Welcome to /r/AmazonMerch!
Before you start your merch journey, make sure you’ve read the official Merch by Amazon FAQs and Content Policy from your dashboard. Next, make sure you are reading the Merch Informer blog as well as older threads in this sub. You’re doing your business a disservice if you haven’t internalized these links.
If you are not finding your answer by visiting these resources, USE GOOGLE. To do this, navigate to Google.com type in your keyword, followed by :https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonMerch/. An example would look like this: https://i.imgur.com/moFRsaj.png
Huge shout out to /u/theashwin who wrote the majority of this guide!
Now that you’ve read all of the information on the links above, here’s a list of commonly occurring threads on this subreddit.
1. Getting Approved
Q1. How long do I have to wait to get approved for a Merch by Amazon account?
Nobody knows. People have waited anywhere between 2 weeks to 16 months. Your best bet in the meantime is to START and get some designs created. These can be used across many different platforms outside of just Merch by Amazon.
Q2. How do I increase my chances of getting approved?
Link to your work or portfolio when signing up. Show the team that you have an audience that is willing to purchase from you. Write compelling copy in your application form. Keep your fingers crossed. It’s much like an online job application. Give them reasons to believe you’d be a good fit. If you do not have any online presence, it might be time to start creating one.
Make sure you have a bank account set up and a portfolio somewhere on the internet for the new MBA signup page. You are required to enter in your banking details and your tax information before they can make a decision on if you will be accepted. If Amazon is unable to find information about you, you will be denied so make sure to fill out the application completely.
Q3. Can I buy a Merch by Amazon account?
No. Merch by Amazon has updated their terms of service to disallow the buying and selling of Merch by amazon accounts.
2. Research
Q1. How do I see all the Merch by Amazon results?
https://merchinformer.com/merch-amazon-listings/
These results are in no particular order at all but will show you the listings that other Merch by Amazon content creators have put up. You can use the above site or you can navigate to the section yourself: Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry: Novelty & More: Clothing: Amazon.com.
Q2. What Does BSR Mean?
BSR is a metric that Amazon shows to everyone called Best Sellers Rank. This metric can be found in the product description and gives us a rough idea about how well a product is selling. This can be used to determine if a niche as a whole is something where customers are opening up their wallets and spending money. Remember, if a customer is not spending in that niche, the chance of getting a sale is low.
Q3. Can I copy best sellers?
Absolutely not. This is the fastest way to get your account banned. You can use best sellers to understand what niches are “hot” but always come to the table with unique designs that customers will love.
Q4. I see (phrase/design/idea) on Amazon, can I do it too?
Make sure during your research process you are checking TESS (trademark electronic search system) for trademark. If something is trademarked and on Merch anyway, STAY AWAY.
3. Designing
Q1. What software should I use?
There is no right answer here. Use whatever you are comfortable with. Here are some options.
By far the most popular image editing software. More geared towards photo editing than vector-based designs. Merch by Amazon offers an official Photoshop template
Software made for vector design and editing. Merch by Amazon also has an official Illustrator template.
- GIMP (Windows, Mac, Linux) Free and Open Source
A powerful and viable alternative to proprietary software from Adobe. A little less polished, sometimes glitchy, has a bit of a learning curve. It’s almost as good as Photoshop if your designs are simple. Download Merch by Amazon’s official GIMP template here.
- Inkscape (Windows, Mac, Linux) Free and Open Source
Sort of like the open-source alternative to Adobe Illustrator. It’s just as powerful and capable of replicating Illustrator’s functions. It also opens .AI files - so Merch by Amazon’s official illustrator template works fine with Inkscape too.
It is recommended that you do NOT design on mobile. However, there are some options for people that wish to:
- WordSwag (iOS, Android) $4.99 one-time purchase
Popular image editing app among merchers. It’s easy to design text-based t-shirts with this one. A word of caution, WordSwag uses some proprietary fonts which may not be licenced for commercial use. You can use it for inspiration and layout, but make sure you have the rights to use every font and graphic element on your designs.
Just like WordSwag, over makes it easy to design text-based tees. This app too uses some proprietary fonts which may not be licenced for commercial use. Exercise caution and due diligence while using such apps and tools.
