Comparison of Shopify Fulfillment Apps for Selling T-shirts

What are you selling t-shirts for? As a quick hustle, to build a business, an empire maybe? If you’re striving later, it’s essential to focus on growing with your own web-store as the foundation.

T-shirt selling platforms such as Teespring are an awesome channel for getting started, you can even make some decent coin in the process. Use these platforms as leverage, to kick-start your brand while you're still learning how to drive sales through your website.

Selling through your own store is going to be far more valuable to your business in the long-term. Your stream of income is not a mercy of other website owners, you won't have to fight competitors for customer's attention and you may even be able to increase your profits.

You'll be able to develop sales funnels to efficiently capture and nurture visitors, then turn them into loyal customers for your brand.

For many t-entrepreneurs, Shopify offers an excellent e-commerce stores framework to use. It’s easy to get set up, show your brand personality, display products and make sales. There is even a whole host of plug-in applications to add extra functionality to your website.

Most importantly, there are dozens of t-shirt fulfillment services that ingrate with Shopify seamlessly. The only dilemma is deciding which one should you choose. It's certainly not a choice that should be taken lightly, after all, it will influence the most vital aspects of your business- product quality, order processing, delivery and profit margins.

To help you make an informed decision, we’ve rounded up the 5 popular choices and placed them head to head.

1. Printful

 

Kicking it off with one of the most popular t-shirt fulfillment services, we have Printful. They are currently top of Shopify's Store in this category, boasting a 5-star average rating from over 620 reviews! The majority of users praise Printful's excellent customer service, refined interface and seamless Shopify integration.

One of their greatest advantages is the sheer range of products. Even you are focusing purely on t-shirts, there's still a great variety of brands, models and prices. You can choose from different blends, organic materials, manufactured in the US or worldwide. This will be of great advantage for those who wish to differentiate their brand through quality, styles or material. The quality of print applications is also exceptional.

They provide powerful functionality while keeping the user interface refined and navigation as initiative as possible. Getting set up and running is without headaches, meaning your store can be fully operational within a couple of days depending on the number of designs you have.

Average Costs (single t-shirt):

• $12-$18 for (Various Brands)
• $14-$16 for “American Apparel”

Average Shipping Details (single t-shirt):

• 2-7 days processing-production-dispatch
• $5 USA (5-8 days)
• $8 CAN (5-8 days)
• $10 Worldwide (10-20 days)
• Faster shipping also available

Printful not merely a t-shirt drop shipping service, they offer full-fledged fulfillment services. These features stand out in particular:

• Professional Design and Photography Services. If you’re keen to keep your business as streamlined as possible, you can take advantage of Printful’s team of professionals.
• Discounts for Samples. Ordering samples of products before going full steam ahead is a necessity. Printful accepts this fact and offers a generous 20% off and free worldwide shipping.
• Variety of Products. For those looking to expand beyond t-shirts, Printful offers a range of apparel products. Right down to mugs, pillows, canvas prints and tote bags!
• Excellent Mock Up Generator. Their free mock-up generator tool is a godsend for creating both print files and attractive product photos.
• Highly Resourceful Blog. They regularly update their blog with valuable insights to help their customers.

As with all fulfillment services, convenience comes at the expense of profit margins. When it comes to Printful, you'll be paying a slight premium over other Shopify fulfillment services. It's not just production costs, shipping can also be rather pricey with little discount for combined orders with different products.

The premium you pay is reflective of their reputation and size, plus the quality of the products they produce. For these reasons, it may be better suited to established brands with excellent marketing. If you are looking for cheap t-shirt fulfillment services, you may wish to look further down this list!

2. Printify

Printify is another e-commerce fulfillment service with a large following. They are next down on the Shopify Store who also have a 5-star average rating from over 260 reviews. Their range is smaller than Printful but they possess a strong focus on product quality and customer service.

The products on offer may still be enough to satisfy growing apparel businesses. As well as t-shirts and sweaters they also offer phone cases, mugs, canvas and posters. Looking purely at t-shirts, Printify only currently offer a handful of Amercian Apparel models and a single District model. This still offers sellers a choice between basic and premium t-shirts for their brands.

All print work is exceptional quality and performed in the USA. They use highly-competitive 300 DPI resolutions, direct to garment technology and Kornit printers. As a result, all prints produced are quite vivid and remain sharp, even after a few washes.

Printify's Shopify integration is commendable and the interface is easily navigated by both newcomers and veteran sellers alike. It's neat and accessible, right down to order tracking within the Shopifiy dashboard.

Average Costs (single t-shirt):

• $14.90-$15.95 for “American Apparel”
• $12.79-$14.8 for “District”

Average Shipping Details (single t-shirt):

• 2-3 days processing-production-dispatch
• $2.50 USA (2-8 days)
• $4.90 CAN (5-10 days)
• $5.90 Worldwide (8-30 days)

Other notable features of Printify's Shopify fulfillment services include:

• Great Customer Service. Printify has built an outstanding reputation for customer service. They are reported to be very responsive and strive to please the customer.
• Fast Order Processing. Orders are out the door within a lightening fast 2-3 days average.
• High-Quality Products. The range may be reduced, but Printify focuses on maintaining high quality and good standards.
• Affordable Shipping. Your customers will appreciate these more reasonable shipping rates and still receive items in good time.

With a reduced range of brands and styles available, it's harder for t-shirt selling businesses to distinguish their brands this way. However, American Apparel t-shirts will be perfectly suited to most. With this said, Printify still makes an excellent Shopify fulfillment service with fast, affordable shipping and marginally increased profits.

