Etsy Sellers Optimizing POD Margins

“If a brand doesn't want to wholesale to a particular retailer, then skirting around it like this ain't going to enamour them. Nor is selling something for a markup on the retail price going to be particularly competitive—unless you can find some sort of arbitrage opportunity like selling into a market that they don't current service. I've worked brand, retail, and wholesale and tend to agree with what you're saying.”

“Thank you, this actually gave me a lot to think about. I definitely need to figure out what a fair split would look like and what I’d expect from the other person before jumping into anything. I know my strengths are on the creative side, so I’m really just hoping to find someone whose strengths are where mine aren’t. And I really liked that last line 👌🏻 I hope I find that person too.”

“Yeah I’ve seen a lot of them have got 1000 unit minimums😅 but that’s why I’m shopping around!”

“Hi! I'm a fairly new seller on Etsy (have been seriously adding listings since Feb of this year), and I've honestly been terrified about the EU's EPR and PPWR requirements. My shop mainly focuses on stickers, keychains, and enamel pins for context. Like many others, I probably ship fewer than 10 packages a year to the EU, but some of my strongest supporters are from the EU, and it would break my heart to not be able to ship to them. But I don't believe I can afford all the fees t”

“Have you reached out to them about wholesale? Have you also browsed the Shopify partners catalog? There’s also Faire, another wholesale site.”

“Shopify doesn't care if you sell your own products or not, you just need to make sure you have your paperwork in order before selling someone else's products or using their brand/trademark. Make sure it's clear what you are allowed to use and where. If you do get a trademark or copyright infringement notice, you then have the ability to contest it, and the necessary paperwork if it should go any further than that.”

“Hi everyone, I run a small online store and I’m thinking about adding products from a few other brands that fit well with our current selection. I would be purchasing the products directly from the brand’s official store, and I would also get their agreement/permission to resell the products on my website. I’m not looking to claim the products as my own brand or imply that I’m an official distributor unless they specifically authorize that. Would this generally be okay from a legal and business”

“Temu. I think I got 400 4" pots last time for $20 USD. I just ordered some 5" and will probably order 3-5 gallon ones as well. A lot of items on Amazon = usually stocked by Temu vendors that's also stocked in US warehouses so I'm assuming it'll be the same for the UK. I order a lot of engraving materials through Temu as well. They may not be the fastest but usually get them in about 6-10 days.”

“I opened my shop a few months ago and I have a besteller within a niche. Naturally, I’ve seen competing products crop up, they are the same thing and revolve around the same theme, but people are still doing their own thing with it. However today on my most relevant search terms, I’ve seen an ad for a product that’s not only directly competing with mine, but tearing mine down in the process (without literally naming it). Some examples - Perfect for: people who bought *specific description of my”

Thank you very much

“Yeah agree, i think the product alone is not enough, the market and how you sell it matters a lot too what niche are you thinking to start with?”

“at the end, everything comes down to finding real people complaining about real problems and needing real fixes to those problems. And the million dollar question is, what is the actual problem?”

“I've been making print-on-demand designs for a few months now (t-shirts, stickers, mugs — the usual). Lately I've been stuck on how to actually validate a niche idea before spending hours on it. Right now my process is basically: think of something niche-y and slightly funny, check if there's obvious demand (search volume, existing designs selling well), then just... hope for the best. For those of you who've been doing this longer — do you have a real process for this, or is it”

“Hey, so I’m thinking about starting an online store and I’m doing some research before I actually put money into anything. For people who are already selling, what types of products are you seeing get a lot of orders right now? I’m not asking for your exact product or your “secret winning product” lol. I’m just curious about what categories or types of products seem to have really strong demand at the moment. Ideally something that people actually need/use regularly rather than a random trend th”

“Hey, so I’m thinking about starting an online store and I’m doing some research before I actually put money into anything. For people who are already selling, what types of products are you seeing get a lot of orders right now? I’m not asking for your exact product or your “secret winning product” lol. I’m just curious about what categories or types of products seem to have really strong demand at the moment. Ideally something that people actually need/use regularly rather than a random trend th”