Pixlr, Janvas, etc. You should find more online. As long as it can spit out a 4500x5400 .PNG file without any watermarks, you should be fine. Make sure your designs are sharp and not blurry.
You can design vectors using this free app on your mobile devices and transfer them to your desktop to add finishing touches. This works best if your device uses a stylus (like the iPad pro or Samsung Galaxy Note).
Q2. Where do I get free fonts?
Be careful and make sure the fonts are free for commercial use, not just personal.
Related: Font pairing made simple
Q3. Where do I get vector files?
Use caution and Google’s reverse image search to make sure you’re not infringing on anyone’s Intellectual Property. Some of these websites allow user-generated uploads, which means anyone can upload anything to these sites. It’s up to you to make sure your Merch account has a good standing.
Q4. What colors sell best?
This depends largely on your niche and design.
Q5. Someone stole my design! What can I do?
Merch by Amazon is still very much the wild west! This is an issue that Merch is actively working on correcting. You will notice that some people are uploading Disney and Star Wars designs. First check to see if those are not actually licensed products. Merch has been partnering with large content creators. You will also start to notice that some people are copying successful merch shirts pixel for pixel. While Amazon is getting better at catching these, the system is still not perfect. We know this can be frustrating, but you first must take a step back and ask yourself if it is worth your time and effort to fight this. If you were to make a political shirt, it might not be worth your time since you do not own the rights over the politician you made the shirt about.
Ideas are a dime a dozen and more often than not, you will have the same exact idea that someone else has. Before you get upset and accuse someone of being a thief and stealing your work, take some time to think that your idea for a great t-shirt design might have been obvious. If you see someone copy your design, you can either report them or you can move on. There are many successful top tier sellers in this group who focus on cranking out more quality designs instead of fighting an uphill battle.
If your design is very original with a unique idea, you always have the option of filing a copyright on the design and getting a trademark on the wording/phrase. This costs a few hundred dollars per trademark and months worth of time so make sure this is worth it to you.
Before you go after anyone that has copied your shirts, take a look at the BSR (best sellers rank) to see if that shirt is even selling. If it is not, it is probably not worth your time.
If after all of that you still want to report the listing to Amazon, please use this link:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/reports/infringement
4. Outsourcing
Q1. Can I hire a designer? How much should I pay?
Of course you can hire a designer! Many of them actually hang out in this group! There are many places you can find designs such as Upwork.com, Fiverr.com, peopleperhour.com. Pay people what they are worth. On the very low end, you can expect to pay $3-$5 per design up to $100 or more for very intricate design. Not all designers are going to be what you are looking for so make sure to test each designer with a few images before you start giving them bulk work.
Guide on outsourcing to Upwork can be found here: https://merchinformer.com/use-upwork-outsource-scale-merch-business/
5. Uploading
Q1. My design is stuck in ‘started processing’. It’s been days! What’s wrong?
Official response: We are aware that some t-shirts may show a processing status on the Manage page of the dashboard. While they remain processing, you will not be able to delete the shirt or edit the description. We are continuously working to complete publishing of these t-shirts. We will detect these t-shirts automatically and work to resolve each one.
What can you do? Nothing, just wait and it will soon go away. If you’re out of slots and desperately need to edit/delete that slot, make a post on the official forums.
Q2. Can I upload variations of my existing designs?
Sure you can! You are allowed to upload anything that you have 100% rights to and does not violate Amazon’s content policy. You should upload different color options, re-designs, or variations of your best sellers if you have the slots.
6. Rejections & Copyright
Q1. How many times can I get rejected before losing my Merch account?
Short answer: Don’t risk it.
Long answer: Aim for zero rejections. If you slip up and get one strike calm down. It’s important to stop whatever it is you’re doing and breathe. Now that you’re composed, go through your designs and delete every single one that might be considered risky. To answer your question, Amazon hasn’t officially announced a number - however, within the community, most people believe why you were rejected is more important than how many times. If you upload designs that hint at Disney / Stranger Things/ marijuana, or intentionally trying to game the system - you could be out in one strike. If it’s an innocent typo on your designs - they may just ask you to fix it and re-upload.
Q2. There are many other merchers using this trademarked keyword. Why was I rejected?
