I have recently dabbled in, and since left, the world of Print on Demand, first with Shopify, Teepublic and then Spreadshirt, (see my Trust Pilot review). Shopify (using Printify) became for me at least a costly exercise with some very detailed set ups for shipping, taxes, and payment etc. Meta Business Suite was a nightmare for a number of reasons, mainly due to the robot identification systems. I’ve pulled out of all Meta products (except for Whatspp) and TikTok. This post offers my observations of the Teepublic site and systems. Clumsy at best and as with most support folks, well intentioned but failing to understand the issues. Spreadshirt weren’t much better.
Aside from not showing my designs in their search results, no matter how far down, the Teepublic site is failing to catch up with their enthusiastic desire to sell products that aren’t T-shirts. Their own product identification system applies the word t-shirt to everything, e.g mugs, stickers and hoodies.
I even tried to buy some stickers from my own storefront and it proved impossible. Here below are some of the communication I received, oldest first. My replies are found at the end of this list.
Hey there Alan, thanks for reaching out.
Allow me to offer more context! TeePublic was really designed around t-shirts because that’s how we started. While this seems like a really obvious issue that needs to be fixed, there are significant architectural changes we will have to make to accommodate multiple products being shown on storefronts. That being said, this IS the direction that we’re moving, and we also agree that it makes the most sense for both designers and customers.
If you feel like you’re losing sales because of this, I would recommend that you promote individual products rather than the entire storefront for now. I can assure you, however, that the design will NOT print on any items you did not enable, even if it’s coming up under the other product views. If you click into the design on one of those pages, it should redirect to an enabled product. Thanks for your understanding and let me know if you have any other questions!
Cheers, I.M. TeePublic Artist Success Team
Hey there, Thanks for reaching out and for uploading to TeePublic.
While TeePublic is an open platform where anyone can host and sell art from their own storefront, there is no guarantee that all storefronts and/or designs will be included in the homepage search. There are a number of reasons an account may not be featured in our search function (eg. SEO Reasons). Unfortunately, your storefront and designs will not show up in search, or on the “new” or “browse” areas of the site. However, you will still be able to sell your work through the direct link to your page.
I am attaching a helpful link to our social media blog to share self-promotion practices:
https://www.teepublic.com/blog?category_slug=social-media
You can also check out our blog (that has tons of other helpful articles about the POD world) here:
https://www.teepublic.com/blog
**At this time we do not have any further information to provide, nor will your storefront be considered for re-review. Although we will not answer any other questions related to the search function, please do let us know if you have any other questions unrelated to search, and we will be happy to help.**
Cheers, I.M. TeePublic Artist Success Team and they had the blissful cheek to provide this: P.S. feel free to check out our blog for awesome tips and tricks to optimise your TeePublic experience!
https://www.teepublic.com/blog
Hi Alan,
I’m sorry you’re having issues with checkout. First, I would suggest using a computer with either Chrome or Firefox. Please clear your cache, and make sure all checkout fields are completed before placing the order.
Common checkout issues also include a mismatch in zip code between the method of payment and billing address, or mis-entering the three-digit security code on the back of your card. If your order is going somewhere other than your billing address, please be sure to un-click the box labeled “Billing address is the same as shipping address”.
If you are still having problems, please send a screenshot of your checkout page as an attachment and I can take a look for you! Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with, I’m happy to continue looking into this for you.
Hi Alan, thanks for your reply!
I’m sorry to hear our checkout is still giving you a hard time, and I’d be happy to place an order for you manually. All I need is the following information:
1) The design (include a URL link to the design page), and the quantity you would like
2) Your phone number, shipping address, and billing country and zip code
3) Your preferred shipping method
Once I have all this information, I’ll be able to get this started for you ASAP and send over a direct link so that you can securely submit your payment.
Let me know if you have any questions for me, I’m happy to help!
Thank you *****, I appreciate your offer but it doesn’t actually resolve my dilemma.
A customer would not persevere as I have done.
- As a new participant on Teepublic, I’ve found the title structure to be ridiculously inaccurate. https://www.teepublic.com/user/this-is-my-collection – every item is titled a T-shirt despite not being so.
- Have been told by Teepublic that none of my designs will appear in search. I emailed asking why and have received no reply or guidance in how to remedy this situation.
- Now I find I can’t even buy one of the designs presented in my storefront.
cheers alan
Hello ****,
I have cleared cache a number of times, using Chrome and it still gets stuck and does not proceed. Doesn’t go past confirm and proceed. As I mentioned the PayPal showed it went through and was then returned to my account.
All this is rather odd as the purchase same details went through on the hoodie purchase no problem. Here’s two screen shots and of the failure. cheers alan
I realised that I had provided that requested information in these screenshots.
My quest for world domination over the supply of POD products continues …
