How does Amazon Merch work? Good question, so let’s get straight to it. Merch by Amazon is an on-demand t-shirt printing service. It allows sellers to create and list t-shirt designs on Amazon for free. There are no upfront costs and you get paid royalties when a customer buys your shirt. Simply, upload your design, choose colours and set a price — then let Amazon will take care of the rest.
Many experienced sellers are predicting Merch by Amazon will become huge and now is the time to get involved if you haven’t already.
How Does Amazon Merch Work? Step 1: Join Amazon Merch on Demand
Here’s the landing page where you can apply to open an Amazon Merch on Demand account.
You fill out a short form and then wait to be approved. Amazon handles this, and it can take anything between three weeks and three months so if you’re interested, it’s best to get your application in soon. Once you’re approved, Amazon will send you an invitation to give it some basic information, and then you can get started.
The Merch dashboard is where you can upload designs, promote your t-shirt and analyse sales. To begin with, you’re limited to 25 designs, but once you sell 25 shirts, you’ll get an invitation to be upgraded to Tier 2 where you can have up to 100 designs.
The more product types and designs you have listed on your Amazon account, the more opportunity there is to make money. The tiered system helps reward those who create quality designs and prevents spammers from flooding the program with loads of designs.
Here’s a popular Merch by Amazon t-shirt from the Animal Lover Collection.
Photo credit: Amazon/Animal Lover Collection
You can identify Merch by Amazon t-shirts by the plain white label and the listing will also include a sizing chart similar to the one shown below.
Photo credit: Amazon
You can use the Amazon Best Sellers Rank to see which designs are popular. Remember, you can use these for inspiration, but you should never copy a design.
And, if there are multiple listings already using the same quote, you may want to go with a different design with less competition.
Creating your first t-shirt design with Merch by Amazon
How does Amazon Merch work when it comes to the actual design process? Well, you can use any graphic design software that you are comfortable with. Photoshop is the most popular but there are alternatives out there such as Pixlr and GIMP.
Download the Merch by Amazon t-shirt templates
You create a high-quality image in the space provided. Your design shouldn’t be stretched or pixelated and it’s worth checking the Merch by Amazon best practices for further design tips.
Another option if you don’t want to design something yourself is to buy ready-made designs from companies like Kustom Express. You can download these and upload them to your Merch account straight away.
Photo credit: Kustom Express
The Amazon Business Print on Demand Process
How does Amazon Merch work? It’s simple. In fact, it’s so simple that the process can be broken down into five easy steps.
- Upload your design as per Amazon’s design specifications.
- Set a price.
- Amazon will create a product listing for you.
- People see the listing and buy your shirt.
- Amazon will print it, pack it and ship it for you.
Related: A list of the best Amazon Seller Tools
Amazon Merch Tips, Answers to Frequently Asked Questions and Best Practices
- Research is the key to success. Use the free MerchResearch tool to search your phrase with the Amazon Merch category.
- Avoid copyright infringement. Check relevant websites if you’re unsure. If you use a copywritten term/image/quote then you risk having your entire account being shut down without warning.
- Use bullet points and well-written descriptions in your listings. This resulted in a 40% increase in sales for FBA seller Jason Wilkey.
- Find a niche market and come up with new ideas.
- Partner up with a local business.
- Use Google Trends to see which keywords are trending on the web. Plus, keep an eye on any major events happening.
- Promote your t-shirt designs by creating Facebook and Twitter posts in the portal promotions section within Merch by Amazon.
- Analyse your sales.
Conclusion: Getting Started with Making Print-on-Demand Your Niche When Selling on Amazon
To summarize what we’ve learnt here (and fill in any gaps you may have):
- Open a seller account at Amazon Seller Central.
- Open an account with a supplier who can make the item and ship it to your customer (such as GearBubble, Teelaunch, Teespring, or Printful).
- Create a design, and put it on the product through your chosen supplier.
- Upload the product to Amazon
- Optimize the product title and keywords to make your product visible …and watch it fly off the shelves.
