#+title: S03|L10 - how to create a printify account #+HTML_HEAD: #+OPTIONS: H:6 * Links #+attr_html: :class links - [[../../toc.org][TOC - ecomm clubhouse]] - [[https://jellyfin.ronnyabraham.com/web/index.html#/details?id=05d793a3e6ad76b74c8f5db143090572&serverId=99488804638e465693eed17924c57b60][video]] - [[https://printify.com/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=printify&utm_partner=sarahchrisp1&ps_partner_key=c2FyYWhjaHJpc3Ax&ps_xid=bmY2Lmlore5wBg&gsxid=bmY2Lmlore5wBg&gspk=c2FyYWhjaHJpc3Ax][printify homepage link]] * Notes 1. Prinitify is one of the top POD services 2. you can use it to create a lot of stuff - cups - tshirts - pillows - etc ** fantastic for beginners - free to use - simple and easy - they have lots of products - beyond usual mugs and tshirts - competitively priced ** signing up - artist or designer doesn't matter - create a store name * Description *** intro Printify is one the top print on demand services that you can use to create on demand custom merchandise. You can create your own custom tshirt, mugs or pillow cases or your own custom pet bed. You can do all of that and more with Printify. If you plan on doing another type of sourcing method such as Aliexpress drop shipping then you can skip this step. Printify is a platform to start with as a beginner because of 3 simple reasons: 1. It’s really simple and beginner friendly to use 2. It’s free to use, keeping start up cost low 3. They have LOTS and LOTS of different products 4. Their products are competitively priced ** So let’s get started in creating a Printify account. 1. Go to the Printify homepage and click Sign Up. #+caption: printify homepage #+attr_html: :width 600px file:../../_share/media/img/step_03/lesson_04/Printify-Homepage.png 2. Next type in your email address and password then click I’m not a robot. Follow instructions in the pop up and click verify. Then click Sign Up. #+caption: sign up #+attr_html: :width 600px file:../../_share/media/img/step_03/lesson_04/Email-add.png 3. Next, select what describes you best from the drop down list. Also, select the answer to “Are you already selling?” from the drop down list. Then, click next. #+caption: product desc #+attr_html: :width 600px file:../../_share/media/img/step_03/lesson_04/What-describes-you.png 4. Click Create a store name. Then type in your store name. Click Save. #+caption: create a store name #+attr_html: :width 600px file:../../_share/media/img/step_03/lesson_04/Create-a-store-name.png 5. It’s super simple to sign up. But to complete the sign up process you have to verify your email. You need to go to the Inbox of the email that you’ve used to sign up with. Open the inbox of the email you’ve used when you signed up with Printify. Open the email from Printify with the subject “Please verify your email”. Next, click confirm your email. You’ll be redirected to the Printify homepage and be on the look out for the email confirmed message and that’s it! You’ve created your Printify account successfully! #+caption: verify email #+attr_html: :width 600px file:../../_share/media/img/step_03/lesson_04/Inbox.png * Review ** Summary This lesson explains how Printify works, how to set up an account, and how the payment flow operates between Shopify, Printify, and the customer. ** Core Idea Print-on-demand works by selling first and paying later: - Customer pays you (via Shopify) - You pay Printify (production + shipping) - Printify fulfills the order automatically ** Practical Value - Create Printify account - Understand product sourcing (e.g. $8–$11 t-shirts) - Set retail price in Shopify - Add payment method to Printify - Configure basic account settings - Understand fulfillment flow (automated printing + shipping) ** Payment Flow (Important) 1. Customer pays Shopify 2. Shopify sends money to your bank (delay: ~2–3 days) 3. Printify charges your card immediately 4. Product is produced and shipped You must cover upfront cost temporarily. ** Required Inputs - Email / account creation - Store name (optional but recommended early) - Payment method (credit or debit card) - Basic survey answers (required) ** Warnings - Printify does NOT take money directly from customer payments - You must have funds available (card or balance) - Misunderstanding this flow can cause failed orders - EU legal disclaimer may be required depending on market - Do not ignore payment setup — orders will fail without it ** Key Insight Print-on-demand is low risk, but not “zero cash flow.” You still need: → short-term liquidity to fulfill orders However: → you are not holding inventory → you are not paying before a sale ** My Recommendation Use a credit card if possible: - smoother cash flow - builds buffer between payment in/out - potential rewards If using debit: - ensure sufficient balance at all times Set this up correctly once, then ignore it — fulfillment becomes automatic. ** Additional Insight This model is powerful because: - no inventory risk - no shipping handling - minimal daily operations Most of your effort should go toward: - product quality - listings - marketing NOT logistics. * Transcript 00:00 Now we're gonna get a free Printify account for your 00:02 store. Printify is 1 of the biggest and most popular 00:05 print on demand platforms and apps. Inside of their catalog, 00:08 you'll find hundreds of different blank products that you can 00:11 customize and sell. 00:13 For example, 1 of the products we'll be adding in 00:15 later is a t shirt. Right now, you can buy 00:17 a t shirt from Printify for around 8 dollars to 00:20 11 dollars per shirt and customizing it is simple. You 00:24 simply upload the artwork that you want printed onto it. 00:27 Then in your Shopify store, you set your own selling 00:30 price. 