Sunday, March 13, 2011

Spreadshirt & Zazzle - Making Money with Little Investment

So like a lot of people I was looking for a way to make some extra cash without getting a third job... yes, a third job. The economy is bad, banks are paying out very little, and for some it is even hard to find one job. With that, gas prices are expected to rise even higher this summer.

I had started a website called http://clipartforeducation.com and it still exists, although I haven't added anything new to it in forever. To make new "clipart" I had decided to purchase a pen tablet or graphics pad for my computer. With the tab, like with most accessories, came a little flier for a print on demand company, as they explained you could start a shop and make commission off of your artwork that would be printed on a number of items... So the match was struck and the fire hasn't gone out since.

I started to research print on demand companies with similar offers. There are quite a few and for me it came down to Spreadshirt and Zazzle. There are pros and cons for both, and of course it also depends on the type of artwork you create. Spreadshirt, although they cater to digital like Zazzle, also offers flex and flock shirt printing (the stuff you typically see on kids' sport jerseys - rubbery feel, pressed onto the shirt) which is extremely durable, however you have to be able to create vector graphics and stay within their guidelines as they are cut from a solid piece material using a plot cutter. However this isn't the main reason (although I think it is a great print method) why I prefer Spreadshirt over Zazzle, and yes, I do have shops with both companies.

Spreadshirt Pros:
  1. You can create your own website around their platform with little branding
  2. You can choose either a free or premium account with a designer (will get to that later)
  3. They will send you income tax forms to file at the end of the year if necessary
  4. Flock and flex printing, durable, offers glitter colors and glow in the dark
  5. You can choose for your designs to be in the Marketplace or just your shop
  6. In the Marketplace, other shop owners can promote your designs 
  7. You set your commission in dollars, it is not percentage based
  8. They have awesome customer service and a great support forum
Spreadshirt Cons (for the average person):
  1. You need to have a program like Corel Draw ($300-$400) or Adobe Illustrator ($600 to $1300) to make vector graphics for flex and flock printing - there are other programs out there, these seem to be the most popular
  2. Digital printing is limited to certain items if you aren't able to make vector graphics
  3. If you don't know HTML or CSS it may be hard to "customize" your shop and make it stand out among the rest although there is a lot of help in the forum for this
  4. You have to make your products one at a time... this can be grueling
Zazzle Pros:
  1. It is free, there is no "premium account" option, all you need is a graphics editor like Adobe Photoshop (a home version will cost around $75-$100) again, other programs are available
  2. You can make a ton of items all at once
  3. They offer products like mugs, skateboards, bumper stickers, shoes, posters, postcards, business cards, greeting cards and so on...
  4. It is great for artists and photographers with the ability to print on posters and canvases
  5. With an account, you can also make an associates commission by posting ads on your website or blog on top of your product commission - Don't want to make commission by designing item? Just create an account and post some banner ads! You don't have to go through associate programs to do this.
Zazzle Cons:
  1. Their marketplace is OVER SATURATED with products, you really have to promote your shop and write good descriptions for your items to get noticed and make sales. They also sell "branded" items like for Disney and other companies which makes it hard for your items to get noticed.
  2. You can't 100% customize your shop to your liking, it will always look like a Zazzle shop. EDIT: I was able to integrate my products into my website, however when you go to check out, the url will change to Zazzle's site layout unlike Spreadshirt which maintains the look of your shop.
  3. Commission is percentage based, which means you have to play with it until you get the commission you want and to a price that makes sense and ending in ".95"
  4. Their prices start out higher which makes it hard to keep products priced low and still make a commission
Although these are just some of the pros and cons I have noticed, don't get me wrong there are people who make good money using one or the other. I didn't compare any other companies because my initial research found that these two had the best quality and service. 

Although neither is a "get rich quick" scheme, if you have some extra time and are artistic or graphically capable, after a few months or so you can start to see a profit after you consider your monthly internet fees (which most of us pay regardless) and cost for an editing program. Although you may not make $1,000's (however some people do), if done correctly you will be sure to make more than what the banks are paying out in interest.

But the nicest thing about Spreadshirt is their designer.... with a premium account for about $10.00 a month, they will allow you to add a custom design platform to your shop or website where customers can make and upload their own designs. With this, you get a percentage commission with each sale on top of any of your graphics they may have used on the items. If you promote this correctly, this will pay itself off plus a profit for you every month.


This article could be a lot longer, but I will stop there. So check out http://spreadshirt.com or http://zazzle.com when you have some time.

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