How to Sell Shirts on Amazon

Amazon is one of the largest corporate entities globally, with more than 200 million Amazon Prime subscribers. With millions of packages being shipped and delivered daily, it is no surprise that Amazon has dramatically expanded its platforms for both customers and sellers alike. 

If you are looking to earn some extra income or if you are thinking of launching your very own business, learning how to sell shirts on Amazon can maximize your online reach and ability to succeed. Selling shirts on Amazon can significantly help your brand’s overall visibility while providing you with a platform that is flooded with customers.

• Open an Amazon Seller Account 
• Select a Provider
• Create Your Design
• List Your Shirt
• Market Your Products
• Wrapping Up

1. Open an Amazon Seller Account 

In order to begin selling shirts on Amazon, you will need to create a seller account or join an Amazon t-shirt program, such as Merch by Amazon. To get started, head over to the official Amazon services site.

From this page, you can opt to “Sign Up” or “Learn more.” In this instance, select “Learn more” to gain insight into the different pricing options for Amazon sellers to determine which type of account you need.

If you skip the option to “Learn more” and select “Sign up” instead, you will be redirected to a checkout page, which will not provide you with an overview of what each Amazon account plan costs or its features.

Once you click “Learn more,” you will be taken to a page where you can also opt to “See pricing” of individual and professional Amazon accounts.

There are two main seller account types on Amazon: individual and professional. If you intend to sell only a few items a month and do so on your own, the individual account is suitable. However, if you want to sell more than 40 units a month, you plan to advertise your items, and wish to boost your item’s placement on Amazon, a professional seller’s account is highly recommended.

An individual account from Amazon will cost approximately $0.99 per item sold, while a professional seller’s account from Amazon will run you around $39.99 a month, plus additional seller’s fees.

2. Select a Provider

There are different ways to sell your shirts on Amazon, from selling tees with Merch by Amazon, selling items directly, or even using Amazon’s FBA solution. One of the best ways to make money on Amazon is to use a built-in selling platform, such as FBA or Amazon Merch, especially if you are just getting started. Compare the following providers and selling options to find the best route for your products and business plan.

• Merch by Amazon: Merch by Amazon is a built-in platform that allows users the ability to create, design, market, and sell shirts directly on Amazon. With Merch by Amazon, you will not require a warehouse to store inventory, and it will not be necessary to keep track of materials or suppliers.
• FBA: FBA, or Fulfillment by Amazon, is one of the most popular solutions for Amazon sellers today. With FBA, ship your products directly to an Amazon warehouse to have your orders fulfilled.
• Wholesale: It is also possible to purchase shirts in bulk. Purchasing products wholesale and storing them on your own is possible for those seeking a higher profit margin. It is also possible to use dropshipping with wholesale items to fulfill Amazon orders.

Tips on Choosing a Fulfillment Method

If you are interested in selling on Amazon with little to no money down, consider using Merch by Amazon or a third-party drop shipping service. If you have your own products, purchase them wholesale and use FBA or offer direct shipping from your place of business. 

Pricing

Whenever you sell products on Amazon, you will likely need to pay a referral or commission fee. This fee from Amazon is typically around 15%, but it may fluctuate from 12-40%, depending on the profit margin you are attempting to reach.

Individual seller fees of $0.99 will be added to each product an individual sells on Amazon if they are using an individual account instead of a personal one.

FBA fees are also added for those using the FBA program to make passive income on Amazon. FBA fees can begin at $3.00 for smaller items and go up for larger and heavier items.

3. Create Your Design 

Create designs for your Amazon shirts that are popular or sure to attract an audience. Stay on top of trends in pop culture, politics, entertainment, and business to create fun shirts, customized tees, or shirts to commemorate a particular time in today’s society or current events.

When designing shirts for Amazon, it is essential to avoid using profanity or any image(s) and design(s) that may be considered offensive. A few things to avoid include nudity, slurs, slang, and curse words, even if they are considered socially acceptable in most scenarios. It is highly advisable to read the terms and conditions for Amazon sellers before submitting a questionable or potentially risky design.

4. List Your Shirt

When listing your shirts and products on Amazon, use the following tips:

• Research keywords, trends, and phrases that are most relevant to your product
• Compare top sellers, descriptions, tags, and headlines
• Use proper grammar and syntax
• Avoid using complicated or confusing spellings of words
• Use a headline or description that helps your product stand apart from the rest.

If you want more help with managing your Amazon listings, turn to Helium 10 to optimize your product listing with high-traffic keywords and more.

5. Market Your Products

Once your product is live, it can be challenging for the millions of active users on the site to find it, which is why advertising and marketing are so important. Using built-in tools from Amazon as well as third-party services to market your Amazon merchandise is a must, especially if your products are listed in a highly competitive market.

If you are looking for marketing tools you can leverage, look no further than Helium 10. Helium 10 has all of the marketing tools and resources you need to get your t-shirts seen by prospective customers on Amazon.

Wrapping Up 

Knowing how to sell shirts on Amazon can be a lucrative investment for many people. With the right tools, resources, and audience, just about anyone can succeed using the Amazon selling platform. If you need help selling your custom tees and boosting the visibility of your products, our collection of tools is specifically designed for this purpose. Turn to Helium 10 and learn how we can support your entrepreneurial endeavors today.

Frequently Asked Questions