How To Reposition Your T-Shirt Design On Amazon Merch

Amazon Merch is an on-demand t-shirt printing service that allows sellers to create and list t-shirt designs on Amazon for free. There are no upfront costs, and sellers get paid royalties when a customer buys their shirt. To get started, sellers must submit business registration, tax, and bank account information, and wait for Amazon’s approval. Once approved, sellers can upload their designs, work on their listing descriptions, and set prices. Amazon will then create a product listing, and when a customer buys the shirt, Amazon will print, pack, and ship it.

Uploading your design to Merch

To start selling your designs on Amazon Merch, you need to first set up an account and get approved. Once approved, you can begin the process of uploading your designs.

Before you upload your design, it is important to get familiar with Amazon's content policy. Your design should be a 300 DPI (resolution), PNG (format) file, with a printable area of 15″ by 18″. Files should be lighter than 25MB. It is also important to note that products will be printed in CMYK, even if you design in RGB.

Amazon Merch offers downloadable templates to help you try out your designs. You can use Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop to do this.

Once your design is ready, you can upload it to Amazon Merch. You will then need to choose your colours, set prices for each marketplace, and enter your product details such as the title, bullet points, and description.

After you have uploaded your design and added the relevant details, your listing will go through eight different statuses as Amazon reviews your creation. The first status is "Draft", which means your design is still a work in progress. Once you submit your design, it will move to "Under Review". If your design is approved, it will move to "Started Process", and then to "Processing" as Amazon creates your listing. The next status is "Pending Your Approval", which means you can order a sample of your design before publishing it live on Amazon. If you are happy with the sample, you can approve it, and your design will go live on Amazon and be discoverable to everyone. If your design does not meet Amazon's content policy, it will be "Rejected". Finally, if your design does not sell within the first 180 days of going live or violates Amazon's Content Policy, it will be "Removed".

It is important to note that Amazon has specific guidelines for Merch products to ensure that the final product is high-quality and accurately reflects what customers will see in the listing. Uploaded artwork files should be in sRGB (the standardized RGB colour space for digital graphics) and be transparent PNG files. It is recommended to use high-resolution images and vector files to avoid image pixelation and to format your design to suit each specific garment or product.

Choosing product type and colour

Merch by Amazon offers many t-shirt variations that you can choose for your designs. However, your design should follow the same guidelines even when your product has different sizes, for example, a kid’s t-shirt against a man’s hoodie. Merch will resize your design to fit accordingly.

When it comes to choosing a colour, you can pick from a variety of options. The number of colours you can pick depends on the number of colour options you have. For example, if you have five colour options, the second colour you pick will be displayed by default. If you have four colour options, the first colour you pick will be displayed by default.

It is important to note that you need to pick colours before you select the youth size. If you check the box for youth sizes before picking your colours, the default colour hack will not work.

Once you have selected the colours in the order that you want, go ahead and save the selection. That is all there is to it.

However, as soon as you get a single sale, Amazon will change the default colour to the one that sold. So, while this hack can give you a slight edge over your competitors and make your product stand out in search results, it is only temporary.

Adding a product description

When it comes to adding a product description for your T-shirts on Amazon Merch, there are a few key things to keep in mind. Firstly, your description should be detailed and range from 1,700 to 2,000 characters. It's important to provide a clear and compelling description that highlights the unique features and benefits of your product. Here are some tips to help you craft effective product descriptions:

Use Bullet Points and Keywords:

Use bullet points to outline the key features of your T-shirt product. Each bullet point can be up to 200 characters, and you can include up to 1,000 characters across five points. Take advantage of relevant keywords in your descriptions to improve search engine optimization (SEO) and make your product more visible to potential customers. Think about what your target audience might be searching for and incorporate those keywords naturally into your description.

Focus on the Benefits:

Instead of simply listing the features of your T-shirt, try to highlight the benefits that those features provide. For example, instead of just mentioning the fabric type, explain how it makes the T-shirt soft, comfortable, and durable. Discuss the fit and how it flatters different body types. Help your customers understand how your product will improve their lives or solve their problems.

Use High-Quality Images:

Include high-quality, clear, and well-lit images that showcase your T-shirt design from different angles. Consider including close-ups of the design, as well as lifestyle photos that show people wearing the T-shirt. This will give customers a better sense of what the product looks like in real life and build their confidence in purchasing it.

