model
I'm Jill and its on! Thank you.
Can you do a video on margins and how to set realistic prices? Your channel is 100% my study guide🙏🏻subscribed
good idea! i'll add it to the list. thank you for subbing!
Thank you Shimmy so much for this video. You have saved me a lot of wasted time and effort. I’m now planning on going down the Etsy and Teemill or Shopify route. I’m a Jack by the way and one of your Skillshare students.
nice!!! glad to hear it. Etsy would be the main one there unless you have some sort of budget in which case I'd say go for shopify
jill here.. thank you for another great video! I'm so rooting for you to cross 100k subs, you deserve it.. keep going! :)
thank you so much! really appreciate that
Thanks for the honest information, very useful for beginners like me. And is there any advice for beginners on how much to charge or how much money to deposit with a print on demand provider (printify/printfull or others).
And maybe if there can be a discussion about this, which I see no one has ever discussed in detail.
thanks again
Figuring out what to charge will be based on research unless you’re creating a Shopify store in which case there is no competition. I charge $26.99-$31.99 for T-shirts.
Why would you be depositing any money with a printing provider. You only pay when a sale comes through
I really needed to hear this, I liked your opinion and I'm gonna give it a try.
I also really like the way you said that everyone should have the equal Opportunities but maybe our world right now is not at that level...
So, for now, making use of what is available to us is the right option and the only option.
good luck!
Haha. I appreciated the Jack and Jill joke.
The one issue with Amazon Merch is that getting accepted is luck of draw and you can only apply once. Getting an Amazon Sellers accont is another option but the cost is 39.99$ per month.
How much capital do you need to start a POD with printify? Asking because you have to pay printify up front for each order right? If a product takes off how much money should you have in your account without being worried? Also im just finding this on youtube in the last few weeks. Ive watched a lot of youtubers. Lots of different advice out there. I just want a side hustle for some extra money thats fun that I can do from home. I guess that makes me more of a Jill than a Jack.
For now I'm a Jack while I'm developing skills, settling on a style, and building a catalog. I'm fortunate to have a career that is my main thing while I see what I can do with POD.
that is a very smart move!
I am making sales each month on my RB shop and actually love designing/marketing. Since they started charging us on our profits I make less. I am trying to get freelance design work and sell a bit in local stores but I would be a better inheritance person! Getting clients/customers or a simple job is difficult!!!🤑
Yes that’s true. Getting clients is hard! That’s amazing you’re getting sales with RB. Have you tried other platforms that’ll have much higher margins?
@@shimmymorris1 I am on other platforms such as TeePublic and others but I find it difficult to manage so many at the same time. I mostly get sale from RB. I do have a FB & IG Biz account and design/upload/market daily. I am a Professi9nal Graphic Designer so it's easy for me. I study so many YT videos such as yours & others and learned almost everything about POD. I don't know. I have almost 3000 designs and am Branding myself but still difficult. Hope to apply to Amazon KDP next.
You should call them Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 😀 Now seriously, if you want to be Mr. Hyde, you have to think of it as a gamble. Because you need to set a monthly budget for marketing, and sometimes you might be successful with it, but other times it'll be a complete disaster!
I don't think marketing is a gamble. It's a test. You are trying out things to see what works best with your niche and designs. :D Thanks for watching and commenting. I actually have no idea why I said Jack and Jill haha
Big time JILL
still need to find out if I am Jill 🙂 looking into POD since last year and almost moving into it... in addition to YTA, which is super slow in my case.... super very mega nice video 🙂 you've got a new subs
thank you so much!
Thank you that really was eye openning
i'm so happy! thank you
I started etsy 14 months ago and doing about 7-10 sales perday, but id like to see that number double by the end of this year, its so much work and people say its passive income, its not, bc of constant customer service and it cost money. I hope to increase my sales
Can I ask how many items you have up for sale?
@@nanettewitmer about 700 but I have let 900 items expired and I also deleted them.
That is awesome. I have 8 sales in 3 years, lol. I did just revamp my store, but I think I have learned the final piece of the puzzle...research first...that Im going to start an entirely new store with different more profitable products.
Well done! That’s awesome to hear! It’s definitely not passive income! I can’t stand it when people say that. There’s sooo much work.
