The Complete Guide to Launch Your Print-on-Demand Business with Gooten

Let us help you with this Gooten review and how you can launch your print-on-demand business with this platform.

What is Gooten Print-on-Demand and how does it work?

Gooten is a print-on-demand company headquartered in New York with global distributed production and logistics. It entered the market in 2015, seeing that eCommerce businesses need help to scale more efficiently. Gooten used its expertise in technology and partnered with manufacturers from different parts of the world to bring the print-on-demand concept to life.

It has three guiding principles, which it calls The Gooten Way:

• Taking partnership seriously
• Taking fulfillment as only the beginning of a great partnership
• Providing best-in-class manufacturing

Here are what we’re going to talk about:

What are the features of Gooten?

• Unlimited Stores. You can integrate as many stores as you want, as long as they’re from Etsy, Shopify, and WooCommerce.

• Simplified Product Management. Even when you’re using multiple stores from different platforms, you can manage all your products through Gooten. You don’t have to log in to each of those platforms every time. From writing the descriptions to setting up categories and tags to managing SKUs and mockups, you can do it using Gooten’s product management system.

• Product-specific options and tools. Gooten allows you to customize products, such as by adding neck labels and creating branded packing slips.

• Centralized order management system. If you plan to maximize your sales potentials by using different channels, Gooten is a great tool for keeping the orders organized in one place. The Gooten Order Management System (OMS) puts all your orders to be fulfilled in a single and centralized system.

• Export business data. For more effective business strategies, you need to look at your data. What are the costs your business is incurring in terms of products, time, people, and technology? Gooten allows you to export data from its OMS so you can do your analysis.

• Manual orders. Gooten also supports manual and one-time orders through your Gooten account without integrating any store.

• Very Important Merchant (VIM). Gooten recently launched its loyalty program, which is the first-ever loyalty program in the print-on-demand industry. Besides discounts and perks, the VIM is designed to help address some of the challenges merchants face in the eCommerce industry.

  Some of the benefits include assigned partnership managers to assist merchants in growing their eCommerce business, business intelligence insights, personalized reports, and webinars with Gooten leaders and other industry experts.

What are the products Gooten fulfills?

Gooten fulfills a wide range of products:

• Apparel, such as shirts, hoodies, onesies, and tank tops
• Home and living, such as bed and bath, living room, drinkware, kitchen, office supplies, tech, and outdoor products
• Wall art, such as canvases, prints, and posters
• Accessories, such as totes and bags, travel and leisure, and wearables
• Pet products, such as dog beds, placemats, and bandanas
• Cards, such as business cards and greetings cards

What Gooten products should you sell first?

With so many products to choose from, it can be overwhelming to decide which ones to begin selling. We recommend that you sell socks first. Gooten’s socks have unique designs and are popular. It has unisize and unisex calf-length socks that you can customize. A pair costs $10.40.

Other products you can consider are the following:

• Tote bags. Gooten’s tote bags are classic best-sellers. They’re durable and functional. Price ranges from $11.90 to $13.90.

• T-shirts. This Bella + Canvas 3001 Unisex Jersey Crew Neck Tee is one of Gooten’s best-sellers. It’s available in all colors, with 16 variants. Product costs start at $8.90.

• Comforters. Home goods are profitable print-on-demand products too. You can start with Gooten’s comforters that have a simple and unobtrusive double square quilting pattern. It starts at $75.90.

• Mugs. These are classics best-sellers too. Gooten’s ceramic mugs are of high quality, dishwasher, and microwave safe. The price starts at $4.99.

How to order sample products from Gooten?

Before you create products in your store, Gooten recommends that you invest in sample products first. Doing so will allow you to see for yourself the quality of products and how they actually look and feel.

You can order sample products through your Gooten account using the Place an Order tab. One-off orders like this will be charged to your PayPal or credit card linked to your Gooten account.

How does Gooten pricing work?

Gooten charges you for the cost of the product and printing your customized designs, plus shipping fees. Then, you can sell the products for whatever price you want, so you have control over your margins. Note, however, that you need to consider the taxes in your area. You can integrate taxes in the product prices or in shipping rates.

How’s the quality of Gooten products?

