Printful: Print on Demand

Increasing my original rating from two to three stars because Printful has made the print files available on paid orders and I appreciate the time they took to respond.

Pros: the design interface is easy to use to make product templates. The packaging once it is sent to your customer is customized with your brand.

Cons: Shipping is not optimal, think about two weeks from order, and it is expensive. There doesn't seem to be any option for expedited shipping unless you are using manual orders. The models for some of their mock-up shots are in awkward positions that don't really showcase the product, or the models are wearing clothing over the product in the mock-ups. You can only download print files that use Printful's free design elements, if you have a paid order for that product. The sizing charts that import to your store for many of the clothing products are based on measurements taken of the product if it is laying flat, including the chest measurement. This makes no sense. Most clothing size charts offer circumferential measurements, its best to build your own using Shopifies MetaFields

I really think if a person has a job and trying to get into this they would have a hard time trying to manage this.

Great mockup generator, really terrible customer service (especially when talking to Europe's customer service team) and pretty poor fulfillment time that makes it really hard to give your customers a good shopping experience. But that mockup generator is fire.

SHIPPING, SHIPPING, SHIPPING!

I use different companies for different things I want my designs printed on. I am currently in BETA testing mode with Printful as my Print-on-demand service for my designs.

I need shipping to be EASY, not complicated. I also need it accurately calculated at NO EXTRA COST to me or to my customers. What my customers see during checkout should be the same as what I pay to Printful for shipping provided. If Shopify charges my customer $6.50, Printful should not charge me $6.51 or $6.49. It should charge me exactly what the customer was charged.

I do not want to setup complicated weight based shipping groups. It doesn't work well and either causes me to OVERCHARGE or UNDERCHARGE my customers. My customers, mostly VETERANS, DEMAND and DESERVE accurate shipping rates when checking out. It shouldn't be complicated for the software either in Printful or Shopify to know the shipping location and decide to use Shopify's shipping rates or Printful's. It's 2019, not 1998.

When I joined the live chat to ask for assistance, they tried to UPSELL me to fix the problem. This means it's possibly an issue they know about and refuse to fix as it's profitable to not fix it.

From the MUGS and PHONE CASES I've tested thus far: Print quality has been GREAT! Goods delivered on time as estimated on their website. Packaging is good.

Only 3 stars as shipping can help grow or kill a business.

The app is user friendly and has an increasing selection. I ordered 3 samples on May 24 and received the T.Shirts on June 20th (19 business days later). The quality of the T.Shirts are good. The print has the screen print feel.
The prints had a strong smell and required to be washed. After the wash there was no smell at all and were perfectly fine. The print on one of the smaller kids size T.Shirts I ordered did not have the complete print, one side had faded or was not printed correctly. Each T.Shirt has a tag with a logo/brand Anvil or American Apparel. Overall the T.Shirts are comfortable and when done correctly do look good.

I like the way of creating designs, as well as setting prices, however, it is difficult for me to order the things I have designed.

Edit: Since writing the review underneath I have been contacted by some supportive and caring customer care agents. They have also informed me that Printful are currently in the process of opening a European Centre to avoid EU customs charges (see below). The actual opening date is still unclear.

Printful do not state VAT or correct product value on packages = Extra customs charges & VAT which have been crippling my business and customer retention (eg. a €40 hoodie will be charged an additional €19.50).

Unbelievably bad customer service. One agent in particular, who twice I had the misfortune of having to deal with. There is absolutely no care for the customer.

Printful is a great Print on Demand company. I've ordered samples and can say that the quality is quite nice. No chemical odor, packaged individually and shipped in a timely manner. The reason I gave it a 3 stars is that the delivery package looked like the products were shoved in a small delivery bag, so when I received it, it did not look appealing. Also, since I'm based in Canada and my customers likely will come from Canada to start, the customs/duties is likely going to make a negative impact.

I don't understand how we do not have stock all the time for products - every time we create something with stock you have - before even selling it - you are out or discontinued.....this does not help a growing business succeed.

When you upload your art for your online store, you have to create another template for a manual order. You are doing twice the work Plus you have to create different template for shirt sizes! Hoping they can follow Printify's easy to use system of creating products