How to Sell on Etsy with Printful in 2023 – Easy Print-On-Demand

| |
Last Updated:

Print on demand is booming now on Etsy and we are going to help you get started and get a piece of the action in this guide.

Printful are the largest POD supplier out there delivering over 1 million products a month. Significantly more than any other POD supplier out there.

I started my POD journey with Printful and I’m here to show you how to get started with Printful and Etsy.

Overview of Etsy and Printful

Etsy is an online marketplace for handmade and vintage items, with millions of buyers and sellers around the world.

Printful is a print on demand platform which offers custom printing and fulfillment services, allowing Etsy sellers to have their products printed and shipped without ever having to hold inventory.

Through the use of an Etsy integration connecting your Etsy store to Printful, you can benefit from an automated and less manual order fulfillment process for your Printful products on Etsy.

Read on to find out how to get started including some of the tips learned from selling POD items over the last 4 years.

Top POD SUpplier
Printful

PrintFul

4.5

A great POD Supplier for those getting started

  • Simple To Use
  • Global Reach
  • Large Product Catalogue
  • Volume Based Discounts
Try For Free Today
This blog post contains links to services I recommend. I may receive commission if you purchase a product or service through a link on this site. This does not cost you or impact your purchase in any way.

Benefits of Selling with Print on Demand

Using Printful for print on demand services on Etsy offers many advantages for sellers including:

  • No need for large print runs
  • Reduced storage costs
  • Faster turnaround times
  • Lower production costs
  • Ability to offer a wider range of products
  • Reduced environmental impact
  • Increased flexibility in updating and revising content
  • Ability to test new products or ideas with minimal risk
  • Greater control over inventory management
  • Ability to cater to niche markets

Setting Up Your Etsy Business

Create An Etsy Account

Before you can open an Etsy store you need an Etsy account. If you have previously purchased an item from Etsy you may already have an account.

If so, you can skip the following steps and jump straight to Create An Esty Shop

  • Go to Etsy.com and click Sign In
  • On the window that pops up, click Register and follow the instructions.
  • You’ll be asked to create an account and populate your profile with your personal details.
  • You will also have the option to upload a profile picture and add some text ‘about me’.

Create An Etsy Store

  • Click this link to open your shop and get 40 Free Listings
  • Click Open a Shop Today and follow the simple instructions
  • Enter your Store Name
  • Stock Your Shop with your first item. Add product images and then populate the Listing Details.
  • You will need to add variants (sizes and colors) pricing and shipping information.
  • All of this can be updated later or deleted if required.
  • You can preview the product or click Save and Continue to move to the next stage.
  • To set up how you will get paid, follow the simple instructions to enter your banking information so that Etsy can pay you when you make a sale.

Once you have completed these steps, you’re ready to optimize your POD Etsy store. Make sure you complete the following:

Branding – Add a customer shop banner and shop icon to your store so you look professional.

Store Settings – Populate your Info and Appearance pages and the About Me section

Policies – Ensure you have set your policies – Etsy places great importance on these and you want to make it clear for your customers what to expect i.e. if you accept returns or exchanges for example.

Set Up Your Printful Account

Next, you will need to set up a Printful account. This is a simple process that involves entering your store information, and setting up payment methods. Once complete you then connect Printful to Etsy.

Click the link below and follow the sign-up details. Once complete come back to your Launch Cart store and follow the instructions in the next section of this article.

Sign Up To Printful & Get Selling

Once signed up Prinftul makes it easy to get everything set up as they guide you through the process. You will see the following in your Printful dashboard.

Printful Dashboard

Preparing Your Product Listings

Researching Your Market

Before you begin creating new products and listing them in your Etsy shop, it’s important to do some research into your market.

This includes researching popular products and designs, understanding customer needs and preferences, and identifying potential competitors. Doing this research will help you create products that are both attractive and competitively priced.

Choosing the Right Product and Design

Once you have identified potential products from Printful’s extensive catalog and the designs to use on them, you need to make sure that the product and design are appropriate for your target audience.

It’s also important to consider the cost of production and shipping and what your selling price would need to be to make an appropriate margin. Does that selling price sit well alongside your competition?

Top Tip: Aim for a 30% profit margin on all your products.

Creating Printful Products

Printful Product Catalog

Setting Up Printful Product

Once you have chosen the right product and design for your shop, you can begin setting up Printful products. This includes uploading artwork files, specifying the product sizes, colors to sell, and other details, such as price.

Once your product is set up you can publish it to your store.

Connecting Your Etsy Shop and Printful

Printful makes it easy to connect your Etsy shop and Printful account. This allows you to import your product listings and connect them to your Printful products.

