The t-shirt market is saturated, but there’s still plenty of opportunity to make good money by selling custom designs. You just have to learn how to start a t-shirt business the right way.
This article will guide you through every step, from market research and website creation to effective marketing strategies and product pricing. Let’s dive in and discover how to start a t-shirt business and earn passive income by selling custom t-shirts.
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you make a purchase through those links. This comes at no additional cost to you.
We expect the custom t-shirt market to reach $3 billion by 2025. Securing even a small piece of that pie would bring in a lot of profits for your t-shirt business.
When learning how to sell shirts online, you must decide what kind of business you’ll build. Let’s look at your two main options.
Online shopping is the new normal, and eCommerce is thriving, with projected sales of $8.1 trillion by 2026.
Tip Learn more about business models like Print on Demand and starting a print-on-demand business.
What do you need to start a t-shirt business? First, find out what’s going on in the market – what other clothing brands and t-shirt businesses are selling, who is buying t-shirts, and what people are looking for.
Tip Take a look at successful Shopify t-shirt stores for inspiration. What are their strengths and weaknesses, and how can you be better than them?
Start with the search engines of huge online retailers like Amazon. Look for terms like trending t-shirts , best-selling t-shirts , and popular tees . Narrow down those searches by adding terms connected to your target market. For example, Women’s Christmas tees or T-shirts with Italian Greyhounds . Look up these products with tools like Google Keyword Planner or Google Trends . These will provide more detailed information, like similar queries, your customers’ secondary interests, demographics, and location.
Tip Learn more about how to sell t-shirts on Amazon and Etsy.You’ll need to find your niche when learning how to start a t-shirt business. It’s fundamental for your success. There’s a lot of competition, and if you try to sell to everyone, you’ll end up selling to no one.
A traditional business plan is very detailed and describes the product, target market, and the company’s structure, including staff and locations. Financial institutions will require a business plan if you’re applying for loans or financing.
Small business owners may prepare a lean business plan . It’s a more flexible road map with essentials like key activities, revenue streams, assets, and partners. Remember to make your unique selling proposition very clear.
The US Small Business Administration provides templates for preparing different business plans.
How can you start a t-shirt business online without worrying about inventory management, fulfillment, and initial investment? Use a print-on-demand service .
Once you sell a t-shirt online, a POD company will print, package, and ship it to your customer.
Printify is the best choice for starting your t-shirt company:
To start, sign up for a free Printify account and access our Product Creator , eCommerce integrations , free t-shirt designs , and over 900 high-quality blank products.
You need to understand the differences between t-shirts to make products your customers will love. Here’s a quick t-shirt 101:
Always order product samples to ensure the t-shirt design and fabric quality match your expectations.
Pick a T-Shirt From Our Catalog
Tip Watch a comparison video between the Bella+Canvas 3001, Gildan 64000, and Gildan 5000, and check out our article on the best t-shirts for printing.
How to Apply Your T-Shirt Design
Explore : Find more graphic design tips in our blog and push your t-shirt line to the next level.
Once you’ve created some custom t-shirts, you’ll need a place to sell them.
The easiest way is to create an eCommerce store. Printify easily connects with the most relevant platforms – simply pick the one best suited for your t-shirt business.
Marketplaces and Online Retailers (Etsy, eBay, Amazon):
Dedicated eCommerce Platforms (Shopify, BigCommerce):
All-in-One Website Builders (Wix, Squarespace)
Printify API, Open-Source Platforms, CMS, and Plugins (WordPress and WooCommerce, PrestaShop)
Printify Pop-Up Store
Check out the best sites to sell online and decide which one is the right fit for you.
When you sell t-shirts online, pricing can make or break your online business.
First, consider your variable costs, fixed costs, and competitor pricing. Then, pick the best pricing strategy for your business.
1. Cost Breakdown: The Foundation of Pricing
Before setting your price, analyze all of your costs. These include:
2. Competition Research: Finding Your Niche in the Market
Take a look at the competitors in your t-shirt niche. Consider the following:
3. Popular Pricing Strategies: Finding the Right Fit
Explore these popular pricing strategies to find the best fit for you:
Creating designs and setting up your store is just the beginning. To make sales, you’ll need effective marketing strategies. Take a look at these tips to reach potential customers.
Explore our articles on
Focus on these strategies to effectively market your t-shirt business and increase sales.
Most eCommerce platforms provide analytics to help you manage your store’s performance. Track which products sell best and where your audience is from to create more bestsellers and effective marketing strategies.
Some platforms connect to Google Analytics to see your traffic, conversions, and other important metrics, like location and demographics.
Instagram and Facebook also have integrated analytics to help you plan the best marketing campaigns.
