How to Sell T-Shirts on Amazon – Full Guide (2023)
You considered starting an online business, and selling T-shirts on Amazon looks like a safe bet.
It’s a sound decision – profits from the t-shirt industry amounted to $38.8 bn worldwide in 2022 alone, with an expected growth of 5.41% by 2027. Amazon, by its turn, needs no introduction – the leading retailer in the US answered for almost $470 bn in net sales in 2021.
Strap in, as we will walk you through selling t-shirts on Amazon.
From creating an Amazon seller account to designing and sourcing T-shirts with POD, this article will show you how to sell shirts on Amazon.
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How to Sell T-Shirts on Amazon
Selling t-shirts at Amazon can be highly profitable, but starting a storefront may be a bit more demanding and time-consuming than creating an account on more user-friendly platforms – such as Printify.
Here are the main steps you should take to accomplish it.
1. Register an Amazon Seller Account
You can sell shirts on Amazon with a customer or an Amazon seller account registered with a business email.
These are the requirements for creating a seller account:
- Living in one of the eligible countries
- An Amazon customer account or a business email
- International credit card
- An ID issued by the government
- Tax information
- Phone number
- A bank account to earn royalties
First, you need to go to the seller’s website and create an account. Alternatively, to open an Amazon Merch on Demand account, you can sign in with your customer account at Merch by Amazon (MBA).
A seller account gives more selling options, including product types and sourcing options. Opt for an MBA account only if you intend to stick with the program for sourcing the tees.
Scroll down to familiarize yourself with pricing and type of accounts, or click on Sign Up.
Choose between an individual or professional account. An individual account is enough for a few t-shirt sales (less than 40 monthly products). In that case, a fee of about $0.99 will be charged per sale.
More than 40 products per month and advertising require a professional seller’s account by a monthly subscription from $39.99 per month and referral fees that vary depending on the product.
2. Connect a Print-On-Demand Provider
Even though you may want to manufacture your tees or buy wholesale, the easiest way to start a T-Shirt business on Amazon is through Print-on-Demand. Here’s how to do it with minimum hassle:
Merch by Amazon
Merch by Amazon, or Amazon Merch on Demand, is the platform’s POD service.
It is intended for people already selling on Amazon and those willing to start a business there. In both cases, the merch platform focuses on people who don’t want to hold and manage inventory.
Merch by Amazon lets sellers focus on creating t-shirt designs while Amazon handles the logistics.
Creating a merch business seller account is free and takes about 1-2 weeks. Fill in personal, contact, sales tax, and bank information, and wait for Amazon to approve your account.
While you wait for approval, create designs and a logo using any graphic editor according to Amazon’s requirements. Take your time and get familiarized with the MBA content policies.
It is also possible to use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), which requires sending the merch to an Amazon warehouse. After that, Amazon handles order fulfillment.
Printify
Amazon is not an officially supported Printify channel, but there are ways to list Printify products – including T-shirts – in an Amazon store. Let’s check some of them:
- Wix Stores
Connecting Amazon as a sales channel in a Wix store is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to sell products made with Printify. It doesn’t require any subscription other than Wix’s, and the website builder is one of the most user-friendly options on the market.
Unfortunately, that option is available only for Wix merchants in the US, the UK, Australia, and India.
Here’s how to do it:
First, create an Amazon sellers account in one of these marketplaces:
- Amazon.com
- Amazon.co.uk
- Amazon.com.au
- Amazon.in
Then, log in to your Wix account and add Amazon as a Sales Channel in the Wix Dashboard.
You can offer products from your Wix store for sale at Amazon. Choose “automatically restocking Amazon inventory” and define “self-fulfillment” instead of “Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA),” as Printify will fulfill your Wix store products.
The products in your Wix store will remain synchronized through Printify integration, can be edited at the Wix store, and sold at Amazon.
Check our tutorial on how to create a Wix store and see more details on setting up Amazon as a Wix sales channel.
Wix Business Plans Pricing – from $34 per month
- Codisto
Many apps and plugins allow importing products from Amazon to a Shopify or WooCommerce store, but fewer options to do it the other way around.
The plugin Omnichannel for WooCommerce: Google, Amazon, eBay & Walmart Integration, by Codisto, offers multi-channel integration with various marketplaces, including Amazon. Download it at the Shopify or WooCommerce App stores.
Codisto synchronizes several channels and allows managing the store from Shopify or WooCommerce. That way, products created with Printify can be sold on other marketplaces.
There is a 14-day trial to use the plugin. After that, a subscription to Codisto is required (starting from monthly $29).
