Print on demand in Europe is a different beast to that in the US or UK
I got into print-on-demand (POD) from the technical side, to have a go at trying out the tools (WordPress/Woocommerce, Shopify, Etsy, Redbubble) and services (Prodigi, Gelato, Tpop) and look at the marketing.
I have had a design x language idea for the past couple of years that I wanted to try out and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to combine my tech side and design side. (And create some new skills to sell as a website developer).
There are fewer POD resources for European businesses
A lot of the POD resources like YouTube videos and tutorials are based out of the US. It could be that that’s where the biggest market is, but you can exist outside the US… and you can definitely have customers outside the US so how do you plan for that?
Tarrifs! Taxes! Brexit! Customs!
As I’m based in Spain, I wanted to explore the conditions for both European-based businesses and also for EU-based customers.
The margins are so tight that a rejection because of an additional customs or tariff fee can really hurt a small business.
For example, on a single order of 4 mugs from one POD company, 3 were sent from inside the EU and 1 was inexplicably printed in the UK on which I had to pay €6.62 customs fee onforjust one mug. More about customs fees and taxes and the EU here.
With the new tariffs in the USA, this is a legitimate concern for many of us.
Is POD a profitable enterprise?
Hmm, let’s see… Jury is still out on that one! If you already have a community or have a niche it could present an opportunity to capitalise on it and create some cool merch. If not… and like me you’re building a brand. Dunno yet, but I’ll let you know how it goes. And what I learn along the way.
Articles about my experiences
FYI: Referral/affiliate links below support this website.
