Selling shirts on Amazon is an exciting opportunity to get into a booming industry that amassed $38.8 billion in 2022 and an ever-expanding marketplace boasting over 200 million Amazon Prime subscribers. This comprehensive guide will navigate you through the process of how to sell t-shirts on Amazon, including creating a seller account, leveraging Print on Demand (POD) for t-shirt sourcing and design, and outsmarting competition for business success. So, let’s get going and make those business dreams come true. Ready to start selling your tees on Amazon!

Setting Up Your Amazon Store: Your First Step to Sell Shirts on Amazon

Embarking on the journey of selling shirts on Amazon begins with opening your Amazon storefront. This process starts with creating an Amazon seller account and choosing a selling plan suitable for your business scale and goals.

Creating an Amazon Seller Account

Whether you’re using an existing Amazon customer account or registering with a business email, your Amazon seller journey begins here. As a seller, you need to fulfill certain requirements:

Reside in one of Amazon’s eligible countries.
Possess an international credit card and a government-issued ID.
Provide valid tax information and a phone number.
Have a bank account to receive your earnings.

Choosing a Selling Plan

Amazon offers two primary selling plans:

Individual Plan: This plan is ideal for small businesses or newcomers expecting to sell less than 40 items a month. It costs $0.99 per item sold.
Professional Plan: If you anticipate selling more than 40 items a month and want access to advanced selling tools and product advertising, this $39.99 per month plan is your best bet.

An exception to these selling plans is Amazon’s Merch by Demand, where you don’t have to pay for the selling plan, but more on this later.

Creating a Merch by Amazon (MBA) Account

If you plan to source your t-shirts through Amazon’s Merch program, you can use your customer account to sign in at MBA.

Remember, a traditional seller account offers a wider range of product types and sourcing options. Opt for an MBA account if you plan to rely on the program for sourcing t-shirts exclusively.

Choose wisely between an individual or professional account based on your sales projections. The individual account is perfect for less frequent t-shirt sales, whereas the professional account caters to a larger scale operation requiring product advertising.

Once your account setup is complete, you’re all set to make the next move in your journey to selling shirts on Amazon.

Selecting a T-Shirt Fulfillment Provider

One of the fundamental steps on how to sell shirts on Amazon is selecting the right t-shirt fulfillment provider. While manufacturing your tees or buying wholesale is an option, using a Print-on-Demand (POD) service is the most straightforward and hassle-free approach. Below are the top providers to consider:

1. Merch by Amazon (Amazon Merch on Demand)

Merch by Amazon is Amazon’s own POD service, a solution aimed at sellers who wish to concentrate on designing while Amazon manages inventory and logistics. Creating a Merch by Amazon seller account is free and approval typically takes 1-2 weeks.

Merch by Amazon works as follows:

Upload your artwork.
Set a listing price.
Amazon handles the selling, printing, packing, and shipping.
You earn royalties on every product sold.

This route also offers the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) option, wherein you send your t-shirts to an Amazon warehouse, and Amazon handles order fulfillment.

2. Merchize

Merchize is another comprehensive Print-on-Demand (POD) solution that supports T-shirt businesses intending to sell on Amazon. We focus on creating a seamless and streamlined process for sellers to design and sell a wide variety of customizable products, including T-shirts.

Merchize works by integrating your Amazon store with their platform, enabling automatic order import and fulfillment. We further allow you to design and list your products directly to Amazon from their platform. Here’s a simplified process of how to use Merchize:

Set up a Merchize account.
Design your t-shirts using Merchize’s product creation tools.
Connect your Amazon store to Merchize.
Merchize will automatically import orders from your store, produce, pack, and ship the ordered items to your customers.

You can check this video for a step-by-step guide on connecting your Merchize account with your Amazon store:

Merchize stands out for out affordable price range, extensive product catalogue, and complete control over your profit margins. You decide your selling price, which gives you more control over your earnings. Our POD service is perfect for entrepreneurs who wish to start or scale their online T-shirt business without worrying about inventory, production, or shipping.

