The Best Platforms for Selling Merchandise with Print on Demand

Selling merchandise with print on demand can be a great side hustle. But there are so many different platforms that provide print-on-demand services, how do you know which one to use? 

There are a variety of platforms, and each have their strengths and weaknesses. Here are some of the best platforms for selling print-on-demand products!

Best Platforms for Selling Merchandise with Print on Demand

Amazon Merch

Amazon Merch is hands down the best platform for making money with print on demand. It’s the most well-known, so it’s easier to get your designs out in front of a large audience. Unfortunately, they have a very stringent and confusing application process. They do not publish any information as to what they are looking for, and if you get rejected you can never apply again.

 

I was rejected from Amazon Merch, so I can’t speak to how easy it is to upload designs or make sales. Loads of people do use it to make pretty decent side hustle income. Some people even make a full-time income from it – though I definitely don’t recommend quitting your day job anytime soon! 

TeePublic

My favorite platform for selling merchandise with print on demand is Teepublic. The uploading process is incredibly easy, and once an image is uploaded it is automatically transferred to all of the different items (cups, pillows, bags, journals, etc). The ease of use of Teepublic is why I have the majority of my designs.

I also like the fact that I can create my own store front of Teepublic, whether I design items or not. You don’t make as much commission off your storefront designs as you would off of your own designs, but it’s another valid way to create income.

RedBubble

Redbubble is my second favorite platform. In reality, it’s probably better than Teepublic. It’s more customizable: you can create more products and you can set your own prices. I don’t use it as often because I find it tedious. You have to click through and customize your design on each item that you want to sell – it doesn’t automatically customize the way Teepublic does. But it also offers more products. It even has leggings and scarves!

Redbubble also tries to incorporate a community vibe with the print on demand platform. You can follow your favorite artists and post updates to your activity page for your followers to see. I haven’t used this feature of Redbubble yet, but it does seem like a great way to network with fellow artists and to keep up to date on your favorite designers.

TeeSpring

I just started using Teespring to design t-shirts for print on demand. One thing that I like about it is that you can add text without uploading a picture. You can add your text right from the upload screen. If you just want to do t-shirts with slogans on them, this website is probably your best bet. One limitation of this is that you can’t edit the text after you finish creating it, so if you mess up you will have to delete the entire design and start over. 

Another thing that I like about TeeSpring is that you can design both the front and the back of the t-shirt with ease. I haven’t found a way to do both sides on either redbubble or teepublic.

You do have to customize each additional product with Teespring, just like you do with redbubble. But it’s easier to do with Teespring, as it’s just clicking a few boxes rather than lining things up and redesigning.

One thing I don’t like about Teespring is that they don’t automatically pay you every time you make a sale. You have to request a pay out, and they even state that they prefer it if you don’t request a pay out with every sale. Redbubble automatically gave me my twenty-one cents when I sold a sticker! 

So Many Others

There are tons of other sites that you can use to start your print on demand side hustle. Society 6 and Fine Art print focus more on art prints. Zazzle allows you to manufacture your own products (though they have a designer only option and affiliate option as well!). Threadless allows you to design products, but only allows people to purchase them if the Threadless community votes on it.  Sunfrog focuses heavily on t-shirts and hoodies. I’m sure there are tons of other sites that I’m not even considering!

Have you had any success selling merchandise with print on demand? Which platform is your favorite, and why?