Are you looking for the easiest and fastest method of starting your own online business? If so, consider turning to white label products. You don't need any equipment or expensive materials to start selling these items on Amazon or eBay. In fact, all you really have to do is create them and then sell them as your own brand. Here's how that works.
The best part about this type of business is that there are no minimum requirements needed to get started. You aren't required to buy anything. All you need is some time spent learning how to design your own products and packaging. Once you've gained enough experience with creating your own designs, you'll be able to find customers who will pay you money for those services. This is why many people refer to white label printing as "printing for hire."
If you're interested in finding out more about this type of business idea, here are five things you should know before jumping into it.
There are plenty of websites where you can purchase pre-designed templates for different types of labels such as envelopes, shipping boxes, gift bags, and more. These sites also offer blank sheets where you can fill in your own text. There are even apps available which allow you to use your smartphone camera to scan directly onto the label instead of typing everything yourself.
Once you've got your template ready, you need to decide what kind of material you want your labels made from. The most common options include vinyl, paper, plastic, fabric, wood, and cardboard. Some companies specialize only in one type of material while others work across several kinds. For example, 3M offers a wide variety of materials including but not limited to polypropylene, acetate, and PVC. They also provide their own custom adhesive systems and specialty coatings designed specifically for each material they produce.
As far as pricing goes, the price per unit depends largely on the size of the item being labeled and its overall weight. It also varies depending on whether you choose to order single units or large quantities at once.
It turns out that yes, you absolutely can! Many companies will give away samples of their printed labels if you ask nicely. Just remember to contact them well ahead of time so that they can prepare the sample properly. Also take note of the quantity because if you go over your allotted amount, you may end up having to pay for extra prints.
Most businesses charge anywhere between $2-$5 per piece of printed media (that includes both sides). Keep in mind that larger orders come with higher prices due to increased labor costs. However, if you're just getting started and don't plan on making huge profits right off the bat, you might be okay paying less than usual.
Another option is to check out local printers near you. While they won’t necessarily give away the same number of samples as big name brands, they often have smaller runs and lower rates. Most of them will require you to place a small deposit first though.
Finally, another great resource when trying to obtain free samples is by signing up for promotional emails through email listservs. Companies usually send out newsletters every now and again so try subscribing to them. When they do, you could potentially receive a couple hundred copies of their product.
Address labels are pretty straightforward. Since addresses consist mainly of numbers and letters, you basically need to use Microsoft Word or Google Docs to input the information in the proper format. After doing so, you simply copy the document over to your printer and wait until the finished product comes back. Simple as that!
Shipping labels work much like regular address labels except that they will contain additional details specific to delivering goods via mail. To begin, you'll want to determine exactly what type of package you'll be sending out. Different categories include books, CDs, DVDs, clothes, clothing accessories, computer software, electronics, games, housewares & kitchenware, jewelry, medical supplies, office furniture, pet food, sports gear, toys, tools, luggage, sporting equipment, etc. Then, you'll need to select the correct mailing service provider from among USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL Express, TNT, Canada Post, Australia Post, China Post, and other carriers.
When it comes to choosing the ideal carrier, keep in mind that speed plays a major role. You probably wouldn't want to ship something overnight via express delivery if it weighs 10 pounds and takes three days to arrive. Instead, opt for slower methods such as ground transportation or standard postal service.
After selecting a particular service, you'll need to enter the recipient's full street address along with the city and state. Next, you'll need to indicate whether you'd prefer the label to show up inside the box itself, attached to the outside of the box, or somewhere else entirely. Finally, you'll need to specify the exact day and time you expect your shipment to arrive.
While this article isn't meant to serve as a comprehensive guide to this entire process, hopefully it has given you a good overview of what needs to happen next. Good luck!
The benefits of white label
White labeling involves using third party services and/or software tools to design and produce printed goods (such as t-shirts) based upon customer orders.
These are usually low cost, high volume items with short lead times. This means that they're ideal for new businesses who want to get their name out there quickly but also require large quantities of stock at relatively little expense. That's where white label comes in.
With this service, you don't actually need to buy any inventory - instead, you pay the company to manufacture it for you. You simply tell them what you want and when you want it delivered and they'll take care of everything else.
This makes it much easier than if you were trying to run things yourself, which would require paying for huge amounts of ink and paper, not to mention having enough time on your hands to order everything properly every time.
In addition to cutting down costs, you'll also benefit from better quality and faster turnaround times. The best part about this option though is that you won't be limited by physical space either. It doesn't matter whether you're running an ecommerce store or producing branded merchandise for other companies – you can still use white label services to help grow your business.
Let's look at some examples below.
Printing t-shirts for your local sports team could save you money because you wouldn't need to purchase hundreds of shirts just to cover one event.
