Do you know you can sell your Shopify merchandise through Amazon? Click on the video or read on to find out how this partnership can impact sales and marketing.

Shopify Amazon Integration is something I recently came to know of. For a Shopify owner, like myself, being able to sell products from my Shopify store to Amazon comes as fairly lucrative in terms of expanding my online business and minimizing expenses on marketing.

Selling on Amazon Through Shopify

Now that it’s possible to sell Shopify merchandise to Amazon, it has widened my T-shirt store’s scope and improves my marketing strategy.

Shopify Amazon Integration

What do you get from the Shopify Amazon Integration?

#1 Automatic Synchronization

By using a plug-in to connect with Amazon, all of your Shopify products will automatically reflect in your inventory in Amazon. The sync will happen in real time. This means that any sale you make on Amazon will reduce your product stock on both platforms, Shopify and Amazon. The same will happen if you have made a sale in Shopify.

The integration reduces your involvement to zero. Here’s another example of how powerful this integration is.

If you have a drop shipper connected to a Shopify store, they too will be automatically conveyed for any new order you get from Amazon. For instance, I have Printful connected to my Shopify store. Printful can then print the t-shirt and mail it to the customer who has placed the order through Amazon, in the same manner it can for Shopify.  

Everything is connected and synchronized. How great is that?

#2 Marketing Cost

One of the major problems I had with my t-shirt store on Shopify was the marketing cost. I was marketing through Facebook Advertising in order to direct people to my Shopify store. This was essentially costing me money before I made any sales on my store.

On the other hand, if you have all of your Shopify products on Amazon Marketplace, you get to tap a new audience who has the potential to search for your items at no extra cost. This brings your marketing costs down. You would no longer have to pay extra to expand your scope. Unlike what you would have done if you’re selling solely from Shopify.

#3 Respectability

People like me who are not graphic designers but designs shirts for their stores, can have a difficult time making sales. This is  because of the perception of genuineness and authenticity. If it doesn’t look like the real deal, potential customers may opt not to buy because of fear of getting conned.

On the contrary, if your products are on Amazon, there is that level of trust and respectability gained just by using the platform.

People are far more likely to buy a product they see on Amazon versus a store they’ve randomly landed on and have no known brand associations.

#4 Wider Audience

As mentioned earlier, the Shopify Amazon Integration expands the scope of your business. It lets you tap a new audience who are highly likely to buy your products at no extra cost for marketing.

When customers use keywords to search for certain products on Amazon, there’s a high likelihood of your products getting found without any intervention.

Furthermore, you double your reach because you still get to implement the same marketing strategies in Shopify to drive traffic. But on top of that, you are also leveraging on Amazon to bring you more sales.

#5 Amazon Merch Alternative

I got into Amazon Merch when one of my followers, Phillip Stone, mentioned that Amazon Merch is Amazon’s version of drop shipping t-shirts.

Amazon Merch allows you to upload designs on Amazon while it deals with the creation and posting of the products. To join the program, you will need to request an invitation and then wait for authorization.

The problem is that it takes a long while to get an update from the time you’ve sent your request. It has been 2 months already from the time I sent mine. But I still have not received any confirmation about getting accepted to the program.

It is possible that  Amazon is potentially closing down on accepting new invitations on Amazon Merch Program. It instilled a profound interest in people and have made a lot of money from it. There’s also a chance that they’ve put a stop to the program completely.

At this time, people are declined from joining or gets accepted into the program after 6 to 7 months.

With Shopify Amazon Integration, you get to do just that without signing up for the Amazon Merch Program. You can do drop shipping through your Amazon store with providers like Printful.

Shopify Amazon Integration has completely changed my strategy as to how I am going to launch my t-shirt store 2.0. Integration with Amazon is definitely something I can benefit from.

I also plan to split test my Facebook Advertisement. The plan is to have half of the efforts go to my Amazon store and half of them go to my Shopify store. As a result, I’ll get to see if that level of trust that is already there with Amazon changes the results I get.

My gut tells me that Amazon is going to be taking the lead in my case.

Check this link to read all about all the information you need to get going with selling on Amazon through Shopify. You can also sign up to get your own Shopify store at a 14-Day free trial.

Try Shopify For Free

If you’d like to learn how to get started and make a successful sale with Shopify, then this is for you.  Click on the video or scroll down to the rest of the article to learn more.

What is Shopify?

If you take a look at the official website, it says:

“Shopify is a complete e-commerce solution that allows you to set up an online store to sell your goods. It lets you organize your products, customize your storefront, accept credit card payments, track and respond to orders – all with a few clicks of the mouse.”

Shopify is an online platform, a website that you can use to make your own online store. You can log in to the platform, create your shop’s design, add products and start selling.

How can Shopify be beneficial to you?

According to 2017 stats, 8% of all transactions are done online.  Moreover, that number is expected to rise up to 16% by 2019.

If you create your own Shopify store and attract a decent number of audience, you can take advantage of the growing online commerce industry.

Shopify’s 21-part video training series

Recently, the Shopify Team reached out to me and shared a 21-part video training series on how to get your first sale using Shopify. So if you prefer to undergo training facilitated by Shopify themselves, then head over to How to get your first sale on Shopify training series. On the contrary, if you think that doesn’t work well for you, don’t worry. You can stay on and I will share the step by step process on how you can get started.

How to set up Shopify?

