The Characteristics Print on Demand Service Provider Must Offer

When you have looked through a dozen options and set sights on a company that seems attractive, make sure the chosen print on demand provider ticks the following boxes as to the services it furnishes. 

Good Quality and Wide Range of Products

You won’t conquer the world even with the most stunning design of your PoD items if the products fall apart after a week of usage or the ink rubs off having undergone a couple of contacts with some surface. To have sight and feel of goods your likely print on demand partner delivers, order a couple of items from them before committing yourself. These will serve as samples for you to check the quality of material and accessories, the smoothness of texture, the accuracy of printing, the vividness of colors, and any other aspect of the product you are planning to manufacture.

Also, it would be wise to get other goods than those from your potential product line. By doing this you will kill two birds with one stone. First of all, you will understand how consistent the quality standards are that the chosen print on demand service provider pursues in all their merchandise. Second of all, you will get the notion of how large is the product range this company sells and – who knows – you may want to include other affiliate or absolutely unrelated items in your PoD business strategy one of these days. 

Reasonable Product and Shipping Costs

Your total PoD costs will consist of product plus shipping expenditures so when you choose print on demand company, pay attention to both. 

The product price typically comprises the material, packaging, and implementation expenses. However, simply adding up these three may not help you calculate the final price since some PoD suppliers charge a subscription fee on a monthly basis whereas others will want you to pay a certain percentage of the sales price. So make inquiries as to what you are up to in each particular case.

Shipping rates can also be levied according to various payment models so try to pick print on demand supplier that offers flat rates which aren’t going to change no matter how many, how often, or in what season you will ship your products.

Useful Tips for a Small Business: How to Lower Shipping Costs

Rapid Delivery

Since PoD products are custom items they will take some time to be manufactured and delivered. However, clients aren’t ready to wait for their purchase indefinitely so try to choose print provider that can complete the whole procedure within one week of getting an order. In searching for one, it is vital to consider its location that should be as close to the market you are going to serve as it could be (and it will cut down on shipping costs too, by the way). 

Multiple E-Platform Integrations

If you want to expand your client reach, running one e-store will not take you far. So, entertaining big-time aspirations you should take thought for print on demand integration, that is getting access to leading e-platforms that will help you sell your PoD merchandise globally. These include eBay, Etsy, Amazon, Shopify, Wix, and some others. 

To get the knack of leveraging them, start small and come to grips with one (say, Amazon). Then you can move on to others but always remember to adjust your policies accordingly, because what works with Shopify might appear useless with eBay or Etsy. Just make sure all these options are available to you when looking for a service provider…