Maybe you've got 10 copies left over after doing promotional work
Printing your own labels can seem like the obvious choice for anyone looking for ways to make their small business more efficient and profitable. You could simply order some pre-printed labels from somewhere like Amazon Print Labels and stick them onto products yourself. If that sounds too simple, why not go one step further by doing all of the work yourself?
In this article we’ll look at how easy it is to set up a successful white label print on demand (POD) service using Shopify, and see if it makes sense as a viable option for your next small business venture.
When it comes to setting up a POD system there are two main options available – buying printed labels through a supplier, or creating your own designs and printing them yourself. This second option is known as ‘print on demand’, where businesses produce physical items only when they need to sell them. The benefit of this method is that no stock needs to be held and it means you don't have any overheads associated with storing inventory.
For example, if you run a coffee shop and decide to create your own branded cups, you would just upload a design into Shopify then click 'Create Product' - once created you're ready to ship out orders. However, while this approach does eliminate the hassle of having to store goods, it also requires a lot of investment in equipment such as printers, ink cartridges etc. Not only will these costs add up very quickly but unless you've got enough capital saved up to cover these expenses, you'll likely struggle to break even before the first sale has been made.
On top of this, many suppliers charge high prices which limit your profit margins significantly. With many companies charging anywhere between $1 and 3 per unit, you may find that the initial investment required to get started isn't worth the return on investment. For instance, if you were planning to spend around $500 to purchase 10,000 pre-made labels through Amazon Print Labels, you'd end up spending $50,000 before breaking even! And let's say you sold every single item within 30 days… well you might have earned a bit of extra pocket change, but most people won't achieve anything near that level of success.
If you want to avoid paying exorbitant fees to external suppliers, then consider starting your own POD business instead. Although this takes longer than purchasing pre-made labels, it gives you complete control over pricing, branding, delivery timescales and everything else involved in running a POD business.
This type of setup involves taking advantage of the large range of third party services offered by retailers who specialise in selling wholesale goods. These include things like shipping software, web stores and fulfillment centres so you can take care of all aspects of sales and fulfilment on behalf of your customers. In essence, these providers allow you to focus solely on building your brand and increasing traffic.
The best part about this strategy is that unlike other methods of generating revenue, there is absolutely zero risk because you aren't actually making any cash until someone buys something from you! So long as you maintain a positive balance each month, you shouldn't experience any financial problems whatsoever.
If you're interested in learning more about this kind of setup, check out our guide to running a drop shipper on Shopify which includes helpful tips on finding a reliable provider to help you build your new business.
There are several factors that determine whether or not POD makes sense for your particular niche market. One thing to keep in mind is that while you may initially save money by producing your own labels, this often doesn't last forever. As soon as you begin receiving orders, you'll need to pay for additional supplies including packaging, postage, paper rolls etc. Depending on how big of a volume deal you manage to attract, these costs can easily outweigh the savings you accrued during the early stages of your launch.
However, if you're able to generate consistent sales with low overhead, then investing thousands of dollars in expensive equipment can ultimately prove worthwhile. It's important to note though that this sort of setup usually works better for established brands rather than startups. Most entrepreneurs would prefer to use their limited resources to focus on growing their existing customer base rather than trying to acquire new ones.
As mentioned earlier, the key to succeeding with this model is being able to drive enough traffic to convince shoppers to visit your site and place an order. While you can certainly increase the amount of visitors you receive by offering free samples, discounts etc., this doesn't guarantee that everyone visiting your site will convert to a buyer. To improve conversion rates, you should try implementing various marketing strategies including SEO and paid advertising campaigns.
Another factor to bear in mind is the fact that although you'll never have to worry about warehousing any excess inventory, this still represents an enormous time commitment. Unless you employ someone full-time to handle this aspect of your business, it's going to become increasingly difficult to scale down as your client list grows larger.
While POD solutions work great for certain types of products, others require customised products. For instance, if you plan to offer apparel, stationery or similar fashion related merchandise, you may need to create bespoke labels based on specific measurements and colours.
Unfortunately, designing your own labels is far from straightforward. There are plenty of reasons why this process can be particularly challenging depending on the complexity of your project. Some of the most common issues involve things like font selection, colour coordination, layout requirements and sizing. Even experienced graphic designers often feel overwhelmed while attempting to tackle projects involving multiple layers and different types of materials.
Fortunately, there are tools designed specifically for this purpose. Many of these come courtesy of specialized POD platforms like MyDesignLab.com. A few other useful features to look out for include automated layouts, drag & drop templates and adjustable textboxes. When combined with a comprehensive library of fonts, images and clipart, these kinds of websites provide users with a seamless user interface for designing professional-looking labels.
