Home » Blog » What Is Print-on-Demand?
Print-on-demand (POD) is an e-commerce business model that allows online vendors to sell customized products that are created on a per-order basis. This business model typically involves integrating your e-commerce store with a reputable and reliable platform that offers POD services and each platform offers a different set of pros and cons.
For instance, if you sell jewelry, you should find the best online platform for selling jewelry through the POD model. You also need to find the most comprehensive and useful print-on-demand jewelry guide to help you learn how to make your POD business successful.
Print-on-demand evolved, to a degree, as an alternative to wholesaling. Businesses that deal in fast-moving small-ticket goods saw it as a solution to the problem rising inventory costs.
In a way, print-on-demand sits somewhere between wholesale and retail in that it caters to individual buyers’ needs but sidesteps the need to keep stock on-hand.
How Does Print-on-Demand Work?
The POD business model is similar to drop shipping because it doesn’t require holding any physical inventory. You simply create an online store on any of your preferred online marketplaces, integrate it with a good POD platform, and start selling products. With POD, you’re not responsible for printing and delivering products to your customers–the POD platform handles these aspects of your business.
This is why you need to choose your POD platform carefully because the quality of its services will determine the kind of experience your customers will have. Choose a POD platform that has professional and experienced in-house or outsourced printing partners who will deliver superior-quality prints. Ensure that your POD platform has enough international order fulfillment facilities to help deliver orders on time to your international customers.
Like dropshipping, POD doesn’t require you to have a warehouse or courier services to fulfill orders. Moreover, your POD platform handles everything else after the customer places an order, including printing, calculating, packaging, and delivering the items to customers–this helps you to cut down the cost of running your business.
With this business model, you only print your preferred designs and other brand symbols on your products when a customer places an order. This prevents the risk of printing products that won’t sell.
Is Print-on-Demand Worth It?
As discussed above, POD is a business model that’s primarily based on dropshipping; therefore, it offers numerous benefits to budding e-commerce enthusiasts. Here are the main benefits of using POD for your business:
No Physical Inventory
Because you only print and deliver the product when a customer places an order, and you’re not responsible for printing and delivering the products, you don’t have to invest in expensive warehouse and courier services. This means that you don’t need huge capital to start your POD business; it also eliminates the risk of having dead stock in your possession.
No Order Fulfillment Hassle
Fulfilling many orders, especially international ones, can be a hassle because you need to pay for international courier services. But with POD, this stress is eliminated because your POD service provider is the one responsible for fulfilling orders.
Easy Way to Build Your Brand
POD involves printing your preferred designs on white-label products from your suppliers, so you can easily build your brand without manufacturing the products on your own. You’ll use your supplier’s products to market your brand using your logo, colors, and other designs.
Suitable POD Products
Because POD is an art, it offers a great deal of versatility in terms of the products you can sell. Any product that can be printed on is a perfect choice for your POD business. Here are some of the most common products sold through POD platforms:
- Accessories: print-on-demand jewelry, bags, belts, hats, wallets, socks, ties, watches, etc.
- Sports gear: wristbands, knee caps, mouth guards, balls, clubs, jerseys, shorts, bandanas, caps, etc.
- Clothing: men’s, women’s, and kids’ tops, pants, dresses, hoodies, suits, skirts, etc.
- Décor and appliances: wall decals, pillows, cushions, bed sheets, blenders, cookers, kitchenware, glassware, towels, framed art, tumblers, tapestries, etc.
- Tech gear: smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, headphones, a computer mouse, mouse pads, touchpads, etc.
- Art and literature pieces: books, magazines, paintings, etc.
You can use these items to advertise or market your brand, services, products, or interests. If you can imagine it, you can print it, and Skup can help make sure you find the best ways of doing so in order to skyrocket your online business!
