What is a print-on-demand merch store?

With print on demand, you don't need to order boxes of printed clothing and hope it sells. Instead, you create your products and make them available through an online store.

When a customer places an order, the product is printed and shipped for you. This makes it a practical option for businesses, schools, clubs, teams, creators, charities, events and community organisations that want to sell merchandise without managing stock themselves.

1. Decide what your merch store is for

Start by thinking about who will buy your merchandise and why.

Your store might be used for:

• business or brand merchandise
• sports clubs and teams
• schools and community groups
• bands, artists and creators
• fundraising
• events
• staff or organisation clothing

Knowing your audience makes it much easier to choose the right products, designs and prices.

2. Choose products people will actually wear

You don't need dozens of products to launch a good merch store. A smaller range of well-chosen garments is often easier for customers to shop.

T-shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts are popular starting points, but the right range depends on your audience. Think about garment quality, price, sizing, colours and how your designs will work across the different products.

Digitees offers a large range of clothing and merchandise from leading suppliers, so you can build a range that suits your brand and customers.

3. Create designs that work as merchandise

A design doesn't need to be complicated to sell well. Often the strongest merchandise has a clear idea, recognisable branding or a connection to the people buying it.

Consider creating a small selection rather than filling your store with lots of similar designs. You can always add more once you see what your customers respond to.

For the best print result, use good-quality artwork. Vector files are ideal where available, and high-resolution artwork is recommended for raster images.

4. Set up your online merch store

Digitees merch stores are free to set up yourself, with no ongoing store fee. You can add your own designs and products and customise your store for your organisation or brand.

If you'd rather have us build the store for you, a paid Store Setup service is also available.

Your store can have as many designs and products as you need, although starting with a focused range usually makes launching and promoting it easier.

5. Decide how to price your merchandise

When setting your selling price, think about what your audience is comfortable paying and whether you want to earn money from each sale.

Digitees merch stores receive a 10% store discount, giving you room to set your retail pricing and build profit into your products if you choose.

If your store earns commission, this is paid monthly through the payment arrangements available for Digitees merch stores.

6. Let print on demand handle the orders

One of the biggest advantages of a Digitees merch store is that you don't need to hold stock, collect orders or pack individual parcels yourself.

When someone orders from your store, Digitees produces the item to order and ships it directly to the customer.

That means you can concentrate on your organisation, community or brand rather than turning your spare room into a warehouse.

7. Launch your store to an existing audience

Creating the store is only the first step. People still need to know it exists.

Start with the people who already know your business, club, school, team or brand. Share your store through the channels you already use, such as:

• social media
• email newsletters
• your existing website
• club, school or organisation communications
• events and community groups

Real photos of people wearing your merchandise can also be much more engaging than continually posting product images.

Do I need to buy stock first?

No. Digitees merch stores use print-on-demand production, so you don't need to purchase printed stock before you start selling.

Products are produced when orders are placed, which removes much of the upfront cost and risk of traditional merchandise.

Who handles printing and shipping?

Digitees handles the production and fulfilment of orders placed through your merch store, including printing and shipping directly to your customers.

Everything is custom printed to order by our team in New Zealand.

Is a merch store right for you?

A print-on-demand merch store can be a good fit if you have an audience that wants your clothing or merchandise but you don't want the cost and hassle of holding stock.

It works particularly well for established communities such as businesses, clubs, schools, teams, creators and organisations where there is already a reason for people to connect with the brand.