How Does Merch by Amazon Work?

Have you ever come up with a great t-shirt idea you were sure other people would want to buy if you offered it for sale? You can be confident your idea is awesome, but still not be comfortable shelling out the cash to get a minimum number of t-shirts printed. If you’re wrong and nobody buys them, you’d be stuck with a bunch of t-shirts you don’t need and out the cost of printing them.

That’s a problem Merch by Amazon solves.

What is Merch by Amazon?

Merch by Amazon is the company’s print-on-demand service for merchandise that includes apparel like t-shirts, hoodies, and tank tops along with products like PopSockets, phone cases, throw pillows, and tote bags. For creatives with ideas for cool designs or clever phrases to put on products, Merch with Amazon is a low-risk way to get your work out into the world. And for Amazon sellers looking for new revenue streams, coming up with some good merchandise ideas can potentially increase your earnings on the platform.

Merch is low risk because Amazon doesn’t print your design on a product until it sells. There’s no need to buy up inventory and store it somewhere, and no risk of having to eat the cost of unsold stock. Since Amazon treats its Merch products like any other Amazon product, your merchandise will benefit from the Prime shipping options customers have come to expect.

How to Do Merch by Amazon

If that sounds great to you, then here’s how you set up a Merch by Amazon account:

Go to Amazon's Merch program landing page.
Click on the Sign Up button.
Log in with an existing Amazon account. This can be the account you use to buy Amazon products if you’re not already a seller. Just know that the account you use here will become your Merch login, so make sure you choose the one you want to be associated with your business. If you don’t already have an Amazon account, you’ll be prompted to create one.
Provide the requested details in order to apply for an account. This will include your contact information, bank account information, and tax identification number (or Social Security number if you don’t have a business EIN).
Wait for Amazon to reach out.

Amazon has to review applications and determine who to accept. It will send an email with an estimate for how long it will take to be verified for the program. Amazon doesn’t provide a standard timeframe for how long it typically takes, but be prepared to wait a couple of months or more. Don’t worry, that just gives you more time to work on designs and product ideas!

Once you have your Merch on Amazon account set up and approved, you can get down to business. Amazon has provided templates you can use to ensure your designs are in the best size and resolution for each product type. Load the files for your designs and start matching them to the product options and colors you want to offer. Make sure to review and follow the content best practices provided so that your design looks as good on the products as it does in a file.

Merch by Amazon FAQs

Before you get started with Merch by Amazon, you probably have a few questions. Here are some answers.

What does Merch by Amazon cost?

Merch by Amazon doesn’t have any upfront costs or traditional fees. For Amazon sellers, that concept may sound foreign—fees are such a normal part of doing business with Amazon. Yet since Amazon covers the costs of materials and fulfillment, instead of charging fees, it simply pays royalties to the creator for each product sold. The royalties are a standard amount based on how you price your product. You can see a breakdown of what to expect for each sale you make on the Royalties page.

What’s the best file type for Amazon Merch?

For best results, use a PNG file type at 300 dpi. The best size to use will depend on the product type, and the templates provided above offer good standards to go with.

How can I buy a sample shirt from Merch by Amazon?

You want to make sure everything looks good before customers start making purchases, so it’s good practice to buy a sample product for yourself before the product listing goes live. Before you publish the product, Amazon will give you the chance to make it accessible by direct link first without going live to other customers on the site. You can use this link to buy a sample of the product yourself.

What are the Merch by Amazon product listing rules?

The main rules for Merch by Amazon product listings are as follows:

You must have the rights to any designs you load. That means you should stick with either using original designs you created yourself or those you hired someone to create and are 100% certain you own the rights to.
You have to make sure all designs meet Amazon’s content policies. That means no illegal content, offensive content, or content that directly solicits reviews or suggests the sale will have proceeds going to charity.

What’s the difference between Merch by Amazon vs FBA?

FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) is a program where products supplied by the vendor are stored and shipped to customers by Amazon. With Merch by Amazon, Amazon is creating, storing, and fulfilling the products themselves. All the seller supplies are the designs that will go on those products.

Get Started with Merch by Amazon

Merch by Amazon is a low-risk and potentially high-reward way to make some extra cash.

But as with any business, getting your account up and your designs loaded is just the start. You’ll also want to get to work promoting your merchandise to make sure people know it exists and want to buy it. If your designs are good, once you gain a little traction, customers will start coming your way and profits will come with them. Good luck!