Updated: November 2025
How I Got Here
After trying different dropshipping attempts, I was burnt out. Each store taught me something new, but none of them felt like mine nor did they work.
So I searched on the web and bumped into POD (Print-on-Demand). The system was simple, I would design, upload it to whatever I wanted to sell (tshirt, bag, tumbler), and when I had a sale, it would take the order, supplier would print and send it out to the customer. Basically it was dropshipping but I could create my own design. (You would know by now I am very easily influenced by media and ‘easy ways to make money’)
I kept sticking with the idea of having a third party supplier and me acting as a bridge in between.
I decided to give this is ago as I mentioned previously, I felt guilty by not creating anything, I was just uploading supplier images, pricing them up, and waiting for people to buy.
I needed something that felt creative and personal.
What is Print-on-Demand (POD)?
Print-on-Demand ‘is a business model that people use to sell custom products online. Instead of making and printing items in advance, each product is made only after a customer places an order’ (Printful).
First attempt: Shopify and Printify
I started off creating a store in Shopify (again). By this time, I was an expert at creating stores. Created a logo, mail domain, website domain. I decided on Shopify so 1. I could not only sell POD based clothing/accessories, but also sell office goods and 2. I wanted to make my products look like a brand with its own site (not relying on Etsy).
I started with Printify as my production partner because it offered a wide range of printable products and automated fulfillment. It felt like a mix of control and convenience, and it was compatible with both Shopify and Etsy.
I started off with selling T-shirts with quotes/graphic designs that 9-5 workers would relate to (I was one myself so it wasn’t hard thinking of quotes). I was really passionate about this one as I was going through some downs in life and was taking a short career break – you really become desperate when your source of income’s non existent.
Results:
1. Didn’t manage to gain visitors
2. Market research was poor (again), found that similar tshirts/accessories were being sold at nearly 70% of my price
3. Selling things from different vendors was a huge commitment, meaning if one person had ordered two different things from different vendors, they would be sent out differently, different packaging and arrive at different times.
Then I saw on the Printify settings I could push my products to an Etsy store.
Second attempt: Shopify, Etsy and Printify
Etsy was far more better in terms of cost. Shopify I had to pay for my domain, subscription fee every month whereas for Etsy I had to only pay for my listings and renewals. To add on, Etsy felt more human than Shopify. Buyers came looking for unique, creative items rather than cheap duplicates. That aligned more with what I wanted to make. It wasn’t a ‘need’ this time, but I wanted to connect and wanted to relate to my customers.
Instead of reselling items, I could now design my own — something that came from me, not a supplier’s product catalog (which I felt guilty from).
My Niche and Concept
As mentioned earlier, my shop focused on people like me: 9-to-5 workers who wanted to make their workspace a bit more personal and enjoyable.
I designed and sold things like:
- Apparel
- Tumblers and drink bottles
- Desk mats and mouse pads
- Desk calendars
- Screen lights
- Small décor items for office setups
Everything tied back to the idea of making daily work feel less robotic and more creative.
Setting It Up
I designed all the products myself using my iPad/Photopea(online photo editor).
Some days I created five new designs, other days just one. But I enjoyed the process, which was new to me.
The workflow looked like this:
- Designed templates in Procreate/Photopea.
- Uploaded designs to Printify.
- Synced them to Etsy with mockups.
- Set up listings and pricing.
- Promoted through organic search and a social posts (TikTok, Instagram).
(This time, I did promote my products but also uploaded memes to gain followers/viewers)
Because Etsy already had built-in traffic, I didn’t need to push as hard as I did on Shopify to get views. People were searching for exactly what I was selling.
Results
Shopify wasn’t working. I closed my shop.
I only focused on POD, not other products I had to order separately (eg. desk mats)
The first month was quiet — mostly views and favorites. But within a few weeks, I got my first sale. First sale was surprisingly not something I took heaps of time to design, it was just a tshirt with a single quote.
It wasn’t a huge profit.
Over the next few months, I made 1 more sales of the same tshirt. This proved this model had potential.
Compared to my previous stores, this one felt natural. I wasn’t forcing products. I was creating and letting them find the right people.
What Worked
- Personal connection to the product
Designing my own items gave me motivation to keep improving. - Low upfront cost
I didn’t need to buy stock or pay monthly subscriptions like Shopify. - Etsy’s organic reach
Etsy buyers search by intent, so my listings naturally appeared in front of people interested in desk setups and home office décor. - Smoother operations
Printify handled production and shipping automatically, freeing me up to focus on design and listing optimization.
What Didn’t Work
- Competition
Print-on-demand has low barriers, which means lots of similar designs. Standing out took more effort than expected. - Profit margins
Etsy’s fees and Printify’s base prices left thin margins. It required higher sales volume to earn decent profit. - Time management
Balancing design, listings, and a full-time job made it hard to upload consistently. - Creative burnout
Designing every day was rewarding but also draining without consistent sales feedback. - Consistency
I am working on it, but eventually sales stopped and I got inconsistent as well and lost interest in my shop, which no one should do.
Lessons Learned
- Print-on-demand is slower to grow but more sustainable long-term.
- Creativity sells better than quantity.
- Etsy’s search algorithm rewards consistency — frequent uploads matter.
- Mockups and branding affect clickthrough rates as much as the design itself.
- When you actually enjoy what you’re making, the process doesn’t feel like work.
- ANYONE can start. But not everyone can be consistent.
Advice for Beginners
- Pick a niche you personally relate to.
- Focus on strong design presentation — clean mockups, clear titles, and descriptive tags.
- Start with a few products and scale gradually.
- Track which designs perform well and build around them.
- Don’t expect quick results — Etsy stores take time to mature.
- STAY CONSISTENT
Final Thoughts
This was the first online business that felt genuine. I wasn’t just selling random products anymore.
Etsy print-on-demand didn’t make me rich, but it gave me direction. It showed me that making money online doesn’t always mean chasing trends. Sometimes it just means building something that feels like you.
This experiment helped me understand how to combine creativity, patience, and business — a mix I never had before. It’s actually been the model which I’ve kept the shop for more than a year (after my first dropshipping failure).
