Imagine owning your online store, creating your own brand, printing on stylish products without a printer and start earning money online just like that. That is the business model of Print on demand (POD).
Let's check an example: a person needs to make a gift to her friend and finds your cute design mugs with great phrases online. She chooses the product and pays for it on your shop/website. You receive the purchase order and order the product directly from the printing company, which will send it directly to the customer.
The client will receive the mug at her address and you will receive the money in your account.
As easy as it sounds: you can create your products and leave the task of printing and shipping in the hands of POD companies.
With POD you can customize almost anything you can imagine: objects, textiles, cellphone cases, paintings, tote bags and many other things.
You get creative and make designs, think about which items you'd like to customize, and find a supplier who will print and ship those items, all through your store.
Online shopping continues to grow at an incredible speed: the projection for e-commerce is incredibly positive. This type of sale can increase by 56% until 2024, according to the American company Worldpay from FIS.
ADVANTAGES
There are many advantages on starting a POD business; the best of all is that you can start a business, be your own boss, monetize your creativity and start earning money online.
By running a POD online store, you don't need to have products waiting for someone to buy them. Otherwise, the product is printed after the sale.
With a Print on demand model, you can focus on being creative, upgrading your online store, and creating a community to start selling your ideas. Everything else is taken care of by the chosen provider.
We live in a world where 85% of the world's population buys online, according to Statista.com. US consumer spending on online purchases could reach $1 trillion by 2022, according to Adobe Analytics.
PRINT ON DEMAND & DROPSHIPPING ARE NOT THE SAME
These models are related but really different. When you create a POD business, you sell products that will be printed with your designs. In the case of dropshipping, you sell products made by third parties that are already manufactured.
WHO ARE THE MOST BENEFITED FROM THE PRINT ON DEMAND MODEL?
- designers
- influencers
- artists
- creatives
SOME OF THE AREAS YOU CAN DEVELOP IN POD:
- souvenirs and merchandise
- home office and desk
- technology (cell phone cases, computer protectors, mouse pads)
- textiles (t-shirts, pants, caps)
- backpacks and tote bags
- decoration and home products
CONS:
- the price per unit is usually higher (printing a t-shirt with an exclusive print is not the same as buying one that is already mass-produced and is sold in many countries at the same time, as the large clothing chains do);
- sometimes you can/cannot control the final product, packaging, shipping, etc. This is why it is very important to choose a good POD provider.
PROS:
- you create your own brand (with your personality and your choices);
- time saving (with POD you can focus only on creating, designing and selling);
- there is no need to have a stock (because everything that is printed is only after the customer makes the purchase);
- trial and error (you can test your designs on different products and see which ones are more successful in your online store);
- unlimited manufacturing (you can sell an infinite number of caps or cloth bags, if there is a lot of demand. Hopefully);
- the economic investment is low (because you do not have to print a previous stock).
Are you excited to be the next to have your POD shop online and start earning money online? Do you have any doubts about this? Leave a comment, we will be delighted to read it and help you.