Only after getting hundreds of sales and ranking higher in the search results does it become slightly more passive. But never fully passive
I'm a Jack truly wanting to learn to be Jill. I started in POD on Spreadshirt and Redbubble initially, and managed to sell on both. But I canceled my Redbubble account after the recent changes. What still holds me back from being Jill is that I have 4 designs that always sell, and I don't have hundreds of designs, so I think if it were 40/50 I could have a nice extra income. I also managed to upload designs on Merch but haven't made any sales there. I applied for approval on Etsy to learn about niches, and I wanted to try sponsoring my prints on other platforms and shops.
That's good! It's always good to try and get on these bigger platforms. You had to apply for etsy? that doesn't sound right...
I keep holding out on Amazon because of how hard it is to get accepted. I don’t want to burn a Shop Name, Email Address and Phone Number if I’m rejected. I’m told that you can’t reapply with the same information and I don’t want to keep creating Names and Emails, or changing my phone Number every time I apply.
So I’m trying to build up my Etsy Shop (which is getting its Star Seller badge at the end of the month) and build up my social media so it looks more enticing and show more earning potential when I do apply to Amazon, in hopes that it’ll help me get accepted easier.
That’s a good idea! And well done for earning a star seller badge!! That’s huge!
@@shimmymorris1 Thank you! For that AND the information you provide!
On that note, do you have a video on how far out we should start focusing on designing and uploading for each holiday? I usually kick designing into high gear 4-5 months before each holiday and upload 2-3 months prior. Excluding Christmas, which I’m going to try to keep most of them up year round.
Does this sound like a typical or sound strategy?
ye, this sounds like more than enough time :D @@KetoFitChef
@@shimmymorris1 thank you
Really informative
Thanks for the honesty.
you're welcome!
Ebay's fees are also high and getting higher. They now expect you to pay their fees AND advertise yourself. Amazon might work, but their algorithms will essentially steal your designs if you sell at all. Opening your own store is about the only option.
it is the best option for sure
Thank you for this. I need something i can do from home. I have no idea what else i can do.
Have you considered doing any freelance?
Thanks, I appreciate the vid. Would you still say target the big merchs - Ebay/Etsy, if RUclips is your platform that has links to a print on demand site?
Thank you for your honesty!!
you're welcome!
Funnily enough, 3 sales a day at a profit of $/€20 per sale would quite easily replace most 9-to-5s in my country. Our minimum wage just this year got raised to €700. The average is around €1K-€1,2K. €20*3*31 (assuming 3 sales every day per month), that's almost triple our minimum wage. $3K-5K p/m income here would classify you as rich.
nice!!
My man over here making thumbnails to desaturate the market.
Question, why is the "build your own website" option always Shopify? I'm a WordPress developer by trade and I wonder why when I watch these videos it always has to be Shopify?
Great info Shimmy... I am curious to know your thoughts on selling POD on Amazon in the near future. Amazon has started using there own brand to sell items that other Amazon sellers are selling. With the newer A.I. tools and apps, I could see Amazon having an A.I. app that allows customers to answer a few questions and have the design they want. Amazon is still doing the samething of printing and shipping the item like today, but now with an A.I. app they don't need us Merch sellers.
Yes I’ve heard about this idea and it is very scary. Just asking a.i to make something. I don’t think a.i is there, but also what I’ve found with print on demand is customers don’t know what they want until they see it. A customer might not be creative and have T-shirt ideas, they might just be browsing and come across your T-shirt that they like and then buy… that’s what I feel might happen
They've suspended my eBay account after I was submitted my five first POD products, they've told me that my store makes a risk to eBay community, I was a little stressed, so I asked them to cloture my account definitely, I resign, not get fired.
yes,😅 always better to end it than to be ended
Oh I’m sorry to hear. Did you ask them how they were a risk? Maybe it was a bot that did it and a human could have reinstalled your account.
@@shimmymorris1 I contacted them but to no avail. They said that their decision was final and my account will not be reinstalled. Note that my designs comply with the content policy and have been approved on Amazon Merch and Etsy. I don't understand what they are planning.
I just can say thanks bro. It was a bit hard to accept but it make sense.
You’re welcome! Ye it’s tough but hopefully helpful
Thanks!