“Howdy everyone. I've been searching for some models to print for myself and I found in a lot of posts description the creator saying that if you subscribe to their Patreon you can sell their design. I'm curious about how this works, although I'm not interested in selling anything. How can a Patreon subscription have any legitimacy for rights regarding selling another person's intelectual property? It doesn't sound right submitted by /u/KyotoLord [link] [comm”

“hi! i’m a recent graphic design & illustration graduate based in the uk and i’ve just opened my etsy shop as a side hassle whilst trying to find work in my field (fighting for my life but we get there) i have done some art markets just selling prints and bookmarks and like the company i already are with for that already (mixam) but i want to expand to other things, specifically phone cases is what i am looking at right now. what pod service is the best for that? im inbetween gelato and prodi”

“I want to start a phone case business. My main challenge at the moment is how to handle the number of SKUs for launch. I would love to be as lean as possible. I will not have access to print on demand services so I'll either get the products from a supplier in China or do it myself (or any other way that I'm probably overlooking). Would you start with just a few designs made to a few selected phone models? Should I take the risk of having a significant amount of stock before having real”

“Yes, it's possible, usually through marketplaces like Flippa or Empire Flippers for smaller deals, or just directly to another seller in your niche if you know anyone. Revenue multiple for Etsy stores tends to run lower than SaaS or bigger ecommerce though, worth getting a rough valuation before assuming a number.”

“Whether it’s marketable or not depends a lot on the nature of business and how dependent it is on your involvement in the operations. Annual profit of 20k does not determine the multiple as much as what your products are and who is buying them.”

“hi i'm really confused as someone told me it's illegal to do this. if i'm selling for example 8 plushies (different designs and price) can they be grouped together into one line on the declaration? like so: 3x plushies 23$ Instead of: 1x plush 10$ 1x plush 8$ 1x plush 5$ with the new 3 euro custom rule in europe per HS code national customs are only looking at the amount of lines used. private couriers do it correctly and look at the different HS codes but oh well. submitted by”

“Don't buy a printer or a big inventory yet - your idea of taking orders first is the right instinct, just make it concrete. Pick your 8-10 strongest designs, get a small sample run from a print-on-demand sticker shop (StickerMule/StickerApp style, or a local sign shop that cuts vinyl - a sign shop will also do hardhat-grade laminated vinyl, which matters since these live outdoors on trucks and helmets). Then go where the buyers already are: sell the samples out of your truck at the supply ho”

“Hey All, I’m wanting to start a sticker business (blue collar, hardhats and tool box stickers) I know it won’t be real profitable but just looking for something I can work on between shop and site truck rides. I’ve got ideas and I’ve made them through Chat GPT but where do I go from here. I don’t want to make stickers if they’re just going to collect dust. I’m hoping I can get orders and make the stickers after the fact. Maybe I’m just nervous about starting something up but any guidance or advi”

“it will works very well if your products are branded with GTINs, even product reviews will show up.”

“Like the other comment mentioned, don’t risk Black Friday over this. In the meantime since you’ve got decent traffic/rev. You don’t need to change themes to increase your conversion. The text link below the fold you mentioned, change it into an image grid, that's a template edit on your current theme. Also check whether your Search and Discovery filters cover scent and skin concern or just price and size. Look at what your top three organic landing pages recommend, on most beauty stores it&#”

Congrats! Good to know 🙌

“So something another person here said once has been ringing truer and truer and truer: “the longer more someone wants to keep questions, the less likely they are to buy” I find it true, and at the same time want to foster comfort and confidence in my customers… it’s just hard when I’m over here working two sometimes three jobs, and spending literal hours researching and pricing out projects and providing detailed solutions to their queries - those hours for someone strapped for time, are a huge”

“Do you think good product photography matters more than having a long product description on Etsy? submitted by /u/iammradex [link] [comments]”

“I don’t think it’s inherently unethical if you buy your own licensed pattern and create your own version, branding, photos, etc. Just be prepared for it to potentially affect your relationship with her. Also, if the scope increased, I’d definitely renegotiate that $6 rate.”

