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Shopkeeper FAQ
- How much does it cost to open a store?
- What are base prices?
- What profits do I receive from Marketplace Sales vs.Shop Sales?
- What is the printing process used on the T-Shirts?
- Are there special requirements for designing for black T's?
- How much can we charge for the items in our store?
- How much does it cost to buy items from my own store?
- How much does it cost to list my items in the CafePress Marketplace?
- This sounds too good to be true... How can you offer all of this for free?
- I do not live in the United States. Can I still set up a store or buy merchandise?
- Can I just buy stuff for myself?
How much does it cost to open a store?
Nothing! The store is completely free to you, the shopkeeper. When your customer orders an item from your store, we will produce the item, charge your customer, ship the product, and handle the customer service. You receive a check monthly for your sales commission.
What are base prices?
Base prices for every product can be found in our Product Center. CafePress sets those base prices to the cover operational expenses plus reasonable margin required run a viable business. When you, the shopkeeper, add products to your shop, you are encouraged to mark up the retail price of the product. When an item is purchased from you shop, the amount that you charge over the base price (the markup) is your profit and CafePress receives the base price.What profits do I receive from Marketplace Sales vs.Shop Sales?
When you sell a product directly from your shop, you receive the amount you marked up above the established CafePress base price for the product which was sold. (Shop Sell Price - Base Price = Your Profit)
When you sell a product within the marketplace, you receive 10% of the established CafePress Marketplace price for the product which was sold. (.10 X Marketplace Price = Your Profit)
What is the printing process used on the T-Shirts?
We use a dye sublimation printing process for mugs and mousepads and digital transfers for all apparel except Baby Doll T-shrits. Baby Doll T-Shirts use our new premium printing technology. These processes are similar in quality to screen printing, with no image cracking, peeling or fading. Direct Printing is the new technology that is currently available for a select set of garments. More details can be found on our Printing Processes page.
Are there special requirements for designing for black T's?
With the introduction of black garments at CafePress, white areas of your designs will no longer be treated as transparent when printing on black. For black garments we treat white as white. For example, whites of the eyes will be white, not the color of the garment. This also means that if your design has a white background, you'll see a white square printed around your design. You'll want to create and upload transparent images to obtain professional looking T-Shirt designs. Check out our tutorials on creating Images for Black Garments.
How much can we charge for the items in our store?
You can charge whatever amount you like for your store items, as long as you charge at least our base price. For example, our base price for a T-Shirt is $13.99. You can sell T-Shirts in your store as low as $13.99(and make no profit), or for any amount over $13.99. If you sell a T-Shirt in your store for $18.99, you will make a profit of $5.00.
How much does it cost to buy items from my own store?
You can buy as much as you want from your own store! We will charge you the base price for items that you buy from your store.
How much does it cost to list my items in the CafePress Marketplace?
Listing your products in the CafePress Marketplace is free and easy! Items are automatically eligible to be in the Marketplace. Each time your item sells in the Marketplace, you receive 10% of the retail price as your commission. Learn More
This sounds too good to be true... How can you offer all of this for free?
Good Question! Our base prices cover all of our expenses, etcetera.
I do not live in the United States. Can I still set up a store or buy merchandise?
We accept most international accounts and orders. You can now set up a store from almost anywhere, and your customers can order from all over the world.
Please understand, though, that we can only deal with U.S. currency at this time, so the commission check will be drawn from a U.S. bank. The conversion of funds will be up to you.
Can I just buy stuff for myself?
Absolutely! You can use our Create & Buy system to design products for yourself, and purchase them at base price! You can also save your products to buy later, at your convenience.
Or if you prefer, you can have your own personal store for your own use. If you don't want anyone to know how to get to your store, simply don't give out your Store ID. Once you open a store, it's yours to keep, whether you order from it every day or once a year.