Print On Demand: The Complete Guide [2021]
By: Ben Smith
Tags: Beyourself, Ecommerce, Online Business, Print On Demand, Print On Demand Services

Josh Rakower | Image: Unsplash

Somewhere between my first and second job out of college, I became obsessed with the idea of building an e-commerce business during my nights and weekends.

After experimenting with international drop-shipping, wholesaling, and private labeling, I realized that there were inherent challenges that were preventing me from growing something meaningful:

Drop-shipping from Overseas : long shipping times posing customer service and satisfaction challenges.

: long shipping times posing customer service and satisfaction challenges. Wholesale & Private Label: require capital upfront and the risk of holding inventory and assuming carrying costs.

I was searching for something that could put me on the fast-track to gaining more e-commerce experience and could scaled with relative ease. After consuming countless podcasts and YouTube videos, a solution finally presented itself.

Enter Print On Demand …

Print on demand (POD) is a product fulfillment method in which orders are custom printed and sent to the customer after the order has been placed.

That means there is no need to buy and hold inventory in bulk. You pay for the goods after the customer has paid you.

With print on demand, the average seller gains access to hundreds of customizable products without having to handle any inventory, shipping, and in some cases, customer service.

This works by leveraging production partners who take care of every step of the process. As a seller you create unique designs (more on this later), choose and manage your sales channel(s), and drive traffic to generate sales.

In a nutshell, this business model allows you to create 100’s if not 1000’s of white label products with very minimal upfront investment.

The Case for Print On Demand

Print on demand isn’t exactly anything new. The concept has been around since the 1960’s when it was used to describe a reimagining of the screen printing process(source).

Thanks to advancements in technology, better supply chain management and end-to-end integrations, the print on demand business model has become increasingly viable for providing ‘just in time’ order fulfillment.

Over the last decade global interest has increased by nearly 200% and big players are continuing to invest in the space.

Amazon launched Kindle Direct Publishing in late 2007, allowing anyone to publish e-books and paperbacks.

In 2015, they launched the Merch by Amazon program which allows creators to upload designs that are converted to live products on Amazon. Among the available products are t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, phone cases and accessories, tank tops and more.

But the benefits of print on demand aren’t just for the big guys. Now this business model is accessible and scalable even for the solo-operator.

Let’s touch on the pros and cons of the business model.

The Cons of POD:

Lower Margins : Due to the nature of the business model, print on demand sellers may take on less risk but they also miss out on the economies of scale that come with purchasing in bulk.

: Due to the nature of the business model, print on demand sellers may take on less risk but they also miss out on the economies of scale that come with purchasing in bulk. Fulfillment and Shipping Times: While fulfillment and shipping are still fast in comparison to the international drop-shipping model, customers have become increasingly used to 2–5 day delivery options. Depending on the platform and provider you choose, fulfillment tends to take between 2–8 business days (actually printing, packing and shipping the product) + another 3–5 days for delivery.

The Pros of POD: