zazzle vs printful

Zazzle vs. Printful 🥊

No pay-per-view, here are two massive print-on-demand websites to see who reigns supreme. Zazzle vs. Printful. As an online seller looking to sell designs and make an income, which one should you choose? Look no further.

Our First Contender: Zazzle

Introducing Zazzle, an online print-on-demand platform that offers a wide range of customizable products. Has been in print-on-demand game for well over a decade

Our Second Contender: Printful

A younger and hip API's first print-on-demand solution based in North Carolina, United States, a company founded back in 2013. It became prominent when Shopify's(founded in 2006) rapid growth started around 2014 and beyond in e-commerce. 

Round 1 Traffic

Why traffic? Why is traffic significant? Well, the more traffic, the more opportunities sellers have to earn.

Zazzle Traffic

Zazzle Traffic

The website receives a whopping over 15.7 million months of visitors to the site.

Printful Traffic

Etsy Traffic

The website has 5 million visitors per month.

So the Winner in Round 1 is Zazzle 1-0

Round 2 Integration

Zazzle Integrations

Regarding Integration, Zazzle needs a better developer solution; their Zazzle API leaves much desired. If you want any Zazzle Integration, they integrate with Google Analytics; that's pretty much it. It would help to look for third-party solutions for integrations, Look to Zazzlehunt for balancing the load with your Zazzle store print-on-demand automation.

PrintFul Integration

Printful blows out of the water in terms of Integration; here is a list of all platforms that Printful can integrate with, not exhaustive:

  • Esty
  • Shopify
  • Amazon Merch
  • WooCommerce
  • Wix
  • Squarespace
  • BigCommerce

Why is integration so important? In print-on-demand business, you need volume; the more designs and products you sell, the better. What integrations can do opens up more channels for marketing plans in the modern digital commerce space; it's called creating an omnichannel. Printful what it does makes up for the traffic it does in integrations.

More power equals more responsibility.

However, since it is an API-first platform, you must take responsibility for driving traffic to your store via Shopify, plus an online selling fee for those platforms. Nonetheless, Printful takes the "W" for integration.

So the Winner in Round 2 is Printful 1-1

Round 3 Product Design Selection

Zazzle Product Selection

It is not an understatement that Zazzle has a vast collection of designs for wedding invitations, business cards, shirts, posters, and travel accessories; the more product selections to a broader audience, the more collections can be created, which equals more customers and sales, since its been in the print of demand longer they have over 1000+ items for print on demand to choose from, with the logistics to handle the distribution. However, the seller can get overwhelmed with such a massive selection of design products.

PrintFul Product Selection

They focus on shirts and pants; they have selections for posters and other items like water bottles, but primarily, Printful focuses on shirts, t-tank tops, long sleeves, you name what comes to shirts; Printful is a valuable option That has over 200 items for print on demand seller to choose from. However, if your brand wants to venture out to other products, Printful can become limiting.

So the Winner in Round 3 is  Zazzle 2-1

Round 4 Seller Fees

Zazzle Seller Fees

Zazzle is free to join; it has royalties. For each design you sell on their platform, you can set the rate to 5-99%. It is free to join on the Seller platform. Much like selling on third-party platforms like eBay and Amazon, they lease you the traffic with subscription fees or royalties charges..

PrintFul Seller Fees

Printful is also free to join; you make money once you get a sale on your platform.

So the Winner in Round 4 is  Zazzle & Printful 3-2

Round 5 Which is  Lower COGS("Cost of Goods Sold")

-- COGS Overview --

COGS stands for "Cost of Goods Sold." It refers to the expenses directly tied to producing the products a business sells. For print-on-demand sellers, COGS includes the costs of making each custom item ordered by a customer.

A quick review of one key metric to running a successful print-on-demand endeavor: the product's base cost before printing, like a blank t-shirt or mug. Printing and customizing, including ink, equipment maintenance, and any unique designs the customer wants

Packaging and shipping the item to the buyer

Any labor for quality control, packing, etc.

Fees charged by the print-on-demand platform

Getting your COGS right matters because it affects the company's bottom line in choosing platforms. However, the grass is only sometimes greener on the other side. The difference between the sales price and COGS is the gross profit margin. Print-on-demand businesses must price items to make enough money after covering their production costs to stay profitable.

Tracking COGS  helps print-on-demand sellers set competitive prices while making a profit on each sale..

Zazzle Mug

Zazzle Traffic

The Cost of the Zazzle Mug is 12.71.

Printful Mug

Etsy Traffic

The cost of the Printful mug is 7.95.

PrintFul COGS

Printful offers cheap products to sell, and you can get even less with their growth plans.  However, the seller has to drive traffic and construct its conversion funnels.

So the Winner in Round 5 is Printful 3-3

Round 6 Branding

-- Branding Overview--

For white-labeling - where you sell products under your brand name while someone else handles manufacturing - Printful is the better option. But with Printful, you can completely customize and control the branding so customers only see your logo and designs. It's a more seamless branded experience.

Regarding overall branding flexibility, Printful again gives you more customization power. Zazzle lets you personalize designs but may limited to choices like packaging. Printful lets you tailor the branding details - like custom labels, packaging, etc. - to fit your brand perfectly. Even their blind shipping means no Printful branding shows up at all.

So the Winner in Round 6 is Printful 4-3

Round 7 Community

Zazzle Community

One thing that makes Zazzle stand out is its vibrant community built around its platform and unique ranking system . Sellers, designers, and creators interact constantly through different channels.

Zazzle's discussion forums allow for some helpful conversations. Users chime in to share design tips, marketing advice, heads up on new products coming to sellers to sell, or their experiences running an online store. It's a great place to get your questions answered or meet other sellers in the community. The Zazzle blog offers many handy resources - from design inspiration to actionable business strategies.

There's also a social networking element so sellers can follow and connect. It fosters a sense of community and makes drawing inspiration from other successful stores easy. Overall, the forums, blogs, and social features facilitate engagement between Zazzle shoppers and sellers. 

PrintFul Community

Printful has cultivated a community centered around its print-on-demand services and integrations. It differs from Zazzle's forums and social features but is still valuable for users.

A big focus is educational content - their blog, webinars, and tutorials offer many tips for branding, design, e-commerce, and more on how to build a brand and drive traffic to your store(s) to drive conversions. So sellers have lots of opportunities to keep sharpening their skills.

The community also provides support for integrating Printful API with online stores. Since syncing up those platforms can get tricky, but Prinftul makes it easy(for example, Shopify), users help each other troubleshoot issues and optimize things. It's a place to get advice specific to Printful's integrations.

And Printful's customer service is there to answer questions and help solve problems one-on-one. While not a forum, this support is still super useful for the community.

The community dynamics likely evolve as Printful changes and grows. However, they aim to educate sellers, facilitate integrations for print-on-demand sellers, and resolve issues.

    So the Winner in Round 7 is Zazzle 4-4

    Conclusion

    Final Score Tie

    Zazzle and Printful empower people to create and sell customized products online, but they do it differently. Zazzle is a great platform for creators who want to showcase their designs on t-shirts, mugs, posters, etc. With all the community forums and networking features, it fuels collaboration and creativity among users.

    So Zazzle shines if you're looking to make and market original designs. Printful, on the other hand, excels at seamless integrations and shipping for e-commerce businesses. With robust customization options and white-label capabilities, brands can sell Printful products under their names with complete control over the look and feel. Printful's community provides the technical support and advice of sales to make this happen.

    So, if you're a designer wanting to share your artwork on customizable products, Zazzle is likely the better fit. But suppose you have an existing brand with a budget and want to outsource fulfillment while maintaining your branding. In that case, Printful is ideal—or better, leverage both to create more of your omnichannel.

    It comes down to your specific goals and needs. Checking out both platforms in-depth can help you make the right choice based on your product types, branding needs, and current skill levels. But both Zazzle and Printful empower creators and businesses differently, which is excellent.