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Dropshipping vs. Print on Demand: Which One Is Better?

Cheryl • Start Dropshipping

Oct 26,2021 12 min read

print on demand drop shipping

Both dropshipping and print on demand serve as amazing sources of passive income. Although dropshipping is a saturated market, it does not change the fact that this online business is one of the great ways to sell online without maintaining a physical inventory. Moreover, it is also important to note that print on demand is another amazing way to make more money online by setting up an online shop and creating beautiful images while doing so.

 

 

Dropshipping

Dropshipping is an amazing way to start an online business, forgoing buying, stocking, and storing inventory. This means that when a purchase is made by a customer, the retailer purchases the products from the supplier and have it shipped directly to the customer on their behalf.

 

It is a great way to sell goods without the cost of maintaining a physical inventory or to complement existing inventories and extend their product offerings. 

 

Pros

1. Low Startup Cost

Dropshipping means the lowest start-up cost. You do not need to tie money down in inventory. Just by customers clicking on an image on your inventory data, they get to buy products and you get it delivered to them through your supplier. Neither would you worry about paying staff nor taking a business loan.

 

2. You Do Not Have To Worry About Products

You do not have to worry about products, your dropshipping company will see to it that all products ordered are delivered directly to your customer.

 

3. It Saves Time

Your dropshipping supplier does most of your work for you, this however allows you more leisure time to get more personal things done or even more time to relax.

 


Cons

1. Narrow Profit Margins

The competitive space of online shopping makes it quite difficult to hike your price to cover up for possible losses that might be incurred if a client order product from three different Dropshipping company.

 

2. Lots of Inventory Issues 

To avoid customers ordering for products that are out of stock, your store has to be in sync with the latest inventory data from your supplier, lest this poses a problem and leaves you and your customer frustrated, hence, resulting in loss of customers if it persists.

 

3. Less Control

You cannot also give customers buying in bulk discount because you have less control over pricing which makes you have less control over your customer.

 

 

Print on Demand

Print on demand is involved with a technology company that helps customers print out their customized designs either on books, mugs, tote bags, t-shirts, etc., packages, and delivers products to customers in your brand name. 

 

The print-on-demand platforms will not only allow you to sell online but they will also set you up with an online shop where you will be able to showcase the products you decide to sell.

 

 It is therefore where you sell your custom designs on products like phone cases with specifications well stated.

 

Pros

1. No Printing In Bulk 

Print-on-demand products are only printed on demand. You do not have to tie your money down by buying these products, all you need to do is upload designs in your store and wait for your customer to place an order.

 

2. You Do Not Need To Buy Equipment

Your print on demand partner takes care of the technical side of the printing process.

 

3. Easy To Experiment New Designs

print on demand allows you to experiment with new designs. You can easily create a design and upload it to your store to test if your customer would love it.

 

Cons

1. Less Control Over The Product 

You have less control over the product as you have little or no say on the quality or the texture of the print on demand products or services.

 

2. Depend On Your Print-on-Demand Partner's Stock Level

If your print on demand partner is running out of stock or running out of stock on certain products, this will to a large extent affect you as a business owner.

 

3. Returns Management May Require More Attention  

While your customer is sending in their details like sizes or home address, ensure no mistakes are made to avoid frustration for both parties.

 

 

Dropshipping vs. Print on Demand: Summary

In conclusion, more and more people are getting used to shipping online, so it makes sense that e-commerce is one of the largest growing industry and starting with the print on demand is a great way to jump on the ship with the world of online business because of the extremely low risk attached to the business and your ability to be able to contribute in a little way to the overall outlook of the print-on-demand products as a result of your designs.

 

 

Print On Demand Dropshipping

Have you ever seen water-bottles, shirts, backpacks, shoes, or anything that belongs to your colleagues or friends that look alike, but have different "brand" names printed on them? That is so because such a product is a customized white-labeled product with the seller's unique brand logo on it. 

 

This process of creating or printing customized designs for similar products and selling it under your brand names are known as print on demand.

 

A print on demand company has a very unique retail fulfillment method. This production method consists of creating products only after the customer requests them / pays for them, drastically reducing waste, at least for sellers. 

 

In the Print on Demand Dropshipping business model, prints are done on clothes for the number of quantities ordered. This means you sign up to use a print-on-demand service and connect it to your e-commerce store, it could be a web you created on platforms like Shopify, Printful, or a market place you have chosen to sell. Your profit depends on the retail price you sell.

 

 

Best Print on Demand Sites That You Should Know

1. Printful 

2. Printify

3. Zazzle 

4. Redbubble 

5. Fine Art America

6. TeeSpring 

7. Society6

8. Sunfrog  

9. Teefury  

10. Threadless  

11. Design by Humans  

 

 

Final Thoughts 

There is a peace of mind attached to knowing that you run a business in one of the largest growing industries in the world. Print on demand helps you launch your online store with low risk and without investing in printing, storage, and inventory, they handle order fulfillment and shipping so you can spend enough time running your business.

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