Printful | Dropshipping Print On Demand Fulfillment

Printful A True Drop Shipping POD

Printful can`t be overlooked in the POD business, simply because this gives you wider choices on where you want to take your business.

This printer can fit into any model you have and actually helps to automate the drop shipping model on a few platforms.

With integration with Shopify to name one makes this a top choice in this model.

There are quite a few other PODS offering this type of business model, but some are subscription based. 

I wouldn't try those, but there are people that made that work for themselves....somehow.

This is one in a series of articles aimed at helping or new aspiring POD creators, entrepreneurs

Moving On...

How This Works                                

Ok now hopefully you have a grasp on the basics of the POD business. 

Whether hobby or not you can not look at this and say "it doesn't work" anyone who does this will make something.

This model works very simply like this:

• You have a venue to sell on (Website, Shopify etc) something online and or offline 
• You Upload or use a site-specific design tool
• You choose the shirt or print object you sell (Hoodie, Bella Tshirt ETC)
• Colors and sizes (there will be different prices for different sizes )
• Do a mockup or use one you may have or buy a couple
• Upload or Push this to your online store( or sales channel)
• Sell
• Send order to POD to fulfill

If you work with a partner of Printiful like Shopify, Amazon, Etsy etc the orders can be automatically pushed to Printful to fulfill.

Why Is It Drop Shipping                                   

This is drop shipping because you do not hold (but you could) inventory the supplier does, you simply sell then order per sale.

When you order, or the order is pushed to Printiful automatically, you will have to pay for your goods upfront, with the credit card you supply.

• Customer Order (from your shop)
• You forward this to Printful ( or its auto depending on your model)
• Your Credit card is charged
• Printful fulfills the order

What You Need To Know                                            

To work with Printful or any other that uses this model you will have to supply a credit card.

Don't worry its safe and they are not rip off artists, I use them myself without problems.

If you choose this model automatically its hassle free and works well and seamlessly, just make sure you cover your costs.

The costs of :

• Shirt
• Printing
• Shipping
• Taxes
• Possible partner costs (Amazon selling fees, Shopify fees etc)
• Any advertising PPC campaigns you run ( per sale broken down)

Unlike other POD models, this is one that you will deal with customers and issues. Remember that customer service is essential, so keep that in mind moving forward.

That Sounds Like Its Getting Expensive 

And yes though I looked at POD years ago I did not believe folks would pay $30-$40 Bucks for t-shirts, but yes people do.

If it's a good design and what they want, not just a shirt that says, for instance, I'm A B----

Unless it designed well then who knows ;)

Remember platforms like Etsy have an amazing group of organic or platform specific users, they like handcrafted, which we are classed as because it's our design.

Your Profit per shirt can be $5-$8 and if you work it right a couple of bucks extra for shipping.

Remember that it`s not about one sale, its multiples that happen over time, the old 10x factor can be applied to everything.

Step Deeper Into Things

This is one of the interesting things about Print On Demand, this encompasses a lot of items, posters, cards, shirts, leggings, laser engraving on certain jewelry and a big market Mugs and Caps.

You can do custom designing per customer (you should have a website for this).

This can be for tshirts to use an example design with something like Your Name, Your Business, 50TH Anniversary, you get the idea, that's a very open and big market.

Weddings, Anniversaries, Birthdays, Graduations the list is endless. And the items you can use for these are plentiful.

Integrations

One of the biggest attractions to this model is the integrations.

It is a tougher route and not really recommended for beginners, simply because of other factors, like paid hosting, advertising, platform charges.

With that being said if you do things right it can be very profitable.

Etsy is probably the easiest and cheapest, but one of the best sales-wise for newer sellers. I will write on this connection in another article.

With Shopify, Big Commerce, Amazon, eBay, and Square Space to name a few there is no shortage of choice.

Loads Of Tutorials

As with anything today you can find a ton of great tutorials on youtube. Printful has a ton of great video content to walk you through different situations.

Without many problems (there are always some) you can get yourself set up pretty quickly.

Printful tutorials can be found throughout the site and the Printful blog.

Here is a link to the Printful website (no affiliate links) take a look first and kick the tires.

As usual, there are no affiliate links on my site, just the Etsy link and that is mutually beneficial, you 40 free listings, me 40 free listings ;) any links I add are for you`re convenience or information.

Although this type of POD is riskier than the other types it can be a lot more profitable, flexible and scalable.

Whatever you decide on always think things through, there is some investment with this type and customer interaction, which can be stressful.

I would not enter this as a new creator/seller to POD but definitely, as you gain experience it is the way to go.

I hope this was helpful and worth your time.

If you have questions or comments just leave them below I will try to answer questions when possible

All the Best and great success with your POD venture.

EJ