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Can you really make money with Merch by Amazon? People either praise Merch by Amazon as an easy way to make money or curse it as a waste of time. Which of these is true?
And if you can really make money with Merch by Amazon, how does it work? Read this article to avoid wasting your time and find out if Merch by Amazon is for you.
How to Make Money with Merch by Amazon
Merch by Amazon is a legit way to make money from selling shirt designs. Once you are accepted into the program, you only need to upload your designs and Amazon will take care of all the hassle.
What Is Merch by Amazon?
Merch by Amazon, also called Amazon Merch, is an on-demand t-shirt printing service. Sellers can upload their T-shirt designs onto the platform and Amazon will take care of the rest.
When a customer buys the t-shirt, Amazon will print the design and ship the T-shirt to the customer.
Merch by Amazon is free to use. This means that sellers have no cost from selling T-shirts. However, in return, Amazon will also keep most of the profit.
Sellers will receive royalties instead when their designs are sold.
Who Should Use Merch by Amazon?
Anyone can use Merch by Amazon, provided they fill in the application form and are accepted into the program. Setting up a Merch by Amazon business is cheap.
You can even do it for free.
This sets the entry barrier very low. However, you also have to consider that you need to be able to sell your T-shirt.
People with a creative mind and/or those with a larger following such as influencers will be at an advantage.
How Much Money Can You Make with Merch by Amazon?
How much money you can make from Merch by Amazon depends on how many products you sell. Amazon has preset prices so you cannot increase the price of your products to increase your earnings.
You also need to bear in mind that you will not get the full sales price when you sell an item. You will only receive royalties which are a small proportion of the sales price.
Thus, earning sufficient money to make a living from Merch by Amazon is hard.
While it is not impossible, most sellers use Amazon Merch as an additional income stream rather than relying on it.
How Does Selling T-Shirts on Amazon Work?
Selling t-shirts on Merch by Amazon is super simple. To make money with Merch by Amazon, all you need to do is:
- Create t-shirt designs
- Get approved by Merch by Amazon
- Upload your designs
- Promote your t-shirts
- Wait until you get paid
1. How to Create T-Shirt Designs
The first step to selling t-shirts on Amazon Merch is to create the designs. You should do this before completing the application so you have something to show.
It will also help to demonstrate that you are serious and increase your chances of being accepted.
There are different software you can use:
- Photoshop
- Canva
- Gimp
- Another graphic editor
You can also outsource the logo design and hire someone. However, you need to make sure you have the right to resell these designs. You also need to be aware of copyrights.
Any logo should be designed by yourself and not use protected designs.
As for the specific design, you can look at the best sellers ranking to get an idea of what sells well.
2. How to Get Approved by Merch by Amazon
If you want to make money with Merch by Amazon, first you have to set up your account. You can find the landing page here.
The steps to become approved by Merch by Amazon are as follows:
- Log in with your existing Amazon account or create a new account
- Request an invitation
- Wait for the invitation to arrive and then click the link in the email
- Fill in the application form
- Submit your application
- Wait until you are accepted
To increase your chances of approval and make money with Merch by Amazon, ensure you answer honestly to every question.
You should also as much detail as you can so that Amazon can understand who you are.
There may be a long waiting time before your application becomes approved. Sellers may wait anywhere from two weeks up to a year.
How to Fill in the Application Form
What you put into your application form will decide whether you are accepted or not. There are three fields of notice here:
- Industry type: If you already have a business state the type here. If you do not have a business, select “novelty t-shirt business”
- Organization name: If you have a business, enter your business name. Otherwise, state your personal name
- Additional information: Do not leave this field blank. This is where you can demonstrate that Amazon absolutely has to accept you
If you already have a website, state the URL. If you do not have one, you want to create one before you submit your application.
This will show Amazon that you are serious about your business.
Nowadays, creating a website is quick and painless. With your website, you will also have another way to sell your designs.
You can further support your application by uploading your designs to another free selling platform such as:
- Teespring
- Redbubble
- TeePublic
What to Do If You Get Denied
If you prepare a website, an online shop, and logos in advance, chances are high that you will get accepted. However, should this not be the case, it is too early to despair.
You can simply try again with a different email address and bank details. Though before you re-apply, go over your old application and try to figure out why you got rejected.
3. Uploading Your Designs
Before you upload your designs, make sure they adhere to Amazon’s content policy. Your logo should also:
- Fit within a 15 x 18-inch printable area
- Use RGB colour
- Be saved as a 300 dpi PNG file
- With a file size of under 25MB
- Have no misleading text
Low-quality artwork is also not allowed. Low quality means:
- Artwork with typos
- Images that are blurry or contain low resolution
- Designs with blurred lines, unclean backgrounds, or watermarks
- Fully transparent artwork
Then, simply click “upload” and set a price. If you are unsure about pricing, you can research your competitors.
When setting the price, be aware that your price does not equal your profit. Amazon will take all the money and pay you some royalties.
Your earnings for each t-shirt sold will be quite low but this is also because you have little effort.
4. Promoting Your T-Shirts
Once your designs are uploaded, they are available to purchase on Amazon. However, they will be listed alongside all the other designs submitted by other sellers.
Sellers that have more experience and already have a customer base. Amazon will not help you to stand out.
Thus, to make money with Merch by Amazon, you also need to promote your designs.
If you have created a website for your application, you can use it as a platform to promote your t-shirts. You can also create social media accounts showcasing your designs.
5. How to Get Paid by Merch by Amazon
If you sell any designs, Amazon will send you your payment once a month via electronic bank transfer. You do not have to do anything to get paid.
How much you make from each sale depends on the t-shirt price. You can see a sample calculation in the table below.
| Purchase Price | £15.99 | £17.99 | £19.99 | £21.99 | £23.99 | £25.99 |
| Royalty | £2.58 | £3.91 | £5.23 | £6.55 | £7.87 | £9.19 |
Royalty rates may seem super low but keep in mind that Merch by Amazon is passive income. You can sell the same design again and again with zero effort.
Merch by Amazon is also not exclusive so you can sell the same design on other sites, such as eBay and eBay alternatives, at the same time.
Of course, if you use other sites to sell your t-shirts, you may make more profit. However, you would also have to deal with the logistics and admin site.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Amazon Merch?
Merch by Amazon Pros
- Little hassle as Amazon takes care of logistics and admin
- Passive income once your t-shirt shop is established
Merch by Amazon Cons
- The application might be rejected
- Low earnings per T-shirt sold
- Lots of competitors so it can be hard to carve out a niche
How to Make Money with Merch by Amazon Summary
Merch by Amazon is an on-demand printing service enabling you to sell t-shirt designs on Amazon.
You only need to upload your designs and protome them, Amazon will take care of all the hassle for you.
However, this also means Amazon will take most of the earnings. You will receive royalties for your efforts if you sell a T-shirt. The payment may be small but it is passive income.
The steps to make money with Merch by Amazon are as follows:
- Create t-shirt designs
- Get approved by Merch by Amazon
- Upload your designs
- Promote your t-shirts
- Wait until you get paid
If you like this post, have a look at my master list of 100 ways to make money.
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