3. Teelaunch

Next up on our list is Tee Launch. Although not as popular as Printful and Printify, it still maintains a 5-star average rating from over 130 reviews on the Shopify Applications page. Their both their Shopify ingreation application and service are well praised for their simplicity.

Teelaunch's website is comparatively lackluster, but you shouldn't let that put you off. They simply favor a simpler approach and their Shopify fulfillment service performs almost effortlessly.

They have a humble selection of products available, which also includes a few rarities such as mouse mats and yoga mats (yes seriously!). They clothing line is basic, offering only a choice of Canvas and District brands for t-shirts. However, these highly affordable choices will be ideal if you are looking to minimize production costs.

Average Costs (single t-shirt):

• $8.50 for “District”
• $11 for “Canvas”

Average Shipping Details (single t-shirt):

• 3-5 days processing-production-dispatch (7-12 days during seasonal months)
• $4 USA (within 5 days)
• $10 Worldwide (6-17 days), (within 6 days for UK)

The key attractions of using Teelaunch as an e-commerce fulfillment service includes:

• Simplicity. They may be lacking all the bells and whistles of other applications, yet it's back to basic simplicity can't be beaten for ease of use.
• Cost Effective. The most competitive pricing of the entire bunch, average quality at awesome prices.
• Good Custom Service. Even as one of the most affordable options, a majority of users express highly positive experiences with customer service.

If you are after the absolute cheapest fulfillment service, Teelaunch is the ideal solution. Their basic selection of t-shirts won't have customers complaining about quality, but will help increase your margins. What’s more, it’s dead simple get set up and running on your Shopify store, even as a complete beginner.

4. Print Aura

Print Aura is another fulfillment company that’s still gaining popularity. Over on the Shopify Applications page, they hold a 4-star average rating from little more than 15 reviews. They are another cost-effective alternative to the bigger companies, yet they still offer an impressive range of brands and styles.

There's an interesting variety of different products available, including sunglasses and embroidered hats. When it comes to t-shirts, their range of brands blows Teelaunch out the water and almost rivals Printful. You'll find brands such as Amercian Apparel, Anvil, Gilden and even Augusta performance t-shirts!

They manage to beat Printful and Printify price wise, while still producing similar quality through DTG  printing practices. They also facilitate brand awareness by offering custom return labels, custom packing slips, tag removal and application (extra costs involved).

Average Costs (single t-shirt):

• From $10.25 for “Gildan”
• From $12.50 for “American Apparel”
• Print Aura's Prizing Wizard is easy way to check base pricing

Average Shipping Details (single t-shirt):

• 3-5 days processing-production-dispatch
• $3.50 USA (2-3 days)
• $8 Canada (10-12+ days)
• $12 Worldwide (10-16+ days)

The most noteworthy features of using Print Aura's t-shirt fulfillment service include:

• Competitive Pricing. Base costs for t-shirts are low which is great for profit margins. Make sure you use the Pricing Wizard to calculate extra costs for colors, printing and additional work.
• Outstanding Range of Products. The range of clothing brands and styles is exceptional. There's also a number of unique products available with this platform such as sunglasses.
• Brand Awareness. Print Aura is very helpful when it comes to promoting your brand name, offering both free and paid options for branding.

But before you dive head first into Print Aura's Shopify fulfillment service, it may be wise to approach with caution. While many users have reported positive dealings with their customer services, you should know there has also been a number of negative experiences.

Their impressive range enables brands to greater express their individuality and lower costs help improve profit margins. However, with such an important aspect of your business at stake, it may pay to investigate their customer  before committing.

5. Inkthreadable

Inkthreadable is, admittedly, pretty incredible. They are a leading UK print-on-demand supplier and fulfillment service, who also offer worldwide at reasonable costs. While they are not as well known as the others, those who do can't stop raving about them!

Using a close-knit team operating in Lancaster, UK, they strive to provide the most efficient service. They proudly promote their excellent customer service, making it as easy as possible for customers to get in contact.

When it comes to the range of products, brands and styles, Inkthreadable is up there with the best of them. This includes Sol's, Gildan, Anvil, Continental Clothing, Canvas and even Skinnifit stretch t-shirts. Pricing wise, they are comparable to the more costly Printful.

Based in the UK, they offer a distinct advantage over the others when it comes to UK and European shipping costs and duration. However, shipping to the USA isn't as costly or slow as you might think. Plus, there are a number of faster shipping options available for customers

Average Costs (single t-shirt):

• $13.04 to $20.80 for Various Brands

Average Shipping Details (single t-shirt):

• 3 days or less for processing-production-dispatch
• $1.75 UK (1-3 days)
• $6 EU (3-5 days)
• $7.72 Worldwide (7-10 days)
• Recorded and Courier options also available

The highlights of Inkthreadable's t-shirt fulfillment services include:

• Small Dedicated Team. Their focus is on delivering a quality service for their users is very reassuring, especially when your business hangs in the balance.
• Extrondiary Customer Service. They go to great lengths to aid customer communications. They’ve even opened a 12-hour online support 9am-9pm GMT.
• Competitive Worldwide Shipping. If your shipping anywhere outside the US, shipping costs are lower than the rest. Also, they process orders and ship them out the door at a fast pace.

If the bulk of your customers are based in the UK or EU, Inkthreadable is the top choice out of all these fulfillment services. Their extensive range of styles will allow you to carefully hone your brand image, while shipping will be faster and cheaper.

Don't underestimate the value of good customer service. Order and delivery problems falling upon deaf ears is the ultimate nightmare for t-entrepreneurs. As Inkthreadable clearly takes great care of their customers, it could even be a business saver!