You’re new to the Direct To Garment or Screen Printing industry and are just starting to get your feet wet. You have a couple designs, but not enough to get a website up and running. Nevertheless, you still want to get your product out there and start selling as soon as possible.
So where do you go?
There are a few options available to you: Amazon, Ebay, Etsy…. The question is, where should you focus your efforts and which site is going to get you the most for your product? Here’s the breakdown!
Amazon
What can you sell?
- With a professional membership, you can choose from more than 20 categories to sell in.
- As an individual seller, you can choose from up to 12 categories.
- Amazon requires approval of all posted sale items prior to becoming public.
How much does it cost?
- As a professional, you probably plan to sell more than 40 items a month. In this case, the professional membership fee of $39.99/month makes the most sense.
- If you are selling as an individual, and plan on selling less than 40 items/month, then you can sign up as an individual seller with a fee of $0.99 per item posted to Amazon.com.
- You will also be charged a referral fee, based on a percentage of the total sale price. This percent depends on the product type.
Who shops on Amazon?
- Amazon is used by hundreds of millions of customers
Ebay
What can you sell?
- Ebay has multiple product categories with few limitations. If your item has adult content then it must be listed under the Adult Only section. Alcohol and Tobacco are prohibited sale items.
How much does it cost?
Standard Fees
- You are charged an “insertion fee” when you post an item up for sale. The fee amount depends on the item type.
- Once your item sells, you will be charged a “final value fee“, which is a percentage of the total sale price. This percentage also depends on the item type.
- PayPal fees also apply
- To calculate your total fees per product listed, Ebay has a Fee Calculator.
Basic Fees
- Your first 50 items per month are posted for free, with some exclusions.
- Fixed priced items will be charged $0.05 per item, and you will be charged $0.30 per auction item.
- When your item sells you will be charged 10% of the total sale value, with a maximum amount of $250.00
*Overall fees depend on your membership package and the item. Please see the Ebay seller’s site for details.
Who shops on Ebay?
- Hundreds of millions of sellers and buyers
What can you sell?
- Handmade Goods
- Vintage Items (must be 20 years or older)
- Craft Supplies
How much does it cost?
- There are no membership fees with Etsy
- You will be charged $0.20 per item you list on the site
- Once your item sells, you will be charged a 3.5% fee on the selling price
Who shops on Etsy?
- 30 million buyers and business owners peruse Etsy daily
More Info:
- Etsy offers you promotional tools and workshops (for a fee) to help you grow your business. Each member can create their own profile where you can tell the story of your products and showcase your items.
What can you sell?
- Bonanza has 7 categories in which you can sell in, from collectibles to fashion. One downside, however, is that the site only lists Women’s Fashion and does not have a section for Men’s clothing.
How much does it cost?
- Each item you post for sale is free. Once an item sells you will be charged about 3% of the total selling price.
- This site does charge you for advertising, should you decide you’d like your Bonanza shop to gain more exposure.
More Info:
- This site makes it easy for you to import items you already have listed on Ebay, Etsy and personal inventory files.
- Bonanza is easy for shoppers to use and offers customers coupons directly from vendors.
Each of these sites is valuable in their own way. Do your research to see what products sell best on each site to decide where you should be focusing your product line. For more exposure you can post sale items on multiple sites to see which one works best for you and your growing business.
Sincerely,
OmniPrint International
Thank you, I’ll check it out! 🙂