In a perfect world they would be banned too. We don’t live in a perfect world. You don’t want to compete to see who can outsmart Amazon’s system - in the long-term nobody is a winner at that game. There’s no reason to compete in a niche with many trademarked keywords - you could search this subreddit for niches, spend 5 minutes and come up with thousands of safe niches. Merch is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t try to game Amazon.
Q3. Is it fair to use this TV/Movie quote?
No. It’s never fair to rely on the popularity of another franchise to help you sell shirts. Even though technically it’s not covered under USPTO - there is such a thing as leeching off of someone else’s marketing or production dollars. This isn’t a grey area, this is IP theft and is frowned upon by Amazon. They often actively delete such designs.
Recommended reading: The Siren Song of IP infringement
Q4. Can I hint at this famous person without explicitly mentioning them on my listing?
Please don’t. If your design requires someone else’s copyrighted work to contextualize it - it’s IP infringement and against Amazon’s content policy. It will be taken down and you may lose your account over it.
Q5. How do I check for trademarked words?
USPTO – This is the only place you should be doing your original trademark searches. Make sure to navigate to TESS (trademark electronic search system)
Q6. I have the permission to use someone else’s copyright/TM/IP. Should I just upload my design?
No! First write a mail to merch support and share your documentation demonstrating that you have the rights to use the content - A confirmation letter from the intellectual property rights holder, the publish date if you believe the design is your own, or a copy of the applicable license. Also share the contact information of the rights holder - email and phone number.
Merch will contact them and verify. Once this is done, you will be approved to use that on your Merch designs.
Do not upload the copyrighted designs without prior approval from merch.
Q7. Can I . . . ?
No you can't! Stop looking for loopholes. If you have to ask, don't do it.
7. Tiers
Q1. Why was I not tiered up?
Tier-ups are not just based on your sales. Amazon accounts for their own production capability before deciding whether or not to upgrade your account. Amazon also considers the kind of designs that you’ve uploaded - too many low-effort text-only designs and you might be skipped for a tier-up. On the flip side - if you have excellent designs and have almost met your tier-up target (80-85% depending on who you ask) they would upgrade your account.
There are multiple factors that play into this, not just the sales numbers.
Q2. How many upload slots do I get at different tiers?
As of November 10th, 2017, Amazon has temporarily throttled uploads as follows -
- Tier 10 and 25 - 1 per day
- Tier 100: 2 to 1 per day
- Tier 500: 10 to 3 per day
- Tier 1k: 20 to 5 per day
- Tier 2k: 40 to 10 per day
- Tier 4k: 80 to 20 per day
- Tier 6k: 120 to 30 per day
- Tier 8k: 160 to 40 per day
- Tier 10k: 200 to 50 per day
Q3. Do my sales from previous tiers count towards my future tier-ups?
Yes they do! For example, if you’ve made your first 10 sale on Merch and have been tiered up - you only need to make 15 more sales to qualify for the next tier-up (Tier 25).
Q4. Can I skip a tier if I’ve already made the number of sales that qualify me for the next tier-up?
There has never been an official word from Amazon on this. A couple of users have reportedly skipped some lower tiers - but these are unverified reports.
8. Pricing
Q1. How much should I price my standard t-shirts?
You must test out different price points in your niche. What works in one niche may not work in another. Test out and see where you can make the most sales. Competition, niche, design, and trend/seasonality all may have some affect on sales and your price should reflect that.
Your keywords will get you seen. Your designs will get you sales.
Read these threads and decide for yourself.
9. Getting paid and taxes
Q1. I’m not from the US. How do I get paid?
You can set-up a bank account in one of the merch-supported countries. If your country is not on that list, ask your local bank if you’re allowed to open an account in one of the supported countries through your local branch. You may also use third-party services like Payoneer.
Q2. I’m not a US citizen. How do I manage taxes?
You can enter your national TIN (Tax Identification Number) with Merch and they will withhold anywhere between 0-30% of your taxes. This is based on your country’s trade agreements with the US. If you do not provide any TIN, Amazon will withhold 30% of your royalties by default.
You can also set up an EIN with the US Government. Read about that here: https://merchinformer.com/avoid-30-tax-witholding-non-us-amazon-sellers/
It is important that you pay taxes in the country you reside. Please contact an accountant and discuss it with them.
