What is Merch by Amazon? Merch by Amazon Review, Features

Merch by Amazon is a print on demand (POD) platform launched by Amazon in 2015, similar to Amazon KDP and App Developer programs. After registering a Merch by Amazon account, users can upload and start selling their own designed T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and other clothing.

About Merch by Amazon

Merch by Amazon is an official support program launched by Amazon for independent designer sellers in the United States. Its purpose is to help independent designers popularize and promote their artworks and encourage the development of art.

Sellers do not need to pay any upfront fees. They only need to upload T-shirts, mobile phone cases or other special designs as product listings. Once a consumer buys, Amazon will print the product and be responsible for delivery. For each piece sold, the seller can extract a certain royalty.

The characteristic of this account is that all products are produced and sold by Amazon, and after-sales service is provided. What the account owner needs to do is to provide original non-infringing design drawings on the platform. Amazon will print the design drafts on the basic products provided by the official. For each piece sold, Amazon will pay copyright fees to the designer, and the specific copyright tax is 15-20% of the official price.

When Merch by Amazon was in beta, it only had basic clothing items, including short-sleeved T-shirts, long-sleeved T-shirts, sweaters, and pullovers. Now, it has added POP holders for mobile phone accessories. In the future, it will gradually add basic products such as mobile phone cases, bags, and suitcases.

Account Level

Merch accounts are divided into levels. The higher the level, the higher the weight and the stronger the risk resistance. The current levels are as follows:

·T0--Upload up to 10 products, and limit uploading 1 design per day;

T25: Upload up to 25 products, with a limit of 2 products per day. You can upgrade to T25 after placing 25 orders.

T100: Upload up to 100 products, with a limit of 5 products per day. You can upgrade to T100 after 100 orders.

T500: Upload up to 500 products, with a daily limit of 10 products. After 500 orders, you can upgrade to T500 (up to this level, Amazon will give you an AMS premium advertising account);

T1000: Upload up to 1,000 products, with a daily limit of 30 products. You can upgrade to T1000 after 1,000 orders.

T2000: Upload up to 2,000 products, with a daily limit of 50 products. After 2,000 orders, you can upgrade to T2000.

T5000: Upload up to 5,000 products, with a daily limit of 80 products. You can upgrade to T5000 after 5,000 orders.

·T8000--upload up to 8,000 products, with a daily limit of 150 products. After 8,000 orders, it can be upgraded to T8000;

·Special account--T8000 account can be applied for from the investment manager. The authority of this account needs to be developed and popularized by experts.

Guide to registering a Merch account

• Signing up for a Merch by Amazon account is relatively simple and can be done in 15 minutes. First, make sure you have the following materials:

• Amazon account and password;

• Contact information;

• Bank account and routing number;

• U.S. Social Security or Tax ID Number.

Working steps

Step 1: Create a Merch account.

Step 2: Research keywords with high search volume but low competition. You can search for T-shirts that you think are popular on Amazon, such as "Christmas elf t-shirt".

Step 3: Hire a freelancer (graphic designer) to design the T-shirt for you. Provide the designer with the details you want and ask them to give you an approximate completion time. After the preliminary design is completed, revise it according to actual needs. Make sure the designed image meets Amazon's requirements.

Step 4: Create your listing. Generally speaking, paying attention to pricing, brand name, title, bullet points, and description will allow your listing to rank higher than your competitors.

The pros and cons of being a Merch seller

1. Advantages

1. Be creative: New designers can build their own portfolios through the Merch platform. Designers are also sellers and can sell their own products.

2. Zero cost: Selling on Merch is almost zero cost. Designers only need to provide unique clothing designs without having to bear the costs of materials, warehousing or transportation.

3. Easy to use: The Merch platform is super easy to use. Users only need to follow the tutorials to easily and quickly create products, and they can sell them on Amazon very quickly.

4. Large quantity: Amazon rewards designers by increasing the number of designs that can be uploaded. Professional and prolific designers can upload up to 8,000 products, which can greatly increase sales.

2. Disadvantages

1. Product pricing: Amazon determines the price, and sellers cannot make their own decisions. For example, the price of a standard T-shirt is usually between $15.99 and $25.99, and sellers cannot set the price lower than Amazon's lowest price.

2. Copyright fees: New designers should not expect to become millionaires through the platform. Amazon gives designers very low copyright fees. For example, if a T-shirt sells for $15.99, the seller can only get $2.36.

3. Categories: Amazon does not develop many product categories, currently only including T-shirts, long-sleeved T-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies.

4. Quality: Since Merch is a printing-on-demand platform, the products are printed, produced, packaged and shipped by Amazon, which means that sellers are not involved in the production process of the products and cannot control the product quality.

Conclusion

Merch by Amazon is a platform provided by Amazon for independent fashion designers to realize their creativity. Designers can freely display their designs, and Amazon provides on-demand printing services, that is, Amazon will print them, which greatly reduces the cost of designers.

The disadvantage is that sellers cannot control the pricing of goods, and the royalties for each sale are relatively small. For sellers who hope to make a lot of money through the Merch platform, it may not be a good choice.

Development History

-In 2015, Amazon launched Merch by Amazon on the US site.

-In August 2018, Amazon launched its T-shirt print-on-demand service platform Merch by Amazon in Europe, Germany and the United Kingdom.