Integrating with Shopify is easier than WooCommerce, but adds the cost of a Shopify plan.
WordPress, together with WooCommerce, is one of the most flexible and customizable eCommerce platforms, giving sellers full ownership of the store.
However, it requires some technical knowledge. Consult with a Printify expert for the initial steps in designing a WooCommerce store and setting up an Amazon-Printify connection – that will save you a lot of time and money.
- WooCommerce Pricing – WooCommerce needs hosting (from $1.99 per month) and a domain name (from $0.99 per year). Themes and plugins add other costs.
- Shopify Plans – from $29 per month.
- Codisto Plans – from $29 per month.
- Squarespace and Trunk
Set up Amazon as a sales channel on Squarespace via Trunk integration. Trunk is a multi-channel service offered by Square. It synchronizes sales channels in Amazon, Squarespace, Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, Faire, eBay, and QuickBooks Online.
That option is potentially more expensive, as it requires subscriptions to Squarespace and Trunk. It may appeal to merchants that already own POD sites within Squarespace. Trunk also works with other website builders and marketplaces and may be an option for Codisto.
Create a Trunk account at the Square App Marketplace or directly at Trunk:
To integrate a Squarespace store with Trunk, head to Settings, then Extensions. Type “trunk” in the search bar and click on the extension.
- Squarespace Plans – from $33 per month.
- Trunk – from $35 per month (additional orders increase the costs)
Order Desk is a solution by SparkWeb Interactive that offers hundreds of eCommerce integrations for apps, websites, and services. It allows you to integrate Printify with Amazon – and many other marketplaces – and source POD products through Order Desk.
The solution is convenient, time-saving, and counts with dedicated customer support, but it has a monthly subscription fee.
To start, Sign up or sign in at Printify. Head to Order Desk, create an account, and log in. Then, go to the Integrations menu on the left-hand menu, and click Manage Integrations. Look for the Print on Demand tab and click on Printify.
Click on Connect to Printify, and Order Desk will redirect you to Printify’s page. Log in to your account and allow access.
Go back to Order Desk, and select which Printify store you want to connect. Then, return to the Manage Integrations page, and repeat the process to add Amazon. Type “amazon” in the search box, pick the marketplace and connect to your Amazon Seller account.
In the Settings menu, you can edit store and inventory settings and create rules for what happens when an order is placed in your Amazon storefront.
- Pricing – from $20 per month plus 25 cents per order.
To list Printify products in Amazon, you will need a GTIN exenption, that can be requested to Printify’s merchant support.
3. Design Your T-Shirts
Designing a t-shirt, whether at MBA or Printify, is a straightforward process. Let’s exemplify by describing how to design a custom t-shirt with Printify’s free mockup generator:
- Create a t-shirt design in free or paid design software.
- Create a Printify account.
- Pick a t-shirt from the Catalog.
- Click on the desired tee and select a print provider. Then, click on Start Designing. That will open the Mockup Generator.
- Upload your design, and adjust it. Choose the colors for the t-shirt.
- Click on Save Product. Edit the description and details and choose the main mockup images.
- Publish it to the online store.
Learn in detail how to create best-selling t-shirt designs on our blog.
Create Your T-Shirt Store With Printify and Sell Your Brand on Amazon Now!
4. Prepare Product Listings and Storefront
Now is the time to prepare product listings and make them available in a storefront.
An Amazon Storefront is available for merchants registered with Amazon’s Brand Registry. The feature lets vendors create a custom website with a unique URL within Amazon, showcasing products and strengthening the brand.
Amazon listings contain the product’s title, images, description, and key features in a bullet list. Listings can and should be optimized to improve Amazon SEO.
Research keywords in Google trends and the Amazon engine related to products with similar designs and extract the most relevant keywords, including essential parameters of your own products. Make sure to add these keywords in the appropriate places.
Amazon Seller Central includes specific style guides for listing optimization. Attempt to the following guidelines:
- Title – 80 – 200 characters. Include the brand name first, followed by a primary keyword phrase indicating precisely what the product is. After that, add secondary keywords containing other characteristics such as dimensions, color, or if it comes in a set.
- Bullet points – Around 200 characters per bullet point, totaling 1,000 for five points.
- Product Descriptions – 1,700 – 2,000 characters. In mobile devices, 80 characters from the description are displayed before the bullet points.
- Product images. Provide high-quality, non-pixelated images displaying key product features – preferably with white backgrounds.
