Is Redbubble a good place to sell merch?

azzy-m 2019-10-01 15:29:56 UTC #1

I want to make my own store one day for my comics and I've considered either a.) make an Etsy or Ebay, make and distribute my own merch (I know you can get shirts printed somewhere and I know how to make sticker packs without a cricut thank to youtube) or b.) put up a Redbubble account.

Thing is, how good of a site is it? I've seen creators use it as a legit place to sell merch. But I really don't know anything about it beyond that.

nathanKmcwilliams 2019-10-01 16:29:32 UTC #2

Yeah I like it. I use it for my non comic designs. I've done alright on selling stickers. I really like their user interface.

One negative issue though is in regard to payment. If you make under 25 dollars on a single sale, you won't get paid until the first of each year. But you'll get paid all of the sales you made until that point.
They just implemented that a few months ago.

Iris-Grimoire 2019-10-01 16:32:20 UTC #3

I'm curious about this too so I'll ask an additional question that can apply to any of those stores - what is international shipping like? Honestly, the biggest thing keeping me from making physical merch, comic or otherwise, is that since I don't live in the US, sending it pretty much anywhere might get real costly.

nathanKmcwilliams 2019-10-01 16:51:18 UTC #4

@Iris-Grimoire
It doesn't cost you anything. Redbubble handles all of the manufacturing and shipping costs. The money made by the creator is a default margin of 20% (which can be raised higher, or even lower) the only thing you have to do is make the art, upload it to the site, and promote it on your own.

But, RB isn't really set up for creators to make their merch in bulk, it's more for selling individual items.

azzy-m 2019-10-01 16:53:16 UTC #5

Can I set up a Redbubble right now (I don't have a paypal yet, which I assume is what they use over there)? And they accept debit right?

nathanKmcwilliams 2019-10-01 16:55:28 UTC #6

It's free, and they do both PayPal or direct deposit. So the payment goes directly into your bank account.

Iris-Grimoire 2019-10-01 17:25:21 UTC #7

That's interesting, thanks for the info! It can still work for easy-to-reprint things like sticker sheets and prints, it seems.

joannekwan 2019-10-01 18:45:58 UTC #8

Sites like Redbubble and Society6 are good to use if you want to offer products you can't easily/cheaply produce yourself, like blankets, phone cases, canvas art, etc.

But if you want to do simple things like small prints, charms, and stickers, you will see a higher profit margin if you find a manufacturer to make them for you and you price it yourself and handle shipping.

Zap Creatives (based in the UK) can do all sorts of stickers (including sheets!), charms, wooden and acrylic pins, and little standees!