How to Sell Online Without a Website
Updated March 17, 2020
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If you’re a graphic designer, artist, or generally creative person, you probably have some fun ideas for t-shirt designs and other merchandise. Get It Made helps creative hustlers like you try out eCommerce without investment in inventory and the ability to have your own website to test if selling online is right for you. That said, if you’ve determined that you want to sell your designs online but don’t want to maintain a website, there are print on demand marketplaces where you can sell and make money.
Advantages of Selling Through a Marketplace vs. Having a Website
We look at websites as little pieces of internet real estate. Similar to owning a home, websites require maintenance, and you generally need to put in the effort to invite guests to your website - they don’t show up organically right away. The advantage of selling through a marketplace instead of your own website is you don’t need to maintain the technical backend or the branding of the front end, user design, marketing, etc. If you don’t need control over customer experience or the look of your store, this option will work for you. Selling through a marketplace is also ideal if you want to avoid the hassle of returns and customer service. Getting started on Etsy is fairly simple for those who make their own products. Etsy also allows approved print on demand vendors, so you don’t necessarily need to make handmade goods to sell on Etsy.
Here are a few of our favorite marketplaces to sell custom merchandise.
Merch By Amazon
Selling through Amazon’s print on demand program, Merch By Amazon, is easy and free. The Amazon merch program does require an application and approval. Once approved, you can start by posting up to 5 designs. There are tiers to the program, and as your sales increase, you can add more products to your print on demand store. The product mix is very limited to other marketplaces, however.
Here is a video tutorial on how to add your designs to Merch By Amazon:
Cafe Press
Cafe Press has a wide selection of merchandise to customize on demand and one place we sometimes refer people to when looking for one-off custom products. All of Cafe Press’s merchandise is made on demand, and there is an option to open your own store to sell your designs on products to the general public.
Use PRESS219 for 20% off here.
Zazzle
Zazzle is a similar concept as Cafe Press, but typically has a wider selection of merchandise.
Use code 25OFFZAZLOVE here