Is Merch By Amazon Dead

Merch By Amazon Saturated

At this point in time, yes MBA is becoming more and more saturated.

 Even though the entry has become tougher, there is a daily influx of new hungry designers, or entrepreneurs entering this platform.

There is no reason, other than to possibly build a base, then charge for this, don't quote me there.

 With so many early players controlling most of the slots, there is very little room left for new and small players, 

Tier 1000 is not big anymore, but at least you can get sales. Though not many.

Let's have some fun mixed with some of my views here.

Let's take a look.

Past And Present Merch                           

Merch started in 2015, had a shutdown in 2016 for a few months of retooling, then reopened.

There were no tiers, you could upload as many as you wanted, it seemed like everything sold, no matter how bad it was.

 I first came into merch, just as it started to change in the fall of 2017, the high tiers were impossible to overcome.

Unless you lived in the USA or had seller central ads were out of the question. Buying out was not an option ( there were no "send it to me" clubs for outsiders)

 To get to Tier 25 meant to buy or sell 10 tier 100, buy or sell 25 etc. Those were the rules of tiering.

There were players in then, tiers 5-10 thousand, not many, but there were. They were awarded these tiers simply because they uploaded a ton ( give them credit here) and sold a ton before the tier system came into play.

  

Pure Numbers Game

From 2017 when I entered MBA, it was and still is a numbers game.

There are a few very good designers, people that possibly design T-shirts for big box companies,  that were and still are the exception to the rule.

For the rest of us, it is only about numbers, the more slots you have filled the more you will sell.

I have said this in past articles and it seems this will always be a constant in MBA for most of us.

The more slots you have filled the more eyes will see your work, the chance of sales goes up.

Tell Tale Signs                

GURUS, that's one of the biggest signs something is not as good as it once was. They come out of the woodwork.

I got caught once, but that's my fault, in FBA, not this stuff.

Gurus come out to play when the opportunity is not quite as good as it once was, and that's usually due to changes in the platform, public taste or as it is in Merch saturation.

I doubt these guys will be players in POD in the next couple of years.

The people that last will have built their own successful POD business quietly and will continue working HARD to keep them, GURUS hate hard work.

Temptations

The temptations the GRUS offer can for some people who need it, be very hard not to take, most offer the idea that making the design better is ok, my question on that is:

Who determines what is "BETTER" Does that mean selling the item for pennies?

As I state its just a catch-phrase or justification for copying.

 Factors that are hurting MBA:

• Copying
•  Frivolous trademarks for sentences and words that are spoken every day and are common, nothing to do with branding, just shutting down the competition.
• Way too many people are let in, that don't understand it is not a golden bank account
• GURUS

Sometimes it seems as though the GURUS are actually influencers if you like conspiracy theories.

Really, a lot of them are building a side business, sometimes to do with the business they are peddling you their ideas on, sometimes completely different, and they are using your money to do so.

Weeding Out The Bad Apples

As many new people that come in, there are also quite a few who are unceremoniously dumped out the back doors by Merch.

This is because they have broken the rules or TOS as people like to say (Terms Of service) I think some think it's cool to say that and just wait till they can attack someone using the old TOS thing  ;)

This happens because the reality of MBA is, if you don't have the numbers it's very hard to sell anything, sometimes even if it's a crazy awesome design it won't sell, because Keywords are wrong, who knows, maybe the GURUS know ;)

But fear not, there are thousands that are let in, monthly, with high expectations, and the GURUS rub their paws together.

So Is It Dead               

No, it's not dead, but it is saturated. But its a pretty cool click bait title :) I think stole it off a ..YEP...GURU.

If you have dreams of coming in and hitting the ball out of the park and making millions, then go back to sleep.

Merch, so far, is free so, by all means, get to it, but don't bet the farm on this platform as being your future income, unless you are just that awesome.

Get as much, and learn as much from it as you can, but make sure you are branching out to the other PODS at the same time, don't sit and obsess with just MBA, that was an early mistake of mine.

MBA will as a platform continue to evolve and grow, its really after a few years still very much a newborn.

Some people get it and do well, or are just fantastic designers or understand how to keyword and write copy. 

I think long term, if you're as slow as I am at tiering, then keep it as a side hustle, keep going in weekly and doing design etc, sooner or later it may come that you will break and make enough at it to supplement your weekly income or better.

Look for the new products, if they ever decide to do that fairly(not giving it to the high tiers months ahead of everyone else) as possibly being breakpoints for you.

There are a few things that can make things happen for you, but for most of us its a battle and hard, to learn

Keywords, writing copy, and niche (what are folks buying) AMS ads, but understand what you are doing.

People say understand the niche, just see what people that like that stuff buy, or phrases that may work on a shirt don't over complicate that, GURUS want you to think its hard or there is a secret that only they know. Google is your friend.

 So long as it's free, keep going, if it becomes some kind of paid platform, you may want to rethink your positions.

Well I hope this has helped you out somewhat, don't take this as a negative article, it's actually positive, look forward and don't bet the farm on one POD.

PS, Was I too obvious in my admiration of the GURUS? :P

All the Best and the very best in Your POD journies

If you have any comments or questions leave them below. if I an I will answer or respond when I can.

Ej