These sites typically operate alongside dedicated software programs such as Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW and Photoshop. They combine advanced image editing capabilities with powerful drawing tools that enable users to draw directly inside applications like SketchUp and AutoCAD. By eliminating the need to manually edit graphics files, these apps give users the freedom to experiment freely without worrying about file compatibility issues.
It goes without saying that choosing the right toolset can dramatically impact your productivity levels. Fortunately, both standalone software packages and integrated POD platforms are widely accessible and affordable nowadays. Once you've decided on the ideal solution, you should expect to fork out anywhere between $100 and $1000 for an entire package.
Although there are lots of good reasons to choose this route, it's important to remember that not everybody is cut out to run a POD operation. While it's possible to learn how to use these tools efficiently, it's unlikely that you're capable of juggling complex tasks in real-time. Therefore, if you intend to rely heavily on automation, you'll probably want to hire freelance workers to assist with projects that involve heavy lifting.
Once again, we must stress that the answer to this question depends largely upon the size of your business. Obviously, the higher the number of units you sell, the less expensive it becomes to print your own labels. On the flip side, the lower the number of units you sell, the harder it will be to justify the expense of hiring staff members to perform manual tasks.
Regardless of your budget, however, it's crucial to understand that printing labels yourself is generally more expensive than ordering them from elsewhere. The reason behind this is that most POD platforms utilise proprietary technology that forces you to pay hefty licensing fees.
Even worse, the majority of these systems impose strict limitations on how you can use their content. Typically, all you're allowed to do is download digital copies for personal use. In addition, you're unable to share your designs with friends, family or colleagues. What's more, the licenses tend to expire after a short period of time meaning you're forced to purchase another license whenever you wish to update your logo or modify previously published designs.
While this may sound inconvenient, it's vital to realise that these restrictions exist purely for legal purposes. Otherwise, nobody would ever agree to publish content online under terms that restrict its usage indefinitely. Unfortunately, there's nothing stopping you from circumventing this restriction by uploading your own artwork to Google Drive or Dropbox.
Ultimately, the decision to either self-publish or partner with a reputable platform hinges entirely on your unique situation and goals. If you're confident that you possess the necessary skills and expertise to successfully implement a DIY POD solution, then you should definitely give it a shot. After all, the alternative is always renting or outsourcing services from a third party. Either way, it's impossible to argue against the convenience of getting rid of middlemen altogether.
In this article we'll discuss how to go about making your very first purchase of custom printed products and learn more about the different types of white label options available for businesses today. If you've been considering setting up your own print shop at home or starting a new eCommerce venture but aren't sure where to begin, then hopefully these tips will help you decide which type of white label solution might be right for you!
If you're looking into getting started with creating your own branded items that are unique to your brand, then there's no better option than using white label print on demand (POD) technology. This can be done by either designing and printing your own designs yourself or hiring someone else to do so, allowing you to save money while still providing customers with exactly what they need. However, many people don't know what "white label" actually means when talking about POD solutions and whether it's even something worth pursuing as a viable strategy for their business.
So let's break down some common misconceptions around white label printing and explain its benefits and drawbacks to see why it may not be suitable for everyone. In addition, we'll look at three ways you could approach going down this route and offer suggestions on choosing between them depending on your needs.
One thing most people forget about white label services is that they won't necessarily come with any kind of shipping included. While some companies do offer free shipping on all orders over certain thresholds, others charge extra fees regardless of order size - meaning you have to pay full price for each item.
This isn't ideal for those who want to sell high-priced goods like clothing, electronics, sporting equipment, etc., since it may put off buyers who would otherwise buy from you. It also doesn't work well for anyone selling inexpensive products, such as books, toys, furniture, stationery, etc. because it limits your potential customer base significantly.
However, if you just want to sell small batches of customized T-shirts, mugs, stickers, postcards, etc. then this shouldn't pose too big of a problem. You should find plenty of printers willing to take your design files and produce them for you at wholesale prices, which makes it easy to keep costs low.
Many brands already use third party vendors to provide their white labeled products and services, including Amazon, Etsy, and eBay. So if you plan on doing this as a side hustle or part time job to supplement income, then it's definitely possible to create your own versions of these products and ship out directly through one of these platforms instead of paying for expensive shipping.
Another benefit of this is that you get to avoid having to deal with returns and refunds altogether. Since you're selling through 3rd parties' sites, you wouldn't have to worry about anything except fulfilling sales orders, delivering finished goods, and managing inventory. Plus, you don't risk losing your shirt by ordering large quantities of stock and ending up with massive amounts of unsold merchandise sitting idly in storage.