3. Printify

Although Amazon is not officially supported as a channel, there are ways to list Printify products, including T-shirts, on your Amazon store. You can connect Amazon as a sales channel in a Wix store or use services like Codisto, Squarespace with Trunk, or Order Desk to facilitate this integration.

Here’s a general process of how you can sell your Printify products on Amazon:

Create an Amazon seller account.
Use Wix, Codisto, Squarespace with Trunk, or Order Desk to integrate your Printify products into your Amazon store.
Use Printify to fulfill your orders, while Amazon handles the customer-facing side.

Remember, to list Printify products on Amazon, you will need a GTIN exemption, which can be requested from Printify’s merchant support.

4. Printful

Another popular POD provider, Printful, allows you to print or embroider your designs onto t-shirts. Just like Printify, Printful will pack your t-shirt orders and ship them to your customers. The best part is that you only pay for the t-shirts you sell as orders are made on demand, with no upfront inventory costs or order minimums.

Connecting your Amazon store to Printful is a simple process:

Create your Printful account.
Design your t-shirts.
Connect your Amazon store to Printful.
Start selling.

Once you’ve chosen a suitable fulfillment provider, you’re ready to delve into the exciting part of your journey: designing your t-shirts. The right provider can make your quest on how to sell shirts on Amazon smoother and more efficient.

Design Your T-Shirt

The design phase is where your creativity truly shines. Based on your chosen niche, create a t-shirt design that would resonate with your target audience. Whether you’re targeting fitness enthusiasts, indoor gardeners, or fans of certain genres or pop culture elements, your design should represent them well.

A few themes for your t-shirt design could include:

Motivational quotes
Niche-specific humor or puns
Animal-themed designs
Photographic collages
Retro or vintage aesthetics
Special holiday-edition designs to sell seasonal products on Amazon

For further inspiration, you can explore various t-shirt design ideas online or gather popular trends from social media platforms.

Design Process:

There are a few necessary stages that are typically easy to follow, even for beginners, when designing a T-shirt. Here is a straightforward tutorial for designing a personalized T-shirt using a Print-on-Demand service like Merchize:

Design creation: Start by using graphic design tools to create your T-shirt design. This might be a premium service like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator or a free software like GIMP. For the best results, keep in mind to abide by the image quality and size restrictions.
Start your store with Merchize: Set up a Merchize account if you haven’t done so already. From the Merchize Catalog, select a t-shirt you prefer. Click on ‘Download Mockup & Template’ to launch the Mockup Generator.
Download Mockup & Template: Click on the option to download the mockup and template files for your chosen T-shirt. These files will serve as a guide for placing your design elements accurately.
Bring Your Design to Life: Open the downloaded mockup and template files in your preferred graphic design software. Utilize the template as a reference to position and scale your design elements appropriately on the T-shirt. Take advantage of the software’s features and tools to enhance your design and make it visually appealing.
Preview and Refine: Once your design is complete, take a moment to preview it and make any necessary refinements or adjustments. Consider factors like color choices, font styles, and overall composition to ensure your design effectively communicates your intended message.
Publish Your Product: With your design finalized, you’re ready to publish your product to your Amazon store. Upload your design and input the relevant product details, including descriptions, pricing, and available variations (if applicable). Double-check everything for accuracy before making your product live on Amazon.

Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to designing T-shirts. Feel free to explore different techniques, experiment with new ideas, and seek feedback from your target demographic. This iterative process will help you create designs that truly resonate with your customers and stand out amidst the competition in the bustling Amazon marketplace.

So, let your creativity flow and design T-shirts that captivate your audience and drive sales on Amazon.

Listing Your Shirts on Amazon: Optimization and Best Practices

When it comes to listing your shirts and products on Amazon, following these tips will help enhance your visibility and maximize sales:

Research and Utilize Relevant Keywords

Conduct thorough research to identify high-ranking keywords, trends, and phrases that are relevant to your product and niche.

Analyze top-selling shirts and study their descriptions, tags, and headlines for inspiration.