You can also specify your shipping rates, payment methods, and other preferences, allowing you to offer a seamless customer experience.

Setting Your Shipping and Fulfillment Preferences

Once you have connected your Etsy shop and Printful account, you will be able to set up your shipping and fulfillment preferences.

This includes specifying the shipping methods and carriers you want to offer, as well as setting up your returns and refunds policy.

You can also set up automated fulfillment of orders, allowing you to get orders to customers quickly and efficiently.

Promoting Your Products

Optimizing Your Listings for SEO

Optimizing your product listings for Etsy SEO will help them appear higher in Etsy search results. This includes using relevant keywords, optimizing product titles and descriptions, and making sure you’re using all of your tags. You can also utilize Etsy’s promoted listings feature to help your products get more visibility.

Create Quality Product Descriptions

When creating product listings, it’s important to create quality product descriptions that are both informative and engaging.

This includes providing detailed information about the product, as well as attractive images and videos. Quality product descriptions will help customers make informed decisions and increase the chances of them making a purchase.

Also, Etsy started counting product descriptions in their SEO so they are more important than ever.

Leveraging Social Media

Social media is a powerful tool for promoting your products on Etsy. This includes creating social media posts to share product images and videos, as well as engaging with followers in order to build relationships and create brand awareness. You can also use social media to target potential customers and get feedback from existing customers.

Utilizing Ads

Ads are another great way to promote your products on Etsy. Etsy’s Ads (previously promoted listings) feature allows you to pay to have your product shown high up in the search results which can help increase your sales and reach.

Managing Your Business

Responding to Customer Queries

Responding to customer queries quickly and efficiently is essential to providing a great customer experience. This includes responding to messages and reviews in a timely manner, as well as providing helpful resources and information to customers.

Track Your Finances

It’s important to track your profit each month to ensure that you have your products set at the right price and are making the right amount of profit on each sale.

How to Sell on Etsy with Printful – Conclusion

Running an Etsy shop with Printful is a great way to start your Etsy journey. Printful’s integration works really well and very rarely has issues.

There are other suppliers like Printful, such as Printify but I recommend using Printful to get started as they are a POD supplier with a global reach, simple software that is easy to use, and a product catalog that is bigger than most suppliers.

Try Printful Today For Free

Questions? We Have Answers.

Get answers to a list of the most Frequently Asked Questions.

When a customer orders an item from your Etsy store, they get the added benefit of Printful integration. This means that you can integrate your Etsy store with Printful and when customers order from your store, Printful will automatically receive and fulfill the order.

You don’t need to worry about managing inventory or production time as Printful handles everything. All you have to do is keep track of orders and sales through the Etsy platform.

The integration between Etsy and Printful makes it easier than ever to manage your sales, so you can focus on growing your business without any extra effort.

T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, Hoodies and Mugs all sell well on Etsy but they are becoming saturated. If you want to sell these items you need to do your research, find out what people are searching for and meet that demand.

Its worth considering less common products such as bags, leggings, and all-over print products as these have higher margins and you may find there is less competition.

No matter what kind of products you decide to sell, it’s important to do some research first so that you can get an idea of what’s popular in the Etsy community and find out what type of items people are searching for most.

Yes, it is legal to sell print on demand products on Etsy and its allowed under Etsy’s terms of service.

You must design the products yourself though. You can not just buy a design and sell it using a print-on-demand company. You have to have designed it yourself.

When you’re using Etsy, customers pay you through Etsy, then Etsy pays you, minus the transaction charges and payment fees. You may receive the payment from Etsy a few days later (depending on your settings).

Printful charges you directly upfront for the total cost of the order including shipping, printing, and the cost of the shirt for example. You are charged as soon as the order is received by them. You need to remember that there may be a delay between needing to pay Printful and receiving the money from Etsy so you need to make sure you have some funds set aside to cover this.

Printful Etsy Print on Demand integration is a powerful tool for Etsy sellers who want to take some of the manual efforts out of running their business. By integrating Printful and Etsy, you can create a mockup of your product, publish it to your Etsy sort, and when an order is received Etsy passes the information to Printful who prints and ship your product, without any manual intervention required.

Finally, Printful passes the shipping tracking information back to Etsy and marks your order as complete. This integration is incredibly beneficial for both Etsy sellers and customers alike, as it makes the entire process much more streamlined and efficient.

Print-on-Demand for Etsy is a great way to get your products out into the world. By using this service, you can create and sell unique products on Etsy without having to print and ship them yourself.

With POD, all you need to do is upload your designs to the platform and they’ll take care of the printing and shipping process for you.

Experienced print on demand seller and ecommerce store builder who is on a mission to share his knowledge and expertise to help others make money online.