“Hello! This is the first time this has happened to me. I have only a couple of POD items that I sell (art prints because I don't have a printer that nice), and everything else I make myself. I just got an order for one art print along with some of my other stuff. I have no idea how I should handle this as far as completing the order. Printful already has it on their side, and I paid for it, so that's taken care of. Do I just complete it on my side for the rest of the items and let the bu”

“Hello! I’m running some journal workshops soon and wanted to get some pens made w quirky sayings. Best I can find is .88 per pen w 200 min and only one saying. Any ideas? I don’t really want to buy 200 and have 3 sayings I’d like. I’m in CT if that matters at all. Thank you!!! submitted by /u/Own_Independence5592 [link] [comments]”

“Probably i do both just keep paid small at first. Start posting organically now, see what people actually respond to then put a little budget behind the better content. For jewellery focus a lot on how the pieces look when worn and building trust before worrying too much about followers.”

“I’ve tried both, and I’d lean POD if you have a strong design/brand angle. The margins can be tighter, but differentiation is easier and you have more control over what you're selling. Dropshipping gives you more products to test and can have better margins, but supplier quality, shipping and returns can become a headache. If I were starting from zero, I’d probably test POD with a small number of designs rather than uploading hundreds of random products. Are you already designing your own pr”

“Dont be completely original, dont tell yourself you are going to start something totally new. Copy what already exists and works in the niche your are most experienced in. Identify the thing you more more about than anyone, find an example of how that skillset has been commoditized by someone else, do that, offer the service, focus on moving upmarket as a top 5 priority at all times, this will create the internal change on its own that takes your business from an infantelized version of itself t”

“Hello! Im looking to buy new prints but etsy seems filled with AI stuff. Is there a way to know if something is ai or not? Or straight up just a different website where ai is forbidden? Thanks! submitted by /u/Soul_Stare [link] [comments]”

“I got my first sale today!! 🎉🥹 For those of you who sell on Etsy, can you share how you handle taxes? I know Etsy takes out their own fees, but do you generally set aside a certain percentage of your profit from each sale to cover income and self-employment taxes? I’ve heard around 20% and would love to hear what others do! submitted by /u/Flowerpower2019 [link] [comments]”

“For the longest time I've used a photoshop template that's 2000x2000 in size, but with a hard border / internal canvas restriction within that's 1750x1750, so each product will have the same rough sizing across the site. I'll export every image as a transparent webp file at 90% quality - not only do they look superb, the compression of webp images is enough where they load rapid fast.”

“Hey everyone. I started my POD clothing business a little more than a year ago. I would like to add stickers to my line up. I found that Printful offers this but I haven't found anyone else that does. I would like to find a company that can integrate with Shopify. Any suggestions? Thank you kindly. submitted by /u/Current-Shock-2004 [link] [comments]”

Try to research abt niche first

“Finally had my first Etsy sale! 🎉 Super excited to finally get that first order. I have a question for the more experienced Etsy sellers here. I recently bought a thermal label printer specifically so I could print my shipping labels at home. For this particular item, I originally had free shipping turned on , and Etsy is showing that the shipping is going to cost me around $5 . The item sold for $12 , so after paying for shipping and Etsy fees, the profit is obviously much lower than I expecte”

“Yes, that’s basically my question 😂 I hand drawn seamless patterns pretty much for fun but never really got into PoD because I don’t have that much time to create products, specially since I love to play around with colour so I have lots and lots of patterns. But a few months ago I started to learn how to build apps, and now I am creating two for my side businesses so eventually I managed to create a website with an admin that creates the printify products by me, lists everything etc etc. it ev”

“Would you recommend choosing one ICP and committing to it for a while, or creating a few and testing which one responds most strongly?”

“I have been an etsy seller for almost 3 years now. I had some decent sales first 2 years and this year the sales have gone way down. I tried making new stuff and still nothing is selling. I cleaned up and realized how much inventory I have left in my studio. Looking for suggestions and your experiences on handling the inventory. submitted by /u/Cool-Change1234 [link] [comments]”

“I sell personalized stationery through our family print shop, and one thing I’ve really tried to focus on is offering a nice quality product at a reasonable price. I use 80 lb paper for my notepads and try to make that clear in my listings, but I’m not sure I’m doing a good enough job communicating that. I’ll sometimes see similar/cheaper paper notepads selling for $12–$15 while mine are quite a bit less, and it makes me wonder if customers are simply not noticing the difference in paper quality”

“at $29.99 an oversized tee reads as interchangeable unless something tells me fast why it isn't, and that's the thing that would stop me buying. the manufacturing background is the only part of this nobody can copy, and it's the part you're treading as backstory instead of the pitch. for the first 100 hours i'd do creator seeding over anything paid, since you get messaging and creative data out of it that you'd otherwise pay meta to teach you”

Both are good, both are possible to scale and make a real business.

