The Teespring platform is a Print-On-Demand service that serves as a profitable means of getting into the eCommerce industry. The platform is virtually free and it allows creating the avenue to express their art.
No doubt, the legality of Teespring is not in question and the website lets creative minds design custom tee shirts alongside other apparel such as hoodies, socks, and mugs by leveraging on their proprietary online design software.
Once a custom design is made, the creator can share or promote a link with friends, family, or the general public who can then purchase a t-shirt of the design directly on Teespring. The good news about the platform is that Teespring handles all the logistics from money to printing and shipping.
One major aspect where Teespring differs from other custom t-shirt design platforms is the shirts aren’t actually made until a designer reaches a minimum number of orders. Teespring taps into the entrepreneurial spirit to offer budding fashion enthusiasts as well as designers a chance to test run their skills and only pay when people buy their custom-made t-shirts.
By keeping the costs virtually free, the platform ensures that creatives get to start their business with little risk. Since its inception, the platform has sold over 19 million products to around 180 countries, and Teespring claims to have created as many as 30 millionaires with more than $300 million in estimated earnings for its users.
While Teespring isn’t the only Print-on-Demand (POD) service available to users today, We at Daniel’s Hustle will be taking a closer look as to how much can a user potential earn from the platform.
Is Teespring real?
We’ve previously spoken about the legality of the Teespring platform. The platform has many users who have attested to earning cash on the platform through the sales of their customized merchandise. The platform has been around for years and has built up a solid reputation for itself with many positive reviews about the company online.
Also, the platform is so trusted that it got a mention on Forbes as one of the awesome ways to make money online by selling well-made t-shirts and other gear. One other advantage to using the Teespring platform is that once a designer attains the minimum amount of orders, they automatically get a portion of the profits for creating the design.
Designer protection on Teespring
The Teespring platform has series of rules and terms to help protect and safeguard the intellectual properties of its designers. The platform enforces it rules strictly and designers found breaching the terms risk the suspension of their accounts. Below are some of the ways in which Teespring protects its designers and ensure that potential buyers are paying for genuine designs from the real creators:
Trademark
The platform does not allow the use of third-party trademarks. The only time a creator can use a third-party trademark is when they seek and get approval for such use. Teespring performs regular preventive reviews of all campaigns to help ensure third-party rights are not violated.
Should a product feature trademarked material; such campaigns will be flagged during the review process and terminated.
Right of Publicity and Privacy
Not many are aware that the Rights of Publicity and Privacy are very different from the legal rights covered by trademark and copyright. Fear not, the Rights of Publicity and Privacy is a much simpler concept and shouldn’t be hard to grasp.
Right of publicity is simply the right of famous people and celebrities to control the commercial use of their name or likeness. So a celebrity like JayZ has the right to decide whether his name or face will appear in a product advertisement.
The right of privacy is a broader concept and it covers the provisions of the Right of publicity in that it is applicable to every human. This means that every person has control over the use of their image as well as name in any commercial manner.
The Teespring platform abides by the provisions of these laws and will not print merchandise that includes the name or likeness of any individual, celebrities inclusive unless with the express permission of the individual or their agent.
Teespring’s Design Guard
The Teespring platform has an extra layer of protection for both buyers and creators. The Design Guard helps reassure customers on the platform that they are making a purchase from the original creator of the design.
One of the benefits of using this feature is that it empowers Teespring designers to take legal action against persons who infringe on their designs. This means any creator caught copying or stealing from a protected design will immediately be banned from the platform thereby losing all listings.
The platform encourages all its designers who own a registered trademark or copyrighted design to contact its customer service division via [email protected] and request for the Design Guard feature to be included in their listings. Also, valid copyright registration will entitle you to Design Guard protection.
How much can I earn on Teespring?
Teespring platform is 100% free to use. Designers on the platform get to set the selling price of their merchandise and keep their profit. To put things in perspective, let’s consider a scenario where a designer decides to sell a custom-made shirt of a base price of $10 for $30. Upon each sale of the shirt, the designer gets to pocket a whopping $20 in profit.
One key point to note is that product prices are not impacted by the number of colors used in a custom design or the number of items sold per listing. The two major factors that can impact the base price of products on Teespring are:
- Whether the design is single or double-sided. This simply means if printing is made on the front and back of a shirt. This will certainly increase the base price of the item.
- Pricing Discount is when the number of items a designer sold in the previous month can reduce the base price for the following month.
Also, some apparel and items do not fall under flat pricing and we have provided a list of their price. Keep in mind that the number of sales determines the discount for these items.
The flat prices are applicable on some products as shown in the image below.