00:30 For instance, you might sell it for 19.95 00:33 dollars with shipping set to 5 dollars Then whenever a 00:37 customer buys that t shirt from you, Shopify collects the 00:39 payment from them. So in this example, Shopify would collect 00:42 25 dollars They process the payment and then deposit it 00:46 into your bank account and at the same time, Printify 00:49 is doing its thing in autopilot. 00:51 So when the order comes in, Printify picks it up 00:54 and essentially says, Cool. Let's produce and ship this shirt. 00:57 They charge the payment method you added to your Printify 01:00 account for the wholesale printing and shipping costs. They then 01:03 send the order to 1 of the print shops in 01:06 their network. That print shop prints your design onto the 01:09 shirt, packages it up, and ships it out to the 01:12 customer. 01:13 You don't have to physically do any of it. So 01:16 yes, that is how it works, and I personally love 01:19 print on demand for 2 reasons. 01:21 Firstly, as you can clearly see, compared to other forms 01:24 of ecommerce, 01:25 print on demand has very little risk. And Printify only 01:29 charges you to print and ship the product 01:31 after a customer has already paid you and paid your 01:35 market price. Once my stores are up and running, apart 01:38 from having to respond to any customer emails, there isn't 01:41 really a lot I have to do daily. That's a 01:44 big part of why I'm able to travel so much. 01:47 So, yes. I'll put my Printify affiliate link in the 01:50 description. 01:51 Just click it and then click the sign up button. 01:53 You can create an account using your email or sign 01:56 up with Google or an Apple account. After that, you'll 01:59 be taken to a quick survey. 02:00 Unlike Shopify's, 02:02 this 1 can't be skipped, so just answer the questions 02:05 as best as you can. Once you're finished, you'll land 02:07 on your Printify dashboard. And you're almost done. Now you 02:10 can go in and you can tweak any settings that 02:12 you like. A lot of these settings are optional, but 02:15 there are a few setting tweaks that I recommend. 02:19 So first up, install settings. Add in your store name. 02:22 If you already know what you want to call it, 02:24 That helps with branding. You can always come back and 02:27 change this later. Secondly, you'll see an option to add 02:30 a legal disclaimer if you plan to ship to EU 02:32 countries. If you're planning to sell in the European Union, 02:35 you can tick this. If not, you can leave it 02:38 off. Either way, click save. 02:41 Next, click on wallet and under payments, add your payment 02:44 method. This can be either a credit or debit card 02:47 and by the way, this is the part that confuses 02:49 a lot of people since, well, a lot of people 02:52 think that the way that Printify works is that they 02:54 will automatically 02:55 deduct the cost of the production and shipping for the 02:58 item from the money that the customer has paid you. 03:02 But that's not how it works because Printify is not 03:05 the 1 collecting the customer's payment. 03:07 Shopify is. Legally, Shopify owes you the money because it's 03:11 your store, not Printify's. 03:13 So here's how it actually plays out. When you make 03:15 a sale, Shopify pays you daily and transfers that money 03:19 to your bank account. The bank transfer usually takes 2 03:22 to 3 business days to clear. But, ideally, you want 03:25 Printify to start production right away, so your customer gets 03:29 their order as soon as possible. Right? That's why we 03:31 add a credit or debit card to Printify. This lets 03:34 you pay for the wholesale and shipping costs upfront. 03:37 Now, personally, I actually like paying this cost upfront because 03:40 I use a credit card for rewards like my Amex 03:43 Platinum. Every time I use it to pay for orders, 03:45 I earn reward points I can convert into airline miles, 03:48 which I then use for discounted or free flights and 03:51 upgrades. 03:52 Those miles are how I've managed to fly myself and 03:54 my family business class around the world at no extra 03:57 cost. So for me, paying upfront with my card is 04:00 a benefit, not a downside. 04:01 Then once the money from Shopify hits my bank account 04:04 a couple of days later, I pay off the card 04:07 before any interest is charged. So you could do the 04:10 same thing with a rewards credit card if you have 04:12 1 or you can just use a debit card with 04:14 enough balance to cover the upfront costs. It's totally up 04:18 to you.