Wow!!! Thank you so much! Very kind
I subscribed from a different account to help you out! Do you have any sense of where Spoonflower fit in this landscape (if you can create seamless patterns - I can)? I have an Etsy printables shop but struggling to make sales.
I created quite a few of what I considered good designs on Spoonflower. NOT A SINGLE SALE. It’s been about a year since I started that and I gave up adding to the designs about 4 months ago. One problem with the site that prohibited growth of designs for me was the fact that you have to buy at least one sample of EACH design before you can sell it. After not seeing any sales it got VERY disheartening.
Wow thank you!! I haven’t used spoonflower much so it’s hard to comment but it looks and sounds like all the other tier 2 pod companies. I just don’t think they’ll ever make anyone decent returns
@@shimmymorris1 No, I am in definite agreement with that.
@@goilo888
Yeah, that part about buying the samples turned me off. You can make really good seamless patterns with AI. You just have to upscale them. Can sell them as digital downloads. I don’t do it cuz you need collections of listings to compete with others who do this and there are many. But AI does a good job with this.
@@traveloasis8389 Indeed. That was what I was using.
Thanks for the reality check. It's easy to get infatuated with the POD idea especially if you watch a lot of "how to POD" content on RUclips. It seems easy in a 20 minute video but the amount of learning and work required is not going to be that same 20 minutes.
Of the example, I guess I'm more Jill. I want to increase my income, but I am Jack in that as an artist I only want to sell stuff I like creating anyways. I don't have the time for printing my own merch & especially packaging orders. If I want to sell internationally POD helps so much as our shipping is a total business killer. So all in all POD seems like an easier way to get more revenue from the art I'd be doing anyways. I'm not Jill in the sense that I'll be following trends and trying to find niches etc. 😂 If I get 500-2k a month I'll be really happy.
(and hey, if I ever have the time and inclination, I can always make another shop based on trends & niches)
Yes how to content can be a pain when the difficulty and time to succeed isn’t discussed. It sounds like you know what you want to do and that’s great!
What do you think about WIX?
Even when you enjoy the experience of designing , they block your account
Who?
I think both Etsy and Amazon Merch is just not available to so many people, so that leaves a stand alone website. Basically you’re saying POD is not viable for most people. So yes it does suck, but appreciate you’re honest.
unfortunately yes, it's a real shame, but i think the reality is better than trying to do something that's doomed to fail
Might as well quit because the only people who did well with POD were the early adopters. Just looked at my sales, RB are taking 86% including fees.
Stop selling on Redbubble. That would help.
It’s not to late though. We started a new store in January to prove it wasn’t too late and that store is profitable everyday. Yesterday we had a $1000+ day
Very helpful videos on extremely enjoy your easy to understand explanations of the business I'm wondering does facebook let you advertise adult items I noticed they're very prude when it comes to adult items when I upload my items from eBay they ban them and say I was naughty which is my concern about a men woman lingerie adult type of material to be able to advertise on Facebook
I hear a lot of people saying how hard it is to get into Etsy. I'm wondering if the fact that I made my account back in 2020 so I can buy stuff. It's only till a month ago that I registered my seller account. I feel people set themselves up for failure if they go in with the I want money now mindset. Right now I just want to learn a routine learn the industry and it's customers
That’s the best thing to do. To start with the learning phases. Learn as much as possible and don’t expect fast sales. It seems like you’re on the right track.
i think that if you can't get 500$ to 1000$ to invest in bussiness then bussiness its not for you at all. if you wanna sell somthing you need atleast 100$ to start
I use gelato to design custom memorial shirts, family reunion shirts, etc. All bulk orders.
nice one!
Shimmy, I bought a course for POD for Shopify.. 😕I have yet to start and I do NOT have much $$ to start. I would like you to do a Video on reality of Money spend for Shopify as I still have no idea what the reality of it . The course is using FB ads, and start them as testing for $1 so you can see what works. But in the mean time, you have to pay for Spotify monthly and other platforms monthly. Can you do a reality check video for Just Shopify stores spending? Thank you. Love your no nonsense approach😃
that's a good idea for a video! I'll note it down :D
@@shimmymorris1 Thank you!
Thank you bro
you're welcome!
Definitely Jack, i judt like making things and id people buy it great. I put a design out there I love. It not eh. I lost like a few bucks.
Nice one!
