Print on demand (POD) vs. Dropshipping: What’s better

Both print on demand (POD) and dropshipping are e-commerce business. While traditional bricks and mortar stores have tons of problems where most entrepreneurs fail: organization and management skills, stock management, packaging and shipping process, customer services, staffing,.., both POD and dropshipping will free you from most of those headaches.

Then what is the difference between the two models and what is better for you? If you are planning to start your online business and are asking yourself the same questions, this article is a must-read for you. So let’s get started!

What’s the Difference Between POD and Dropshipping?

Print on demand is a process in which you create and sell the products on a per-order basis. Your designs are printed on the products as orders come in and only with the ordered quantity. It means you only pay for the products after your customers request it. You don’t have to buy products in advance and keep them in your stock. Therefore, this production method helps you to reduce waste in case you may not sell out your inventory.

In the other hand, in dropshipping, you receive your customers’ orders, then pass it to a third party supplier who will ship directly to your end-customers. It saves you the cost of maintaining a physical store and inventory. The way it works is that a customer visits your website, orders a product, and pays for it. You receive the order, purchase the product from the supplier and ask them to ship it to the customer for you.

What are Pros and Cos of POD and Dropshipping?

What are the pros of POD?

First, if you are running a POD business model, you don’t need to print your products in big quantities but only do it on demand. Only after your customers have ordered, you will proceed to print and create the products to deliver to them. No gamble on your money. No inventory.

Second, you don’t need to buy printers by yourself. Instead, your POD partners will be in charge of the process. You don’t need to care about all these technical problems.

Next, you can try out with many designs easily. Print on demand method will allow you to take risks with the designs you offer. You can test with something unique and see if your customers like it. Meanwhile, if they don’t seem to fall for it, you can easily take it out of your store without making a huge investment on a thing that might not sell in the end.

In addition to that, POD makes it easy to customize your designs. You might want to customize the designs and offer them to your customers.

Besides experimenting with different designs, you can experiment with many products too. You may try out with T-shirts, mugs, leggings, arts, phone covers, socks, backpacks,…

What are the cons of POD?

Still, there are some cons of this model you need to take into account:

First, you cannot take control of the fulfillment process and quality of the products. It means that you have to trust your printing partners since you will not see each product itself. Therefore, finding a good printing partner is highly important to POD model. You can test them before signing any agreement and randomly to see if the printer is trustworthy.

Next, unlike available products, POD product is processed after an order is received, so orders take more time to be fulfilled. So, as a shop owner, you should manage your customers’ expectations by letting them know that you will need more time on POD products than an already made product.

Who is POD for? It is ideal for those who want to start out a store. It also works for those who want to extend their business or try out new products. POD method gives you the chance to freely test new ideas. But do keep in mind that it will take longer to fulfill an order, which you don’t have to worry about if you are running a physical store.

What are the pros of dropshipping?

One of the biggest advantages of a dropshipping store is that you don’t need big investments to start your business. Customers come to your online store and order products. You receive the orders then deliver to your suppliers for their processing. You only pay after an order is made. Like POD method, you need no inventory.

Next, dropshipping is easy to experiment. You may test if a product can become popular by adding them to your store and see if it is sold well.

Furthermore, it’s easy to sell new products. It means when you notice something is blowing up at the time, you can easily add it to your product collections. It is much faster compared to manufacturing a new one.

You also have plenty of product options to start with. It all depends on your passion and also what is selling out at the moment.

Since you don’t have any inventory and other problems of a bricks and mortar store, you will have the chance to spend more time on your shop.

What are the cons of dropshipping?

First, you will not have entire control over the order fulfillment process. You don’t handle the products by yourself but the dropshipping suppliers will do, so you have to find trustworthy suppliers then. Those suppliers should have good quality products as well as professional order processing.

You may find it difficult to emphasize your brand. For example, you have to rely on your suppliers if they can custom the packaging or add some promotional items into the package.

Finally, since dropshipping is easy to start, there are more competitors on the market. There are a lot of dropshippers out there who are selling the same products as you do. This means you need to spend great effort on other things like a marketing campaign to make your brand stand out among other competitors.

Who is drop shipping for? Dropshipping model as well fits stores that are starting out. You don’t need a huge amount of capital but freely experiment with new products on the market.

Conclusion

Now you understand basic features of POD and dropshipping method as well as what its pros and cos are. Now it’s your turn to decide what you want to do. But when you start out your business, remember to give it a careful consideration on pros and cons of each model to see what fits you the most. Good luck with your business!