Utilize proper grammar and syntax in your product listings to ensure clarity and professionalism.

Avoid using complicated or confusing spellings of words that may confuse customers.

Create Compelling Headlines and Descriptions

Craft attention-grabbing headlines and descriptions that make your product stand out from the competition.

Incorporate relevant keywords naturally in your title and description while maintaining readability.

Follow Amazon’s guidelines and style guides for listing optimization to improve your product’s search engine optimization (SEO).

Optimize Title, Bullet Points, and Product Descriptions

Optimize your product title by including your brand name, primary keyword phrase, and essential product characteristics such as dimensions or color.

Use bullet points effectively to highlight key features and benefits of your shirts. Aim for approximately 200 characters per bullet point, totaling 1,000 characters for five points.

Craft a detailed product description of 1,700 to 2,000 characters. Keep in mind that on mobile devices, only the first 80 characters are displayed before the bullet points.

High-Quality Product Images

Provide high-quality product images that showcase the key features of your shirts.
Use non-pixelated images with white backgrounds to ensure a clean and professional appearance.

Follow Amazon’s guidelines regarding image size, resolution, and file format.

Amazon Storefront (For Brand Registered Merchants)

If you are registered with Amazon’s Brand Registry, consider creating an Amazon Storefront. This allows you to create a custom website within Amazon, showcasing your products and strengthening your brand.

Prohibited Terms and Claims

Be aware of prohibited terms by Amazon that could result in your listing being taken down.
Avoid using trademarked and brand names other than your own.
Do not make forbidden claims, such as “bestseller" or “free shipping."
Refrain from making health claims related to curing diseases.
Ensure your product complies with Amazon’s guidelines regarding drug products and components.

To further optimize your Amazon product listings, you can consider utilizing tools like Helium 10, which offers features to help optimize your listings with high-traffic keywords and more.

Market Your T-Shirt Products on Amazon

It is time to make your brand known. Here are some key elements to develop your marketing strategy and make money by selling shirts on Amazon. In this updated version, we will explore the importance of Amazon SEO, customer reviews, affiliate marketing, social media marketing, and Amazon advertising.

Amazon SEO

Imagine you’re an Amazon shopper looking for a t-shirt that showcases your love for books. You search for “book t-shirt" and are presented with countless options. Naturally, you’ll focus on the top results, rarely delving into all the listings. This highlights the importance for Amazon sellers to have their products appear prominently in search results.

To achieve this, Amazon SEO plays a vital role. It encompasses various strategies that enhance your visibility within the marketplace, propelling your listings higher in search rankings. If you’re keen on delving deeper into this subject, here’s an insightful guide on Amazon SEO.

Being both an eCommerce platform and a search engine, Amazon operates on its own algorithm—A9. This algorithm prioritizes buyers and undergoes unpredictable updates. To optimize your organic traffic, it’s crucial to employ relevant keywords and optimize listings, including titles, product descriptions, and bullets. Remember to think like a buyer when creating your listings, ensuring all information remains current, aligned with search intent, and relevant to potential customers. This entails providing accurate details such as colors, variants, measurements, as well as incorporating high-quality pictures and videos.

Customer Reviews

Customer reviews play a crucial role in the success of your t-shirt products on Amazon. Positive reviews build trust and influence purchasing decisions, while negative reviews can deter potential customers. Here’s how you can effectively leverage customer reviews to enhance your brand reputation and drive sales:

Prioritize Customer Reviews

Recognize the significance of customer reviews and prioritize their collection and management.

Aim for ratings above 3.3 stars, as most customers are hesitant to purchase from brands with lower ratings.

Make it a priority to gather positive reviews to build a strong reputation for your t-shirt products.

Engage with Customers

Actively engage with Amazon customers to develop positive relationships and encourage their feedback.

Respond promptly to customer questions, inquiries, and concerns on product pages. Show that you value their input and are dedicated to providing excellent customer service.

Include thank-you notes in the package and follow-up emails to express gratitude for their purchase and encourage them to leave a review.

