How To Choose Between Print-On-Demand vs Dropshipping To Sell Products Online

9 min read

Business is booming for people who want to build an online store to sell their products. The problem many entrepreneurs are facing now is: how do you get your products to your customers?

Costs can be high for anyone starting a new business; maintaining inventory, shipping costs, supply chain expenses, and packaging issues are all but a few of the costs you’ll face. Let’s learn about how print-on-demand and demand dropshipping products and services work, so you can figure out which is right for you.

What is Dropshipping?

Dropshipping is an easy and great way to sell products from your ecommerce website without having to worry about inventory — which also means without having to worry about warehouse costs, inventory costs, maintenance costs and what not. In other words, you can sell anything you want online without having to deal with the physical products themselves.

With dropshipping, products go straight from the warehouse to your customer without you touching the product. With dropshipping, you buy from a supplier only when your customer pays you, and that supplier ships directly to your customer. You can take your cut of the profits right then and there.

Your customer looks at your site and decides they like a product; after they click buy, you get an alert on your end telling you a customer has purchased your product.

Your next step is to send the order over to your supplier, and they ship the product directly to the customer. You can even automate this process through third-party plugins and apps.

You can create beautiful and unique purchase experiences for your customer when building your site for your products. You will have to manage your store, website design, as well as the dropshipping company, and receiving and sending your customer’s order. But that’s truly all!

To start dropshipping you only really need 3 things:

An ecommerce store
A fulfillment partner, i.e., a supplier who will send the purchased goods, and
An ad account to start advertising your products on Google or social media.

You won’t deal with product fulfillment, but you will be the primary point of contact for customers. This means you may find yourself dealing with customer service issues that may be beyond your direct control, such as shipment delays, delivery problems, product defects, and return requests. A good and working arrangement with your fulfillment partner will handle most of these issues.

Dropshipping requires you to create a domain and website, set up a store with an e-commerce platform, set up plugins for shipping, payments, and contracts. While often easy to do, it can be very time-consuming, especially to the inexperienced.

After setting up your website and selling platforms, you can activate your plugins and post your products to market.

Your final steps will include connecting your dropshipping provider to your site and ensuring everything operates smoothly.

What is Print On Demand?

Print-on-Demand means literally what it says. This is when your customer selects the design or parameters for a product they want to buy, and then the product is made. Just think of logos printed on t-shirts, coffee cups, water bottles, etc.

For example, imagine you advertise coffee cups with a company logo for a great price. You have made a separate agreement with a Print-on-Demand partner and you create a number of designs your customers can choose from. Next, your customer selects the design (or you create the design for your customer based on their specifications) and you send this off to your printing partner who prints and ships the cups directly to your customer.

Print-on-Demand will handle your customer’s order from click to package open in their living room. Great marketing can help bring your designs to the public and increase your sales. Learn about your target audience, understand how to connect and deliver your products to them.

You can choose products and upload your design on a print-on-demand service’s website (Image: Printful)

Some print-on-demand platforms will even let you create a personal store on their site so customers can buy directly from the company and get it sent to them. This allows you to be able to sell your custom products right away. From t-shirts to journals, art, skateboards, and coffee cups, your design has endless potential for exposure.

On the other hand, starting your own online store is the best way to build a long-term online presence and truly promote your products.

Moreover, having your own store enables you to

build a customer email list,
run targeted ads,
and sell on social media,

all of which are effective ways to maintain a profitable relationship with your audience.

Print-on-Demand allows you to sign up, upload your designs, click through pricing, and set up with ease. Then you can finish with your bank account or PayPal account, and you’re managing your own ecommerce online store. Print-on-Demand allows you to get your business going with very little setup time.

There are various products you can customize and sell

Design plays a crucial role in creating successful print-on-demand products. But you don’t need to be a full-time designer to provide original designs. It’s perfectly normal to outsource to designers who can create the designs for you based on an agreed-upon fee or commission.

While there are great advantages in this setup, Print-on-Demand also has limitations to consider:

Higher cost per item: Since you won’t purchase items in bulk, they cost more per unit.
Limited control over shipping: You may not be able to set shipping costs or customize the delivery experience.
Customization constraints: Print-on-demand services may be unable to accommodate complex design requests.

Making Money with Dropshipping and Print-on-Demand

Print-on-Demand

Print-on-demand is more accessible for many small businesses because there are almost zero start-up costs involved. Print-on-demand services offer far lower start-up costs and will take care of all your shipping needs, all in one place. Only if you don’t already have designs or products, your start-up costs can increase.

