a single source, nothing corroborates it

Cut the fulfilment middleman out of merchandise

For a volume run, call a bulk printer directly rather than paying a stock-and-ship service per unit, and post the remainder yourself in plain polybags using a service that prints the labels and customs forms. The saving per item is large enough to change whether the merchandise is worth doing at all.

The method

1. 01

   Ship the rest in plain polybags by post, and use a service that prints labels and customs forms rather than doing it by hand.

2. 02

   Skip stock-and-ship fulfilment services for a volume run and call a bulk printer instead.

3. 03

   Treat merchandise as something for fans rather than a revenue line, because the margin per item is tiny.

4. 04

   Order up into the next volume price break, and use the saving to print several colours.

5. 05

   Chase your printer for status yourself if you have a hard date, and judge suppliers on how they handle their own mistakes.

What it returned

• $3

  About $3 per package within the US and about $15 to Europe; hand-writing eight addresses and filling in customs forms at the post office was a waste of time

• $15.56

  A fulfilment service quoted $15.56 per shirt for 75 front-and-back prints; a bulk printer did 144 shirts for $1,290.72, or $8.96 each

• $5

  Justin's store on Printful plus WooCommerce nets about $5 profit per item, roughly what Cotton Bureau pays.

• 144

  144 shirts in heather black, blue and green

Sources

• How to make money from your tiny podcastJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · In what ways can a small podcast earn revenue? · undated
• How to create t-shirts for your startupNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · Shipping · 2015-09-02