You can start off your Shopify trial for 2 weeks without any financial commitments. Use these two weeks to set up your store, put some products and see if you can start making sales without paying any monthly subscription fees.

Here are the 6 Steps Plan to getting your very first store up and running:

1. Sign-up

Use this link to sign up for Shopify and take advantage of the 2-week free trial. Complete the information needed for you to set up your Shopify store.

2. Add a Theme

Now that you’re all set up, you can start building your store. First, select a theme. A theme sets the look and feel of your store. Shopify has hundreds of themes to choose from. Once you have decided which theme works for you, you can install it on your Shopify store.

3. Add Products

Next, start putting up products in your store. You can either sell your own product or import them from a website such as AliExpress. Shopify allows both options.

Oberlo is a great plug-in that allows you to quickly add products from AliExpress to your Shopify store. Start filling in information about your products – the title, description and everything else you need to get started.

4. Add a Payment Gateway

Above all, you need a payment gateway installed on your Shopify store to receive payments from your customers around the world. It allows your store to accept credit cards, debit cards, PayPal payments or other alternative payment options. Shopify comes with a ton of payment gateways ready to install with a click of a button.

5. Set your Shipping Rates

Afterwards, you need to decide on your shipping rates. Simply put, shipping rate is the amount of money you charge to have your product shipped.

There are different ways you can go about setting your shipping rates. For instance, you can charge a flat rate which means you charge the same amount every time a customer makes a purchase. Likewise, you can set varying rates depending on country of origin or based on the item purchased.

6. Add your Domain Name to your store

After the 2-week free trial, you need to have your website online for people to find it.  In order for this to happen, you need to have a domain name. Shopify will give you a domain name out of the box. However, if you want something a bit more unique, you can purchase your own domain name or even do it through Shopify and use that for your store.

That’s all you need to know to get started with Shopify!

For more details, check out this article: Shopify step-by-step article on how to set up your store. Get started right away and don’t forget to use this link to take advantage of the 2-week free trial.

One of the major keys that determine the success and failure of an online T-shirt business or any other business for that matter is the ability to identify problems and challenges that surround the business and finding solutions to those problems.

I will be sharing some of the problems I have encountered since setting up my online T-shirt business and how I solved them so that you can learn from my mistakes and avoid them while starting up your online T-shirt business. Click on the video or read on the find out what they are.

Customs Charges

Problem:

This is one of the first major problems I’ve had in selling T-shirts online. As a rooky who’s just starting up an online business, I didn’t know that there would be customs charges when I ship internationally. Customers had to pay additional charges to Royal Mail before they could get their products and because I didn’t know about it, I never mentioned it on my website.
Because of this, my products gained negative reviews and eventually became less appealing to customers.

Solution:

I did a survey to find out how other online T-shirt stores who also ship internationally handle the same problem. As a result, I discovered that they had a disclaimer on the website informing customers that depending on their location, they may be required to pay additional customs charges when the product is delivered to their door. I followed suit and added a disclaimer to my website too.

On top of that, I also added that refusal to pay this fund upon delivery might lead to Royal Mail’s refusal to deliver the product and that we hold no responsibility of resending the package.

I had this problem because I run a UK based business but work with an American supplier. If I were working with a UK supplier, my UK customers wouldn’t have to pay any customs charges. So the ultimate solution is for me to find a UK supplier since my major focus is selling to UK audience.

Return Policy

Problem:

Whenever I get an order from a customer for a T-shirt from my site, I place an order from the manufacturer and have it delivered to the customer. This implies that I have to pay upfront to get an order processed. If a customer asks for a refund, I technically shouldered the expense for that T-shirt to be printed and shipped. That doesn’t sound good right?

Solution:

I have explicitly stated in my return policy that any order of T-shirt designs are final and I will not be doing any returns or refunds as a result of the customer’s dislike of the design. This is because, in my opinion, customers should take responsibility for their choices.

The only instance where a refund is given is when there is a faulty delivery. I can’t build my brand or have my T-shirt store deliver faulty products to customers then just ignore their complaints. In that instance, I either pay the customer all the cost he/she incurred or offer them a replacement.

I did not ask the customers to send the products back for me to examine because I don’t have a fixed address. Instead, I required them to send me a picture of the T-shirt, the receipt, and the original packaging. If the pictures confirm the reported fault, I send the refund right away.

Copyright

Problem:

Before you can use a logo you like, a picture of a well-known person, a scene from a movie or a famous quote, you need a written permission from the owner.

Solution:

Ensure that you do your research yourself and you don’t go about working with logos, pictures, and designs that are covered under a copyright. Try to learn a thing or two about copyright. If you find yourself doing something that you are not sure whether or not you are violating a copyright, try to consult an attorney for clarification.

Check out my video on copyright law and t-shirt design here.

Marketing

Problem:

Your choice of marketing channel plays a major role in the success and failure of your online T-shirt business. Before you go about investing in a marketing channel, you need to be very sure that you will get your money’s worth.

Solution:

I personally wouldn’t recommend Facebook for instance because I have invested quite a lot of money in it without getting a tangible return. I will not be discussing much of the problems relating to marketing, for more info on it, check out the video I made on the potential issues of cost of marketing.

Bottom-line

Make sure you understand how custom charges work. Try to cover your back if it is going to be a problem. Make sure you have a good refund policy that works for you and sustain a distinguished reputation for your business. Make sure you use a marketing channel that works for you. Try as much as possible to ensure that you don’t violate any copyright infringements.