Have you ever wanted to create your own t-shirt line? The average graphic t-shirt can sell for anywhere from $5-$20 and on up. Maybe you already have some cool designs or slogans in your head but struggle to determine which materials you’ll use and how you’ll manage inventory and payments.
Spreadshirt can help you start designing your t-shirts for free and without any hassle. If you’re looking for a creative way to make money from home or anywhere, this site provides many of the tools and resources you’ll need to create t-shirts and similar products. Your items will be high-quality, and you won’t have to worry about most of the logistics that come with starting a custom print products business. In this Spreadshirt review, I’ll explain exactly how it works and how to get started.
What Is Spreadshirt?
When you’re selling physical products, there can be many factors to consider, like how you’ll create and track inventory and organize logistics like shipping. Luckily, Spreadshirt takes care of all of this and more all while allowing you to sell your products right on their website or open your own online t-shirt store.
In addition to being able to create custom t-shirt designs, you can also sell a wide variety of products, including:
- Kids’ t-shirts
- Hoodies and long sleeve shirts
- Coffee mugs
- Phone and tablet cases
- Aprons
- Pillowcases
- Mousepads
- Backpacks
- Lunchboxes
- Baby hats
- Baby bibs
- And more!
All you have to do is come up with a unique design and name for your store. Spreadshirt takes care of printing your products, maintaining inventory, shipping and delivery, transactions, and even customer service.
How It Works
There are a few different ways to get started with Spreadshirt. If you have a product design idea, you can create it on Spreadshirt and sell it to their built-in audience on the platform. Think of it as being able to place your custom-made products on a site like Amazon that already has tons of customers shopping for goods. Over 100,000 people visit Spreadshirt’s online marketplace per day and can easily browse your products and make a purchase.
Another option is to create your products with Spreadshirt and sell it with your independent store link. This is great for small businesses or bloggers who may already have an audience or are looking to build one independent of Spreadshirt’s audience. You’ll have more control over your shop’s look and feel and be able to earn a higher commission rate per sale.
Spreadshirt also integrates with Shopify so you can sell the products from your Shopify store all in the same place.
To get started, sign up for free and choose how you’d like to sell your Spreadshirt products. Then, it’s time to design!
Designing Your Product
Spreadshirt provides a lot of resources and guidance on designing with the platform, including color and graphics. You can create and use templates to automate the design process and streamline your results. Play around with your creative design until it’s just right.
Here’s an example of some t-shirt designs in the camping category.
After you’ve edited your design and are happy with it, you can list it for sale either on your online shop or on Spreadshirt’s marketplace. Either way, make sure you include a detailed description of the product, category, and relevant keywords so shoppers can find your products online.
Pricing
Spreadshirt is completely free to use, so you don’t have to pay any costs upfront. However, Spreadshirt will deduct fees from your sale to cover your design cost and their commission. Your item’s price will reflect costs like the product price (i.e., a t-shirt), printing costs, and a design cost if this applies.
Keep in mind, the design fee is slightly higher if you choose to sell your items on the Spreadshirt Marketplace.
For example, there’s a $4 fee to sell a men’s premium t-shirt in the marketplace, but the fee is only $3.40 if you choose to sell it in your own shop. See more design fees here. Every time you sell an item, your account will be credited. When your account reaches the minimum balance threshold, you’ll be eligible to receive your payment. In the U.S., the balance threshold is only $10. In most countries, it ranges from $10 to $75.
Balances are settled by the 15th working day of the payment month from the previous month’s sales. This means there will be a delay in seeing payment when you’re just getting started and making your first few sales. Payment can be issued via direct deposit or PayPal. To get paid from Spreadshirt, you’ll need to do the following things:
- Make sure you enter your correct name and valid email address
- Add your payment data information (so your payment will go to the correct account)
- Enter your tax ID
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Easy way to sell your product designs
- Custom design features (choose from a variety of colors and fonts or even upload your own graphics)
- Sell other products in addition to t-shirts
- Spreadshirt handles shipping, inventory, and customer service
- Integrate easily with your Shopify store
Cons
- You’ll need to develop an advertising and marketing strategy if you choose to operate an independent online shop.
- You may be competing with many other designers if you decide to use the Spreadshirt marketplace.
- It can be expensive if you’re buying pre-made designs from their graphic center to sell on your own.
- Shipping costs can get high when sending certain types of products or shipping overseas.
FAQ
Can I sell my products internationally?
Yes. Spreadshirt serves an international customer base and makes sure your designs are available for purchase in other countries like Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and more.
How is the quality of the products?
Odds are you probably don’t want to create and sell a flimsy t-shirt that will not last through the first wash. Spreadshirt doesn’t want this either, so they commit to providing top-quality and durable materials for all their designs. Their t-shirt products, for example, are run through at least 10 wash cycles before receiving the “all clear” to be sold. That said, your customers can rest assured knowing that they’re receiving a premium-quality, long-lasting product.
How is customer service?
Spreadshirt provides excellent customer service to both sellers and customers. You can view answers to common questions via their Help Center online. Or, you can call customer service directly during regular business hours from Monday to Friday. You can also email customer service with questions at [email protected] and expect a response within 3 to 5 business days.
Spreadshirt has a 4.3 rating on Trustpilot with more than 8,000 reviews. Most people report having a positive experience with their customer service team and being able to resolve situations quickly.
Summary
Spreadshirt is a great alternative to online t-shirt design sites like Teespring, especially if you’re looking to sell a variety of other products. Spreadshirt makes it simple to create one design and sell it multiple ways with adult and children-sized t-shirts, coffee mugs, baby onesies, and more.
The fact that you can use their marketplace with a built-in customer base is a key benefit as well. Spreadshirt would be best for anyone looking to start selling their creative designs and prints with few start-up costs and minimal logistics. You’ll want to watch out for fees once you start selling, but getting started is basically risk-free.