Encourage Review Requests

Include a gentle request for reviews within your packaging materials or follow-up emails to customers.

Emphasize the importance of their feedback and how it helps improve your products and service.

Make the process of leaving a review as convenient as possible by providing clear instructions and direct links to the review section on your product pages.

Monitor and Respond to Reviews

Regularly monitor your t-shirt product reviews on Amazon and promptly respond to both positive and negative feedback.

Address any concerns or issues raised by customers and offer solutions or assistance.
Demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction and willingness to go the extra mile to resolve any problems.

Utilize Review Insights

Analyze customer reviews to gain insights into your t-shirt products’ strengths and areas for improvement.

Pay attention to common themes, feedback, and suggestions mentioned by customers.

Use this valuable information to make informed decisions about product enhancements, design improvements, or customer service enhancements.

Maintain Transparency and Authenticity

Ensure the authenticity and transparency of your reviews by not engaging in unethical practices such as purchasing fake reviews.

Encourage genuine feedback from real customers and provide exceptional products and service to earn positive reviews organically.

Authentic reviews are trusted by potential buyers and contribute to building a credible brand image.

Affiliate Marketing: Amplify Your Brand Awareness

Leverage affiliate marketing to expand your reach and increase brand awareness.
Contact influencers, bloggers, and YouTube channels relevant to your target audience.

Develop an affiliate marketing strategy where affiliates promote your products for a fee per click and sale.

Utilize Amazon’s free affiliate program, Amazon Associates, to tap into a network of affiliates.

Social media marketing

Social media marketing is a powerful tool to increase awareness and promote your t-shirt products effectively. However, it’s crucial to approach each social platform with special attention, considering the unique expectations and preferences of users. Simply copying and pasting the same content across all platforms won’t yield optimal results. Here’s how you can leverage social media marketing to market your t-shirt products:

Utilize social networks to share updates, new products, giveaways, sales, and blog posts. Strike a balance between promotional posts and engaging, informative content to build your brand. Consistently publish content to keep your audience engaged.

Don’t forget to actively monitor your social media accounts, checking for customer questions, reviews, and messages. Promptly respond to inquiries and engage with your audience to foster a positive relationship.

Share links to your social media pages on your Amazon product page, directing customers to explore and connect with your brand beyond the Amazon platform. Similarly, promote your Amazon presence on your social media platforms to drive traffic to your product listings.

Consider investing in paid advertising on social media networks. Many platforms offer the option to create ads from scratch or transform well-performing posts into advertisements. Paid advertising can help expand your reach and attract potential customers to your t-shirt products.

Amazon Advertising

Amazon Advertising is a powerful tool to market your t-shirt products and increase their visibility within the Amazon marketplace. In addition to utilizing paid advertising on social networks and Google, it’s essential to take advantage of Amazon’s own advertising platform.

Here’s how you can leverage Amazon Advertising to effectively promote your t-shirt products:

Monitoring and Optimization

Regularly monitor the performance of your Amazon Advertising campaigns. Analyze metrics such as impressions, clicks, and conversions to optimize your ad strategy. Adjust bids, keywords, and targeting to maximize the effectiveness of your ads and drive better results.

Budget Management

Set a suitable budget for your Amazon Advertising campaigns based on your marketing goals and objectives. Continuously evaluate the performance of your ads and make necessary adjustments to ensure that your budget is allocated effectively.

Final Words: How to Sell Shirts on Amazon

Selling shirts on Amazon can be a lucrative venture when approached strategically. From setting up your Amazon store to selecting the right fulfillment provider, designing captivating t-shirts, and optimizing your product listings, each step plays a crucial role in your success. By conducting thorough research, utilizing relevant keywords, crafting compelling content, and using high-quality images, you can enhance your visibility and attract customers. Stay engaged with your audience on social media, leverage Amazon Advertising, and continually refine your marketing strategies. With dedication and a customer-centric approach, you can establish a thriving business and sell shirts effectively on Amazon.

Ready to start selling shirts on Amazon? Team up with Merchize and start selling your own custom-designed T-shirts in minutes!