Customers have good feedback on the quality of Gooten products. They like how their designs look in actual products. Photo prints and printed calendars are particularly of high quality. End customers also love how soft the t-shirts are.

We like that Gooten hand-picks the manufacturers it partners with and conducts regular audits to ensure the quality. It’s production creation tools are also helpful because they can warn users if the designs have low resolution. That saves a lot of headaches by preventing bad products in the first place.

How does Gooten handle shipping?

Customer orders are produced and ready for shipping in up to 5 days, excluding weekends. That’s longer than the average fulfillment time with other POD providers, which is usually around 3 days.

Once a Gooten’s vendor has printed the shipping label, tracking is added to the customer’s order. Delivery time can take up to 12 days in the US and 21 days in international destinations, depending on the shipping method used and the customer’s location. For standard shipping in the US, packages can be delivered within 5 days. For expedited deliveries, it takes 2 to 4 days. There’s also an option for overnight shipping, which should arrive on the next business day.

Shipping costs also vary depending on the product, customer’s location, and chosen shipping method. Gooten also works with multiple carriers, which impacts the shipping costs too.

Some shipping rates are calculated based on the box items, which can only contain a specific number of products or weight per box. Some products have flat shipping rates, such as accessories, kids’ products, wall art, cards, and all apparel produced in the US. The full list is here, and Gooten also provides a Shipping Calculator that you can access on your account.

How to sign up with Gooten?

Gooten doesn’t have any sign-up fee or a monthly subscription fee. You’ll only be charged for the products they produce for you. What you need to pay for are the eCommerce platforms that you integrate with Gooten.

You can start by signing up here. Then, you can configure and set up your account by providing the details of your business and adding a billing method. You can also add team members.

What are the available eCommerce integrations?

Gooten can be integrated with Shopify, Etsy, and WooCommerce. It also has Gooten API. A basic Shopify store costs $13 a month. Etsy Standard has no monthly subscription fees, but it charges $0.20 per listing, 5% transaction fee, 3% + $0.25 payment processing fee, and 15% offsite ads fee.

WooCommerce is a free plugin, but you need a web host first for your eCommerce website. You can choose from Siteground, Bluehost, Pressable, and WordPress, which are the recommended web hosts by WooCommerce and WordPress. Hosting plans can start at $3.95 per month.

Integrating a store with Gooten is easy. Once you’ve set up your store, Gooten fulfillment becomes automatic. With that, you only have to focus on promoting and growing your business.

How to integrate Gooten with Shopify?

Shopify is one of the largest eCommerce platforms in the market, powering millions of businesses. Here’s the integration process:

1. Create a free Gooten account.
2. Download the Gooten app from the Shopify App Store.
3. Install the app.
4. Upload your design, choose the products you want to sell from Gooten’s product catalog.
5. Set your prices, then hit publish.
6. When an order comes in, Gooten will automatically fulfill it.

How to integrate Gooten with Etsy?

Etsy is a popular platform for handmade products, vintage items, and craft supplies. Here’s how to connect it with Gooten:

1. Create a free Gooten account.
2. Log in to your Gooten account.
3. Go to the Product Hub.
4. Click Etsy to connect your store.
5. Sync your existing Etsy products or create new ones.
6. When an order comes in, Gooten will automatically fulfill it.

How to integrate Gooten with WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is a plugin designed for WordPress users. To use Gooten with WooCommerce, follow these steps:

1. Create a free Gooten account.
2. Download Gooten Shipping for WooCommerce.
3. On your WordPress dashboard, go to Settings > Permalinks. Select the Post name.
4. Install and activate the Gooten Shipping plugin.
5. Login to your Gooten account and go to Product Hub.
6. Connect your WooCommerce store.
7. Approve Gooten access to your WooCommerce store.
8. Sync your WooCommerce products or create new ones on Gooten.
9. When an order comes in, Gooten will automatically fulfill it.

How does the Gooten API work?

For technically-inclined merchants, Gooten API allows them to create new eCommerce scenarios, including mobile applications and advanced customization. Gooten API services include the following:

• Image manipulation
• Address verification
• Product listing
• Status
• Webhooks
• Print-ready products

What are the pros and cons of using Gooten?