But if you're planning on taking things further and expanding into a brick and mortar store, then you'd probably want to consider purchasing pre-made stock from manufacturers rather than trying to make everything yourself. That said, if you're only interested in a simple white label service where you can easily customize existing products, then this method has several advantages.
While the answer here depends largely on the specific printer you choose, it's safe to say that mass production methods usually involve higher overhead costs compared to smaller runs. For example, you can potentially save time and money by outsourcing to a professional manufacturer, but this comes at the expense of quality control measures being taken during the manufacturing process.
It's important to note that although you can sometimes save significant sums upfront by buying large volumes of stock, this often ends up costing more overall in the long run due to increased expenses in terms of maintenance and upkeep. A good rule of thumb is that it takes roughly four times as much labor to manufacture 10 units as it does 100 units.
When it comes to producing a single batch of 500 shirts, for instance, you can expect to spend $100 per unit on materials alone. Then factor in additional charges for packaging, shipping, handling, insurance, etc. and you end up spending about $400 total before you even think about sales taxes. By comparison, if you were able to source a vendor to handle the entire supply chain for you, then you'd likely end up saving hundreds of dollars every month.
Keep in mind though that you can always opt to hire freelancers to complete tasks for you and pass along savings to clients. But unless you're really skilled at graphic design and/or coding, finding reliable professionals who are capable of completing complex projects quickly and efficiently can be difficult. And even if you manage to do so successfully, you'll still end up paying top dollar for their services, especially if you want to maintain excellent workflow processes.
The best course of action is to try and cut corners wherever possible and focus on building relationships within your target market. Don't hesitate to ask friends and family members for referrals or reach out to local community groups to inquire about opportunities for collaboration. Many organizations will gladly allow you to place ads on bulletin boards or websites for little to no fee and give you access to mailing lists for free.
You might even be surprised to hear that some businesses are happy to rent out their name or logo for nothing at all, provided it stays consistent across multiple platforms. Just remember to be careful about trademark infringement and follow copyright laws whenever you're working with other people's intellectual property.
There are two main routes you can pursue when deciding how to build your own white label system: DIY and outsourced. Let’s explore both of these approaches.
DIY Methods
A DIY approach typically involves creating your own designs and uploading them onto a template site. As mentioned above, you can either design the templates yourself or commission someone else to do so. Either way, after you've created your artwork, you upload it onto a platform and send the link to your chosen printer(s).
Alternatively, you can simply download ready-to-print PDF documents straight from the internet and paste them into your preferred program. These programs include Adobe Illustrator CC, Photoshop CS6 Extended, GIMP, Corel Paint Shop Pro X3 Premium Edition, QuarkXpress 9 Professional, and Microsoft Word 2010.
Once you've pasted your file into your software package, you can tweak it however you wish. This includes changing colors, fonts, images, text placement, margins, paper sizes, page layouts, etc. The possibilities are endless, so feel free to experiment until you achieve the results you desire. Afterward, export your final document as a PNG image so that it can be uploaded to your printer.
Outsourcing Method
An outsourced method involves sending your artworks to a designer via email attachment. They receive your file and apply their expertise to turn it into a beautiful piece of work. Once completed, they return your files back to you, ready to be sent to your printer.
Advantages of Outsourcing
As mentioned earlier, this is the most affordable option when it comes to building your white label system and allows you to focus solely on growing your business rather than worrying about mundane details like printing procedures and logistics. On the flipside, it can take longer to set up than a DIY alternative, particularly if you haven't had experience editing graphics beforehand.
And although designers tend to charge less for larger jobs, there's no guarantee that they'll stick to your budget. Some artists are notorious for charging more than necessary, so you'll want to check reviews prior to signing any contracts.
If you're looking to grow your business beyond personal branding efforts, you may want to consider partnering with a reputable provider who specializes in white label products. There are various providers offering white label solutions, ranging anywhere from flat rates to hourly pricing models, plus packages tailored specifically towards entrepreneurs.
For example, Printful offers a range of customizable white label products that are perfect for startups and SMBs alike. Their team understands how challenging running a successful business is and therefore strives to ensure that you succeed. With their intuitive dashboard, you can track key metrics and view real-time reports to determine the success of your campaign.
Plus, they offer 24/7 support so you never have to stress over technical issues. When you sign up through their marketplace, you can select from dozens of industry verticals, including fashion, health & beauty, food & drink, travel, tech gadgets, sports gear, pet care, kids apparel, jewelry, accessories, and much more.
To sum things up, if you're thinking about venturing into the world of white label print on demand, then you should weigh the pros and cons carefully to understand its limitations and discover how it fits into your current plans. Also, bear in mind that you can always partner with another entrepreneur to share responsibilities and split profits.
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.