Be aware of prohibited terms by Amazon that may get your listing taken down:
- Trademarked and brand names other than yours
- Forbidden claims such as bestseller and free shipping
- Health claims related to curing diseases
- Drug products and components
5. Market Your Products
It is time to make your brand known. Here are some key elements to develop your marketing strategy and make money by selling shirts:
Amazon SEO
Amazon is an eCommerce platform and a search engine. As such, it has its own algorithm and optimization rules for increasing organic traffic.
Amazon’s engine is named A9. Its algorithm is focused on buyers and has an unpredictable updating schedule.
Using relevant keywords, optimize listings, including titles, product descriptions, and bullets. Think as a buyer while creating your listings; keep all information up-to-date and relevant for buyers, aligned with search intent. That includes colors, variants, measurements, pictures, and videos.
Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are essential and should be prioritized – most customers do not buy from brands with ratings below 3.3 stars.
Amazon makes reviews a prominent part of any product page. The marketplace lets users filter and search reviews, and registered users can ask questions. Reviews also are reviewed and receive stars.
Engage with Amazon customers and develop positive relationships. Answer every question, include thank-you notes, and review requests after purchases within the package and through follow-up emails.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a huge source of traffic for online businesses and one of the best ways to develop your brand awareness.
Contact influencers, blogs, and YouTube channels, and create an affiliate strategy. The affiliate mention and publish your product while the site receives a small fee per click and product sold.
Amazon makes things easier by offering a free affiliate program. Make sure to use it to your benefit.
Social Media Marketing
Use social networks to share new products, updates, giveaways, sales, and blog posts. Mix selling posts with educational and informative content for brand building and publish regularly and consistently.
Share your social media pages on the Amazon page and vice-versa.
Finally, consider also investing in paid advertising. In most social networks is possible to create ads from scratch or transform well-performing posts into advertisements.
Amazon Advertising
In addition to paid advertising in social networks and Google, also consider promoting your listings within the Amazon search with Amazon paid advertisement.
Sell T-Shirts on Amazon With Printify!
Amazon Alternatives
Consider also selling shirts in other marketplaces. Printify integrates with three of the most popular eCommerce marketplaces, making the selling process easy and seamless.
The pioneer among online marketplaces and the first auction website. It allows selling products by the highest bid or by a fixed price. Selling shirts on eBay sporadically as an individual is simple, requiring a basic registration.
The marketplace easily integrates with Printify and has consolidated traffic.
It also offers paid plans for those willing to create an online store, but at the beginning, every seller can sell only up to five products.
- Insertion Fees ($0.35 per listing)
- Final Value Fees (Usually from 12.9% to 15%, vary depending on the product) price.
- Pricing – from $7.95 per month.
Etsy is a user-friendly marketplace, originally focused on vintage and handmade products. It does not charge subscriptions and offers a storefront, with the possibility of purchasing a Pattern subscription ($15 per month) for creating a standalone website.
Check or blog for more information on Etsy fees and Etsy advertising.
Fees – $0.20 per listing
The second largest retailer in the US is available as a Printify integration.
Individual sellers should pass through a business verification process for selling in Walmart, providing a business tax ID or a business license number, supporting documents, and a proven history of eCommerce success.
Walmart doesn’t charge subscriptions or listing fees. Only a referral fee (around 15%) is charged per item sold.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to sell t-shirts on Amazon?
- Create an Amazon seller account
- Connect to a print-on-demand-provider to source the T-shirts
- Prepare best-selling designs and apply them to the Amazon T-shirts
- Edit listings and storefront on Amazon
- Market the products on Amazon, social networks, and Google.
How to make custom t-shirts?
Sign up for a print-on-demand provider such as Printify or Merch by Amazon to apply a custom design idea to T-shirts.
How to sell custom t-shirts on Amazon with Printify?
- Create an Amazon seller account.
- Integrate a Printify account to Wix, Shopify, WooCommerce, or Squarespace, and create an online store.
- Add Amazon as a Sales channel to Wix, or connect Amazon to the online store using Codisto, Trunk, or Order Desk.
- Select a T-shirt from Printify Catalog and apply designs with the mockup generator.
- Publish the T-shirt to the online store.
- At the online store, publish the T-shirt at the Amazon storefront and create a listing.
- Use the website builder resources to market the T-shirt line, in addition to Amazon, social networks, and Google.
Amazon Awaits
You’ve learned how to sell shirts on Amazon without inventory, from creating a seller account to sourcing products with MBA or Printify.
Now, it is up to you. Open accounts, choose the sourcing, prepare fantastic shirt designs, create a storefront and sell shirts on Amazon.
Make It Happen Today!
Written by
Andris Mucenieks
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