The pros of using Gooten:

• It offers a wide range of products and some of them are rarely found on other POD providers, such as custom can cooler, acrylic trays, and glass cutting boards
• It has competitive pricing
• It provides shipping tracking information
• It has several fulfillment locations so products are produced by the vendor nearest to the customer’s location for faster and cheaper shipping

The downsides of using Gooten:

• It has a longer fulfillment time compared to others
• It has limited platforms to integrate
• You can’t choose which manufacturer will process your products

Gooten Reviews: What do customers say about Gooten?

Gooten has an average rating of 3.9 stars on Shopify, where it received hundreds of feedback. Recent Gooten reviews commend the platform’s ease of use, a wide variety of products, shipping rates, and customer service. Other reviews point to the need for better mockups.

Here are some of what they say:

TaraHuntDesigns (4 stars): “I’ve been using this app to add really unique pieces to my shop. I like that you can design for multiple variants at once. I do want to see better mock up capabilities within Gooten. Showing the product in a beautiful environment or a nice looking model would increase sales. I am also looking for more pet offerings, specifically sublimated printed dog collars and dog shirts.”

KAMEI (5 stars): “Great quality, on-time shipment, phenomenal selection. They could improve by shipping multiple items in one shipment to save on shipping costs. I will still continue to use their service and I highly recommend.”

The Official Glen Loates Store (2 stars): “I was using Gooten when I first started. I decided to remove them from my store because it was getting too costly troublesome whenever I was dealing with shipping and setting up the back-end rates. Advanced Shipping Rules helped, but I was cornered into paying a real premium for something that comes with Shopify already. Printful and other suppliers have their API connected to Shopify, so the shipping already gets calculated when customers place the orders. Simple! And that is how Gooten should work. Until they get with the times, I will be using other suppliers. UPDATE: After one year since Shopify updated its backend to allow automated rates, Gooten still has not taken advantage of this feature. If I choose to use them, I will have to spend upwards of $60 per month to use Advanced Shipping Rules.

FCatherine (4 stars): “The catalog contains products that other suppliers do not have, for example curtains / tablecloths. Development is exciting and inspiring. I am planning further cooperation, because a large number of necessary products for printing. Thanks!”

Gooten vs Printify: How do they compare?

Printify is a print-on-demand service provider that was launched in 2015. It operates in Riga, Latvia, but most of its business is done in the US.

• Subscription. It’s free to sign up with both Gooten and Printify, with no monthly subscriptions. However, the standard free plan on Printify can only integrate up to 5 stores. If you want to add more stores, there’s an option to upgrade to Premium and Enterprise plans. Gooten has unlimited stores to add with no monthly fees.

• Outsource printing. Like Gooten, Printify also routes orders to its partner manufacturers in more than 90 locations, primarily in the US, the UK, and China.

• A wide selection of products. Printify has a huge product catalog, just like Gooten. Gooten, however, has more unique product options.

• Mockups. Printify has better mockups. Gooten doesn’t have mockups on models.

• Control over markups and profits. You can set your own profit margins with both Gooten and Printify. In most cases, Gooten products are more expensive than Printify.

• Equally complex shipping fees. Because their printing providers are located in different places, both have varying shipping rates.

• Fulfillment time. Printify has a longer fulfillment window of 1 to 6 days, while Gooten takes 3 to 5 days.

• Integration options. Gooten is limited to Shopify, Etsy, and WooCommerce, but Printify can also integrate eBay, PrestaShop, BigCommerce, and Wix Stores.

Gooten vs Printful: How do they compare?

Printful is one of the leading print-on-demand service providers in the US, with fulfillment locations in the US, Europe, and Mexico, and soon in Canada. It also has partner facilities in Australia.

• Subscription fees. Like Gooten, it’s free to create an account with Printful, with no upfront or monthly fees.

• Fulfillment centers. Unlike Gooten that outsources its printing, Printful prints its products in its fulfillment facilities in the US, Europe, and Mexico. Printful also provides warehousing services.

• A wide selection of products. Both Gooten and Printful offer a broad range of products. They also sell products that are eco-friendly.

• Mockups. Printful has a better mockup generator, which includes mockups on models. That’s what merchants are hoping to improve with Gooten.