Sit back and profit while we handle the rest!
We'll print and ship your orders while you focus on mastering the ins and outs of starting a successful t-shirt business.
Every merchant knows that starting a t-shirt business can sometimes feel overwhelming. We spoke with three successful business owners to share their stories and offer advice to newbies so you can take the most straightforward path to profits.
Running a successful online t-shirt business comes naturally to online entrepreneur Rich Khun. From making $200,000 a year to being a successful YouTuber – Rich is a true inspiration for business owners. We’re not only fans of Rich as a Printify merchant, but we’re also hooked on his YouTube channel, Hustle Ninjas . It’s super useful for up-and-coming entrepreneurs, as he shares advice and experience on how to sell t-shirts online. Read Rich Khun’s full story.
Anyone learning how to start a t-shirt company can learn a lot from Cassiy. She lost her job during the pandemic and plunged into the world of print-on-demand services, soon discovering that POD was way more fun than her 9-5 job. Instead of focusing on a specific niche, Cassie has an Etsy store with products in various niches. She also teaches how to start a t-shirt business from home and so much more on her YouTube channel . Investing in custom mockups, Cassie makes the most of holiday sales to expand her business and sell t-shirts and other apparel. She uses Pinterest and some Etsy ads for marketing, but most of her sales come from organic searches. Read Cassiy Johnson’s full story.
Lindsey lost her 12-year corporate event production business, but this didn’t slow her down or prevent her from becoming a successful eCommerce entrepreneur. Lindsey runs an Etsy shop with more than 7,000 sales of shirts, print-on-demand notebooks , custom mugs , and other print-on-demand products. It is a great model for anyone asking, How do I start my own t-shirt business? The merch she offers has inspiring and empowering messages, though she also offers calming and fun designs. Read Lindsey Ferris’s full story.
Profitability in the t-shirt industry can vary greatly. It depends on factors like your niche, design quality, marketing efforts, and pricing strategy. However, by focusing on these aspects and leveraging Printify’s services, you can build a business with healthy profit margins.
Absolutely! Selling t-shirts can be a lucrative business venture. The vast and ever-growing market offers ample opportunity to carve out your niche and attract a loyal customer base. Printify’s print-on-demand service eliminates upfront costs and allows you to scale efficiently, maximizing your profit potential.
POD eliminates the need for upfront inventory purchases. Focus on creating t-shirts, utilize free store creation platforms during their trial periods, or create a completely free Printify Pop-Up store.
Then, leverage social media marketing for organic reach. As your business grows, you can reinvest profits into paid advertising, subscriptions, and website development.
Congrats, you now know how to start a print-on-demand t-shirt business. Let’s recap!
Now is the perfect time to capitalize on the growing custom t-shirt market and start earning passive income. Get started today, and let us handle the rest!
Vita is a content writer and an avid fan of language. With 5+ years of experience in the field of eCommerce, she comes from a background of support positions and has worked extensively with customer feedback. Vita loves creative and comedy writing. She's sworn to have a minimum of two cats in her life at all times.
Share the articleDoes Printify integrate easily with Faire? Would hopefully be able to sell on that platform as it is what we use most often to order wholesale merchandise for our brick and mortar shop. Also, if I want stock of my own products to have on hand for in person sales…do I just place an order and send it to myself?
Hi Lorena,
Yes, we do work in the UK. We even have some print providers located in the UK. Check out our catalog and email us at [email protected] , if you have any other questions.
Hi there!
When a customer submits an order in your connected store, your store receives the payment consisting of the product retail price (production price + profit) and the shipping fee.
Then the order is automatically imported into Printify and sent to production according to your order approval settings. However, since Printify can’t pull funds directly from your sales channel, Printify charges your linked credit card or your Printify balance with the production price of the product and its shipping fee.
To sum it up: your customers buy from you, and you buy from us.
Hello, I am a seller on the ebay platform, the price you give me and the price I give to the end customer will be different, if the product is shipped from you to my customer, which price will be sent to the customer in the invoice? And whether the name of my store is mentioned in the invoice that he bought from ebay and my store or not?
Hi Bafarmi,
Your customer will be charged with the price you yourself set up. Printify charges you the production and shipping costs (+ tax/VAT, if applicable). You charge your customer production + shipping + the profit. In other words, you yourself have to set the profit margin, however, we recommend setting it at least at 40% to successfully grow with Printify. You can read more about it here. And that all said, the customer will only see the retail price, so they don’t know how big of a profit margin you will have set. As for the invoices, Printify does not send your customer any invoices, however you should be able to set up your own payment policy on eBay. If any further help is necessary, please reach out to our merchant support team via the live chat on Printify website.