Many printing services charge a flat fee for the print, regardless of the number. So your income potential with the proper marketing can be pretty high. Print-on-demand also offers easy ways to scale your business. You can quickly see how customers react to your new products and test new ideas without significant financial investment.

Print-on-demand companies typically work within two main pricing structures. One is a custom profit margin per unit sold, and the other is a fixed profit margin per item sold.

The average profit for a Print-on-demand business varies depending on several factors, including the products sold, the pricing strategy, and the marketing efforts. However, many Print-on-demand businesses can expect to make a profit margin of around 20-30%.

Moreover, it is possible to make passive income with Print-on-demand. Once you have created and uploaded your designs with a Print-on-demand provider, you can earn money from sales without any additional effort. However, it’s important to note that creating and promoting your designs will require some initial effort and ongoing maintenance.

Take some time to clearly understand how much the profit margin is and what you can expect to make. Consider using a print-on-demand platform if you have many designs for things like t-shirts, you want to get out to the world quickly.

Dropshipping

Dropshipping works a little differently because you host your own site and products, so customers can’t get distracted by other products. You can also choose your pricing options and structure. We encourage you to do your research to find out how much people in your niche are willing to pay for similar products.

Dropshipping allows you to have a more in-depth customer experience, but you must always consider the other costs you will be facing. Some of those costs will include your domain, app subscriptions, plugins, and other expenses needed to manage your items sold.

Print-on-Demand vs Dropshipping: Which Is Right For You?

Both print on demand and dropshipping have their pros and cons.

Advantages of Dropshipping

Low startup costs: Dive into the e-commerce world without hefty upfront investments since there’s no need to purchase inventory upfront.
No inventory management: Forget about storage hassles. Your suppliers handle inventory, freeing you up to focus on growing your business.
Wide product range: Easily expand your product offerings by partnering with multiple suppliers, giving your customers more choices.
Flexible location: Operate your business from virtually anywhere. All you need is an internet connection.
Scalability: Expand your business without the worry of increasing inventory or warehouse space.

Disadvantages of Dropshipping:

Lower profit margins: Be prepared for smaller margins since you’re sharing profits with suppliers.
Shipping complexities: Managing shipping from multiple suppliers can result in higher costs and longer delivery times.
Limited control over quality: Your reputation relies on suppliers. If they falter, your customer experience might suffer.
Intense competition: With low entry barriers, expect a crowded market with fierce competition.
Customer service challenges: Handling returns and complaints can be tricky since you’re not directly involved in the shipping process.

Advantages of Print-on-Demand:

Customizable products: Unleash your creativity! Design unique items tailored to your brand, from t-shirts to phone cases, giving your store a distinctive edge.
No inventory hassles: Forget about stockpiling! Products are created only after a sale is made, ensuring no money is tied up in unsold inventory.
Simplified shipping: Your print-on-demand partner handles production and shipping, making logistics a breeze.
Higher profit margins: With unique, custom products, you can set premium prices, potentially boosting your profits.
Scalability: Easily scale your business as demand increases, without worrying about manufacturing logistics.

Disadvantages of Print-on-Demand:

Longer fulfillment times: Custom products mean waiting for production, which can extend delivery times.
Limited product variety: While highly customizable, the range of base products can be narrower than dropshipping.
Quality control: As with any partnership, the quality of the end product depends on your supplier’s reliability.
Higher base costs: The cost per item can be higher due to on-demand production, impacting margins.
Less control over shipping: Since you rely on a partner, controlling the shipping speed and quality can be challenging.

Print-on-Demand vs. Dropshipping:

Business model: Print-on-demand allows for custom designs on products like t-shirts or mugs, personalized to your brand, while dropshipping focuses on ready-made products from suppliers.
Customization options: Print-on-demand offers unique product customization, giving you an edge in personal branding. Dropshipping, however, limits customization since products are pre-manufactured.
Scalability: Both models are scalable, but print-on-demand provides more creative control, allowing for unique product differentiation.

The best decisions are based on research and finding all about these options before choosing the best one that fits your goals.

Become an Ecommerce Entrepreneur Today!

If you think you are ready to start selling online, consider Ecwid. We are a passionate group of ecommerce fanatics who are here, on this earth, to make it easier for you to sell to your people. You can add us to almost anywhere you already have an online presence.

Learn how we make it easy to sell and operate multiple online stores, from websites to social media to mobile. If you are ready, we are here to help. Let’s get selling!

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Jul 16, 2024

About the author

Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.