And since Teespring handles all the heavy lifting from handling payments to printing and shipping, the platform takes a share of the proceeds. Ultimately, since the creator produced the shirt design and marketed it, they get to pocket a large portion of the proceeds. How much a user can make? That depends on many factors ranging from the appeal of design to marketing strategies. But a user is expected to make enough to break even and the platform has made quite a few designers super-rich.
Teespring Success Stories to Inspire You
Norlito Baclayen
the youngest Teespring millionaire is Norlito Baclayen and is from the Philippines. He lacked the vital skills necessary to land a job and weeks after quitting his search for jobs, he came across a Teespring ad on his Facebook newsfeed which captured his interest.
He further explored the page and determined to start his own brand of tee-shirt business. With the aid of research, he was able to analyze specific niches where he knew he could create better designs and earn massive. Norlito proceeded to create a Facebook page and began to promote and grow the page organically.
Even his best techniques coupled with his Facebook ads promotion couldn’t provide many shirt sales. He became despaired and almost left the business. Just then, luck smiled on him and he woke up one morning only to discover that his Facebook page had grown.
One of his posts had caught the attention of the public and gone viral over the course of the night. And from the 30000 followers he had at first, the page grew to hit over 250,000 during a single night! That growth spurred a shirt purchase rise as well. Sales grew from ten to fifty shirts and to one hundred shirts.
Delighted by the overnight success of the design, Norlito renewed his strategy on Facebook ads managed to break even. That design, launched Norlito as a Teespring millionaire. For Norlito, the six months before he created his own winning campaign was a learning curve. Now he advises newcomers to the Teespring platform that it’s not a get-rich-quick business.
Keegan and Cortland Rush
The duo of Keegan and Cortland Rush are brothers from North Carolina and they started their Teespring business together. Over the years, they have generated well over $2.7 million in sales revenue on the Teespring platform.
There was a period in their business timeline that in a day, the brothers racked up over 1,000 product sales. Impressive right! Now, the duo currently tutors and provides advice to new and aspiring entrepreneurs.
The brothers began their online business just like everyone. They took extra time to map out a valuable strategy to help them reach their set goals. They brainstormed with friends and experts alike to research ideas and niches specific twists which landed them distinctive styles.
Once they attain success, they realize optimizing the process was better. They began hiring other workers, increased the quantity and quality of partners, or simply found easier ways of performing tasks.
With such a well-laid-out plan, Keegan and Cortland Rush have managed to sell over 225,000 units. And created in excess of over $2.7 million in sales revenue as well as profits of over $1.7 million.
Glyn Williams
Glyn Williams was diagnosed with cancer, and this forced him out of his job. However, the challenge help lifts his jersey start-up to realize a staggering $2 million in precisely 10 months.
He was a sales director with an Associate in Nursing morning-show in Derbyshire when he discovered he had vocal fold cancer. Williams oversubscribed to every form of treatment including chemicals and radiotherapy. However, cancer ultimately forced him out of a brilliant career at Associate in Nursing. After his exit, he took up writing eBooks, which sold regularly bringing in a reward of around $1,000 monthly.
Soon, the eBook business nose-dived and he was back struggling. Thankfully, at that moment, a fellow author shared information regarding Teespring with him. There was initial skepticism but his interest was picked on realizing this could be a potential source of cash.
Since then, Williams has been constantly selling his merchandise on Teespring, amassing a gross profit of around $1.5 million.
Pros of using Teespring
- Designers simply need to create the design. The Teespring platform will handle the printing, paying, and shipping logistics on their end.
- Using the platform eliminates the need to store tee shirt inventory.
- Designers receive payments per t-shirt sale.
- They also have the luxury of setting their own price for custom designs and that profit goes to you.
- Teespring provides designers with design software that is easy to use.
- When dealing with orders for a large group, designers can create the shirts on Teespring. Then proceed to have each person pay on their own via the link they send.
Cons of using Teespring
- The platform does not handle marketing. Even if you design the best t-shirt ever, creators have to market their designs independently. A designer is basically selling Teespring’s t-shirts for them.
- There is a limitation on the amount of space a designer can design on the front or back of the shirt. While this creates ease of printing for Teespring, it stifles super creative designs.
- Teespring does not have the right to certify a design as trademark material. Designers have to this through the appropriate channels outside of Teespring.
Conclusion
Since its inception into the market in 2012, Teespring has created hundreds of millions of dollars for its designers. Designers from all around the globe have earnings in the estimation of over 30 millionaires created by the platform.
To be successful on the Teespring platform, a designer must find his or her audience. Next, they must create super creative, appealing designs and launch campaigns. Before proceeding to promote products vigorously and optimize the winning campaigns.
When this is done, there is really no limit to the amount of money an individual can earn on Teespring. Better still this happens without any upfront risks or costs.
