Where to sell?

Where to Sell Your Print-on-Demand Products

In print-on-demand (POD), you have two primary paths to sell your products: marketplaces (Etsy, Amazon, eBay, etc.) and your own eCommerce website (Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, Weebly, BigCommerce, and more). Both approaches can work beautifully—your best choice depends on your budget, timeline, audience, and goals for control and branding.

If you’re evaluating which platforms connect to which POD providers, browse our full integrations directory. You can also compare fulfillment partners in our POD suppliers table.

Two Ways to Sell POD Products

1) Marketplaces (Etsy, Amazon, eBay, Redbubble, etc.)

Marketplaces are plug-and-play channels with built-in demand. You list designs on an existing platform where shoppers already search and buy. It’s the fastest way to validate designs and start selling with low setup work.

Pros

  • Ready-made traffic & trust—buyers already shop there.
  • Fast setup—launch products within hours.
  • Lower upfront costs—no hosting, themes, or plugins required.
  • Easy testing—publish small batches to validate designs quickly.

Cons

  • Platform fees—listing, transaction, advertising, and referral fees reduce margins.
  • Less control—limited branding, packaging options, and customer data ownership.
  • Policy risk—suspensions and category changes can disrupt sales.
  • Competition—buyers can compare sellers in one click; price pressure is common.

2) Your Own eCommerce Website (Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, Weebly, BigCommerce)

Building your own site gives you full control over brand, pricing, upsells, and customer data. It takes more setup and marketing, but pays off in long-term equity and higher average order value (AOV).

Pros

  • Brand ownership—your domain, your design, your story.
  • Better margins—fewer marketplace fees; flexible pricing and bundles.
  • Customer list—email/SMS retention, loyalty, subscriptions, and LTV growth.
  • Advanced merchandising—cross-sells, upsells, A/B tests, and custom flows.

Cons

  • Traffic is on you—requires SEO, ads, social, or influencer work.
  • Setup time—choose a platform, theme, apps, and handle payments/taxes.
  • Monthly costs—platform, apps, and possibly additional transaction fees.
  • Learning curve—store operations, analytics, and optimization.

What “Integrations” Mean (and Why They Matter)

An integration is a direct connection between a POD supplier (Printful, Printify, Gelato, Gooten, etc.) and your sales channel (Etsy, Amazon, Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, and more). Integrations automate the order flow: new orders are pushed to your supplier for printing and shipping; tracking updates return automatically.

See every supported connection in our Integrations table, and compare suppliers’ regions, products, and routing in the POD suppliers table.

Marketplaces vs. Your Own Store: Quick Comparison

Factor Marketplaces Your eCommerce Site
Startup speed Fast—hours to list Moderate—days to weeks
Traffic Built-in demand You drive it (SEO/ads/social)
Fees Listing + referral + ads Platform/apps; fewer per-order fees
Brand control Limited Full control
Customer data Restricted Owned by you
Best for Validation, quick cash flow Brand building & LTV

How to Choose (Decision Guide)

If you want the fastest launch

  • Start with a marketplace like Etsy to validate designs quickly.
  • Pick a supplier with a native Etsy integration for smooth automation.
  • Later, expand to Shopify/WooCommerce for more control and better margins.

If brand and repeat customers matter most

  • Launch on Shopify or WooCommerce with email/SMS retention from day one.
  • Use marketplaces only for discovery and sampling; drive traffic back to your store.

If you sell niche or premium products

  • Use your own site to tell the story, justify pricing, and control packaging.
  • Choose a supplier with high-quality blanks and flexible branding options.

International Shipping & Routing

If your audience is global, pick a supplier with regional fulfillment (US, EU, UK, AU, etc.) to reduce shipping times and costs. Many POD companies also support “routing” to different labs, so orders go to the closest facility automatically. Compare each provider’s footprint in the POD suppliers table.

Costs & Margins (What to Expect)

  • Base cost (what you pay the supplier) + shipping + platform/marketplace fees = your cost per order.
  • Marketplaces often have listing and referral fees; your own store has monthly platform/app fees.
  • Margins typically improve on your own site once you’re driving targeted traffic.

Getting Started: Quick Checklist

  1. Decide where to start: Marketplace for speed or Own store for control.
  2. Pick a platform that integrates with your chosen supplier(s).
  3. Publish 10–20 test designs first; measure clicks, favorites, and conversion rate.
  4. Expand the winners, retire the under-performers, and keep iterating.
View All Integrations Compare POD Suppliers

FAQ: Selling POD on Marketplaces vs. Your Own Store

Can I do both?

Yes—many sellers validate designs on a marketplace, then build their own store for branding and higher LTV.

Do I need multiple suppliers?

Not at first. Start with one whose catalog and regions match your audience; add backups over time for redundancy or specialty items.

Which is cheaper?

Marketplaces have more per-order fees but lower setup costs. Your own store has monthly fees but typically better per-order margins once you have traffic.