• Control over markups and profits. You can set your own profit margins with both Gooten and Printful. Gooten products are generally cheaper than Printful.

• Shipping rates. Printful has more simplified shipping rates, fixed and live rates. On the contrary, Gooten has varying shipping costs, although it offers flat fees for products produced in the US.

• Fulfillment time. Printful takes 2 to 7 days to fulfill an order, which is longer than the 3 to 5 days it takes for Gooten.

• Integration options. Gooten can only integrate Esty, Shopify, and WooCommerce. Printful, however, has several options, such as Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, Ecwid, BigCommerce, Prestashop, Weebly, Amazon, eBay, Big Cartel, Wish, and Magento.

Are there alternatives to Gooten?

• Spocket. It’s a dropshipping marketplace that connects more than 50,000 merchants to thousands of suppliers of US/EU products across the globe. It’s free to create an account, and you can integrate Shopify, BigCommerce, Wix, and WooCommerce.

• CustomCat. It’s a print-on-demand service provider based in Detroit, where it produces all its products. It has a seven-acre facility that houses 600 employees, handling more than 10,000 product SKUs. It ships internationally, but since the production is all in the US, it’s best for US-based eCommerce businesses.

• TeeMill. If you’ve chosen a specific niche, particularly custom T-shirts, TeeMill is a good alternative to Gooten. It’s based in Isle of Wight in the UK, but it ships worldwide. TeeMill prints t-shirts in real-time, so orders in the UK arrive the next day and in 3 days internationally. You can set up and customize your store through TeeMill; no integration needed. It’s free to sign up.

• Redbubble. Redbubble is a print-on-demand marketplace based in Melbourne, Australia. It’s designed for artists who want to monetize their artworks. You can upload your designs and make them available to over 70 products. There’s no integration needed too. You only have to set your store via Redbubble.

• SPOD. It’s Spotify’s print-on-demand service that can fulfill your orders within 48 hours. That’s the fastest turnaround time in the industry. You need a Shopify store to use SPOD.

Tips for Succeeding in Print-on-Demand with Gooten

• Find a niche. Because there are several product choices, it can be overwhelming for beginners in the print-on-demand business. It’s best to find a specific niche that you will focus on. You can start with one type of product, such as t-shirts, or focus on one category, such as home goods. Don’t be afraid of missing out on other products. Niching down means you can reach a target audience and increase your chances of succeeding.

• Order sample products. When you’ve chosen your niche, don’t forget to order sample products. Doing so will allow you to see your designs in actual products, and you can assess their quality too. It’s best to order sample products before you publish them in your stores.

• Set clear expectations with your customers. You must publish clear and comprehensive store terms and conditions on your website to set things straight with your customers.

  For instance, it must be clear that since you sell print-on-demand custom-made products, there’s no customer remorse to be entertained. Customers cannot return a product and ask for a refund just because they don’t like it. Unless the product has been damaged or the order was printed incorrectly, the platform will not return your money or replace the product with something else.

• Offer free shipping. When you don’t integrate the shipping costs into the price of the product, customers tend to abandon their cart upon checkout. You can attract more customers if you offer free shipping and keep the calculations simple for them. Gooten has a shipping calculator and flat shipping rates that you can use in setting prices for your products.

• Write excellent product descriptions. Because customers don’t see the products in person, a well-written product description is useful in convincing them to buy. Make it clear and include everything that a customer will want to know about the product, such as the specifications, materials used, sizes, and so on.

• Promote your store. Now that the fulfillment, packing, and shipping of your products are handled by Gooten, you need to market your store. Create a marketing strategy to reach your target audience and drive them to the store to make a purchase. Orders won’t automatically come in if you don’t do any promotion.

Conclusion

eCommerce is a growing industry, and what better way to take advantage of it than to start an eCommerce business yourself. Print-on-demand is a viable option because you don’t have to keep an inventory of products. Gooten will only print your products when an order comes in.

We may not hear about Gooten as often as we hear about Shopify, Amazon, or eBay, but it’s a great option for newbies in the eCommerce landscape. It’s free to sign up, you can integrate several stores from multiple eCommerce platforms, you have several product options, and you can set your own profit margins.