“Anyone found a way to make repeat buyers feel appreciated that still feels personal? submitted by /u/CoinGate_Gift_Cards [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone! I’d love to hear how you organize your Etsy shop if you sell a variety of products and niches. I’m trying to build more of a one-stop personalized gift shop rather than focusing on just one product. I sell things like shirts, sweatshirts, keychains, mugs, bags, ornaments, etc., and the designs can be for different people and occasions Mom, Dad, Grandma, kids, pets, birthdays, Christmas, Mother’s Day, and so on. I’m wondering what would make the shop easiest for customers to browse.”

“I want to start my first clothing brand, i would look into printing my own stuff but right now that's just too expensive, i was using tapstitch and made some designs and ordered some stuff but ive heard bad things about the quality of the prints. although i do like the catalog tapstitch has, what other brands have a good catalog, grungy style that offer good prints. submitted by /u/Top-Door5401 [link] [comments]”

“I’ve been thinking pretty seriously about taking on custom orders as a side business, and I’m at the point where I’m trying to figure out what equipment to start with. Right now I’m thinking of getting a 3D printer (Bambu Lab) + an xtool o1. A friend of mine has the O1 and keeps telling me it’s worth it, especially for the variety of stuff you can print on. And then the 3D printer would cover a completely different side of things — custom parts, models, little functional products, etc. The sligh”

“I hope this is ok to ask. I am curious about how much you earn a month from your digital downloads? Especially digital wall art, canva templates, etc. Because I want to set realistic expectations for how much I can earn a month with my two etsy shops, one with digital wall art and one with canva templates. submitted by /u/glitters101 [link] [comments]”

“As said in the title, I’ve been wanting to start an Etsy shop for quite some time now but I’ve always been too scared to do it. My main fear has been adding my SSN and any taxing issues I may come across. I am hoping to see if anyone has any advice, even if it’s not about anything with tax. For reference, I am in the US and have no other small business experience. I’ve also been talking about doing this for about 2-3 years now and I’ve finally had enough of just talking about it and I want to ma”

“you should be doing pop ups, markets, etc. don’t focus on custom pieces for the time being. you’ll get your custom customers after getting basic customers. you can also get your art in local shops, coffee shops, etc.”

“That’s a great suggestion. Since I sell custom embroidered pieces so I guess I’d need to display samples”

“Like the title says, I have a lot of cute handmade designs that I want to sell but I see so many people do content creation to promote their products. Content creation is a whole different type of beast and I just don’t think I have it in me to go that route. Has anyone here been successful at marketing without having to do production videos? What strategy has worked for you? submitted by /u/misfitmuffintop8 [link] [comments]”

“I am not at all the good person to give advices on this as I am exactly in the same situation. I can only share what I am trying to do based on my past experience. be patient as of course it will take more time Before product / market fit : problem / solution fit. So yes, as you said, the idea is to go to validate the pain is strong enough for having people looking for some solution and checking that the solution you propose would really fit the pain as a subset of the previous, we need to under”

“I am creating high resolution art prints with my original poems on them. I would like to sell them on Etsy. If any of you do this, can you tell me if you print and ship them yourself? Or Have them professionally printed and you ship them? Or do you use an on-demand printing company that syncs with Etsy and the printing company prints and ships them directly to the buyer? Than you in advance for your input. submitted by /u/Glass-Paint9813 [link] [comments]”

“Since people are viewing the Etsy listings, try rewriting your main image and first few lines around the outcome, not the design. Buyers aren't really shopping for invitations. They're shopping for a baby shower, wedding, birthday, or event that looks great.”

“Hello everyone! I was wondering when everyone who sells handmade holiday themed items puts up their listings? Do yall do a month before? Two or three months? And if yall de-list your items after that particular holiday so you don't rack up the listings fees for automatic relisting? This is my second year on Etsy but I haven't started selling holiday themed stuff until this year and was just wanting to know. I know Etsy has to take your listing and do whatever it is for the algorithm to s”