Be Creative and Unique:

Your product description is a great place to showcase your brand's personality. Use a tone and language style that aligns with your target audience and sets you apart from competitors. Be creative in your descriptions and try to evoke emotions that will resonate with your customers. However, be careful not to make exaggerated claims or use forbidden terms, such as "bestseller" or "free shipping," unless they truly apply to your product.

Provide Detailed Specifications:

While focusing on the benefits is important, don't forget to include the essential specifications of your product. Mention the materials used, care instructions, and any other relevant information that will help customers make an informed purchase decision. This demonstrates transparency and builds trust with your audience.

Remember, the product description is a crucial element in influencing potential customers' purchase decisions. Take the time to craft compelling and informative descriptions that highlight the unique aspects of your T-shirts and set your brand apart from the competition.

Setting a price list and going live

Once you have uploaded your design, chosen your product type and colour, and added a product description, you can set a price list and go live.

Before going live, your design will go through a process with eight different statuses:

• Draft: Your design remains a draft until you submit it.
• Under Review: A Merch team member reviews your design.
• Rejected: Your design might get rejected if it infringes on the content policy.
• Started Process: Your design has been approved and is now in the process of being added to Amazon.
• Processing: The process to add your design to Amazon has started.
• Live: Your design is live on Amazon and discoverable.
• Pending Your Approval: Your design has been published with a private link so that you can order a sample before publishing it live on Amazon.
• Removed: A design will be removed if it did not sell within the first 180 days after publishing or if it has content that violates the Merch by Amazon Content Policy.

When setting your price list, you will need to consider the difference between the product purchase price, Merch costs, taxes, and your actual profit. Merch by Amazon costs include materials, production, fulfilment, customer service, returns, exchanges, and resources required to detect and prevent fraud. Fulfilment costs include picking and packing your product and shipping it to the customer.

You can also use Amazon's royalty calculator to learn how profits work. Remember that Merch by Amazon is non-exclusive, so you can upload your designs to as many websites as you want.

Earning monthly royalties

Selling custom t-shirts on Amazon can be profitable, but it requires creating niche-specific designs, competitive pricing, and marketing investments. Amazon Merch by Demand is a good option for beginners as it is the cheapest and easiest way to get started. However, it also grants the least control over products, as you don't get your own storefront, and can't interact with customers or advertise your products.

With Amazon Merch by Demand, you upload your artwork and set a listing price, and Amazon sells, prints, packs, and ships the products. You then earn royalties on every product sold, which are paid on a monthly basis. The amount you earn depends on how you price your t-shirt, and other costs such as materials, production, fulfilment, customer service, returns, exchanges, and resources required to detect and prevent fraud are subtracted from the royalty price.

For example, if you sell a standard t-shirt in the US marketplace with a purchase price of $15.99, your royalty will be $2.21. For a t-shirt priced at $25.99, the royalty is $9.77. The royalties are "based on the price a customer pays for a product rather than the list price displayed in the Merch by Amazon portal". So, the final purchase price is the most important factor for calculating royalties.

It's important to find the right balance with your selling price to maximise profits. While selling a higher quantity of t-shirts at a lower price can lead to higher profits, selling fewer quantities at a higher price can also result in higher royalties. It's also crucial to consider the lowest price, highest price, and average price for t-shirts in your category or niche to remain competitive.

In addition, you need to take into account the applicable VAT rate for different markets, as this will impact your royalties. For example, in Germany, the VAT rate for apparel is 19%, while in the UK it is 20%, excluding young children's clothing.

To increase your sales and royalties, consider the following strategies:

• Create multiple listings with the same design on different variations of the same product, such as different colours or styles.
• Advertise your listings using Amazon's promotional tools, such as Sponsored Products, Sponsored Display, and Sponsored Brands.
• Use social media marketing to increase awareness for your products and interact with your customers.
• Capitalise on trends and create designs with popular quotes and hashtags.
• Stay current on popular TV shows, movies, and music, and create seasonal designs.

By combining these strategies with an eye-catching design and competitive pricing, you can successfully earn monthly royalties through Amazon Merch.

Frequently asked questions