Everybody Loves Print-on-Demand Until the Orders Show Up

A few weeks ago, I had a deep conversation with a shop owner regarding the print-on-demand (POD) scene in the decorated apparel industry. This shop has eight online stores, but they weren’t profitable, and the shop owner didn’t understand the nuances that would make them so.

To them, POD sounds amazing at face value: new revenue streams with increased order frequency; the promise of e-commerce and scaling revenue; less dependence on bigger orders with fewer customers. Customers submit artwork themselves. No salespeople to hire or train. Plus, the ability to create and serve current customers with something new and exciting.

Then, the orders show up.

Now, the shop is juggling 173 one-off orders due to ship in two days. Quite a few have uploaded low-resolution AI-created artwork that will need to be upscaled and processed. Inventory in a particular color and size for one of the stores is no longer available. Customer service is buried in emails and phone messages. Production is confused about what to work on first because they haven’t prioritized the work. Shipping is overwhelmed. It seems like every team member is asking the shop owner questions, especially at the end of the day. And yet, somehow, despite being busier than last year, profitability is actually shrinking.

Sound familiar?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth that you aren’t hearing from anyone else and will eventually discover: POD doesn’t fail because actually decorating the apparel blanks is difficult.