I love print on demand. Looking to move into Amazon and tik tok
Nice one!!!
In every subject there are people dragging content of overnight success… selling the one minute $100K
overnight success is not a thing, never has been, never will be
Pls what about spreadshop
Going in the same category as teepublic. Zazzle. Redbubble etc.
What about making some money from other platform and before opening Shopify
Yes, that’s what I suggest doing with Etsy and Amazon.
brilliant video, shimmy!! im a jack at heart, but wld love to become a jill 😅 instinctively i agree with u tht most platforms are not made with yr profit in mind. im dipping my feet in MOD, and im on the fence about Etsy... ive heard about the copycats and that makes me anxious. i wld also consider amaz seller centr, but i suspect it wld not work for small margins such as tshirts n mugs.
Thank you ! Seller central is good but super complicated. I personally wouldn’t worry about copycats, they’re out there. They always will be. There’s no avoiding them… but by not uploading because of them, you’re stopping yourself from earning as well.
@@shimmymorris1 you're right, Shimmy... I shouldn't let that fear of copycats block me. Thank you for replying!! I've followed you for years, but subscribed only recently, when you asked 😊 I'm looking forward to seeing you open the coveted silver plaque to mark your 100K subs over the next few weeks 😉
Can you please make some content on selling POD through Amazon seller central it's a great chance to use Amazon traffic
Sure I’ll put it on my list
What about affiliate marketing?
affiliate marketing is a great option!
Print on demand doesn’t require startup capital. That’s the whole point. Anybody can do Etsy. It’s only 20 cents per listing per 3 months. The problem is capitalism’s problem of overproduction. You are competing against so many others, especially in the more popular niches. So you end up in small niches with not enough customers but still competition. Amazon merch on demand does not let you build a brand, and you have no choice over anything related to production like you do when you choose your own print on demand manufacturing partners. As far as jobs, only the top 20% make a middle class wage, and the competition is beyond fierce. Good luck
only 20 cents can add up quickly when you're adding so many listings. I still think shopify is the best in terms of building a business and a brand. But being successful with amazon or etsy is very possible, and far more likely than the other platforms out there
Thanks great info i am jill by the way...lol
Can't you just start as Jack, gather some money and then progress to Jill?
Thank you for the info.What about selling on sellfy?
I don’t see organic marketing with sellfy so in that case I guess it would go under the same category as Shopify. But if I had to pick between the 2. Id go Shopify every time
@@shimmymorris1 Thank you
Going the Shopify route about to begin my first campaigns. That said I wanted to let you know you sold me on custom cat in a previous video so I'm all in on that platform so that limits me on what I can connect to. I can't however experiment with ETSY they banned me for doing what they requested which was uploading an ID to further verify my account suddenly boom permanent suspension. I appealed it appeal denied. Anyway I was wondering if I could do Amazon via Shopify since I can't connect custom cat directly. My philosophy is use multiple streams to supplement my Shopify account. A few hundred on other sites helps.
Hey nice work! Sorry to hear about Etsy! That’s so annoying. In terms of printing provider. I switched to printify at the beginning of the year and I think I’ll be sticking with them for the long term. I just how they offer embroidery soon. Multiple streams is definitely a good idea just focus on streams that can bring in a good amount of money. What do you mean Amazon via Shopify?
What about starting off with a free platform, making some capital and dive into Spotify, can't that work
Yes, technically, the profit might not be as good... Also I think you mean shopify, not spotify.
Subbed... Good luck
Thank you!
I am a bit of both,but lol Iam not a aTr
What about eBay??
i discussed eBay in this video as well 😊
From your email list❤
Aw thank you! 🙏🏻
I'm just looking for an excuse to play around with AI art tools and write it off as a business expense.
What are your thoughts on selling on a TikTok shop?
I have yet to try it so can’t comment. It’s on my list. But I’ve heard good things
I hear if pod is bad bc it can take more time to print item especially if something is out of stock and during the holidays @@shimmymorris1
highly potential. I have seen many people going viral for interesting t-shirts. But the one challenge for doing print on demand on Tiktok Shop is to manage the shipping time.
Any thoughts on Squarespace as compared to Shopify?
No comparison. Shopify is a purpose built e-commerce platform and far superior for print on demand than squarespace
I'd love £200 per month!
Nice! That’s very possible😁