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Top 5 Questions Asked Over and Over Again

Top 5 Questions Asked Over and Over Again

Certain questions are asked over and over again. Here are our answers.

This article was updated in January, 2019.

Shop

How does Spreadshop work?

Opening a Spreadshop store for your merch is very easy. You’ll be able to choose the designs and products you want to put up for sale, and you earn money every time a purchase is made!

We store the products for you, and we’ll print the items as soon as a customer orders them via your Shop. For you, this means there is absolutely no risk or obligation involved – it’s 100% free. We take care of payment, shipping and customer service. All you have to do is create products and designs, put them up for sale in your Shop, and promote your Shop and products on social media. Take a look at how this can be accomplished.

To create an online Shop, click here. Enter your registration information, and you can immediately start your online business by uploading designs and creating your products.

How do I create products for my Shop?

The product creation process is particularly easy:

Go to the “Designs” menu in the left column to import a design, choose and edit all wanted products for that design, and enter all the necessary information and tags. Watch this tutorial to see how quickly this task can be completed.

Is Spreadshop really free?

Yes, having your own Spreadshop is completely free. Since we only print products on demand (see more information here), you have no expenses.

How is the product price determined?

The price of a Spreadshop product consists of:

How do I integrate the Shop with my website?

Your Spreadshop can easily be integrated with any website. It’s simple to integrate it into WordPress or Joomla. Depending on what you want to do, some knowledge of HTML, CSS or JavaSript may be required. Please use JavaScript to integrate the Shop with your website.

In “Sales Channels” > “Edit” > “Advanced Settings” > “Shop Settings” > “Embed Shop in Website,” you will find all the necessary information. You’ll also find information on less complicated ways of integrating your Spreadshop into your website.

What is the difference between Spreadshop and Marketplace?

Spreadshop offers you the opportunity to have a free merchandising shop (and URL) that can easily be integrated into your website. You are the manager, and you choose the products and designs that you want to offer. It is up to you to advertise and market your Shop so that your products can be found by customers. With each sale, you will receive the design price and Affiliate Commission on generated sales, set at 20% of the cost of printing and products. Depending on the number of products sold, you can even earn more with the Volume Commission.

The Marketplace is part of the Spreadshirt site. It is a great platform on which creative minds can offer their designs. You can simultaneously have a Shop while selling your designs on the Marketplace. As for the Marketplace, you don’t have to worry about marketing, since thousands of visitors browse and buy on the Marketplace every day. In addition to choosing the design, the customer selects the product on which the design will be printed. The design can also be adjusted on the product, and customers can even change the size and (sometimes) the color. With every design you sell, you will receive the design price you set.

To find out which sales channel is most appropriate for your needs, take a look at this article.

Can I customize the Shop layout?

It is entirely possible to adapt the layout of your Shop. You can activate your own start page, import a logo for the header and choose a color theme. It is also possible to determine your own color palette. More advanced users can use the “HTML and CSS” option to customize the Shop. You can also make adjustments to the header and footer in the checkout area.

Do you offer white label shops?

Yes, that’s standard. The Spreadshirt logo will not appear on your Shop. It allows you to add your personal touch the way you see fit. The only mention of Spreadshirt is in the footer (“Powered by Spreadshirt”), which you can eliminate via CSS.

Designs and Products

Can I work on several products at the same time?

Yes, that’s possible.

You need to select the relevant designs (by checking the box at the top right of the design preview), and on the top left you will be able to edit design keywords and Design Price (you can also delete unwanted designs). For the products, you can use our great template functionality, allowing you to save recurring work steps for all your products.

Why was my design rejected?

There are many reasons for rejecting a design. The most common reason is that the lines of the vector graphics are too thin. If the lines are too thin, the design can’t be printed properly, or the print may deteriorate after several washes. It is also possible that designs violate copyrights (e.g. trademarks or word marks). You will find a list of reasons for refusal in our FAQ section for partners.

Commission

How does the commission system work?

Depending on the distribution channel (Marketplace or Spreadshop), you’ll find different types of commission (see the question “What is the difference between Spreadshop and the Spreadshirt Marketplace?”).

Regardless of the chosen distribution channel, you always receive the design price. You’ll also set the amount you want to receive for each sale. The design price can be set up to $15. We advise you, however, to take heed of how some of our more popular designers price their designs.

If you have a Shop and sell a product, there are two additional types of commission:

  1. The Affiliate Commission on sales generated. This is 20% on the price of the product and printing (after deduction of tax that the customer pays to Spreadshirt).
  2. The Volume Commission on sales. If you sell more than 26 products in a matter of a bonus period (one month), you receive a bonus ranging from 0.5 to 40% of the price of the product and the printing.

You will find all information on commission types in our help center.

Why have my commissions still not been paid, and how do payments work?

The amount of commissions generated by sales can only be paid to partners who have correctly stated their name, address and bank account details (we also accept PayPal). As soon as the minimum balance has been reached, all commissions earned are paid out once a month, regardless of the distribution channels or the commission type. We begin accounting for your fees no later than the 15th day of the following month. It may take up to two weeks for the money to be in your account. Therefore, you’d receive the money earned in e.g. October by the end of November.

Payments are only made if you have reached the minimum balance. The latter depends on the currency you have chosen. If the chosen currency is the dollar, payment will be made when the accumulated credit amounts to $10 (minimum).

Taxation

Do I need to register a business?

Unfortunately, we can’t make any blanket statements here. These factors depend on your personal and professional situation. If in doubt, please refer this matter to a tax consultant. Moreover, we advise you to read this useful article.

Tax Forms for non-U.S. Citizens Selling on the North American Platforms

Please download, complete, sign, and email the form below as an attachment to taxation@spreadshirt.com.

Why? We are required by the IRS to collect and report specific business transactions and provide statements of income to parties involved in those transactions. Failure to provide correct information will result in Spreadshirt withholding up to 30% of your earnings.

For Individuals

Download form W-8BEN-E

Please add your User ID to the form on line 10. You will find your User ID in your Account Settings. Fill out the remaining fields of the form with the same information you have entered above and the information you normally provide the IRS. It is very important that this information is consistent!

For Businesses

Download form W-8BEN

Please add your User ID to the form on line 7. You will find your User ID in your Account Settings. Fill out the remaining fields of the form with the same information you have entered above and the information you normally provide the IRS. It is very important that this information is consistent!

We also accept electronically signed forms created with your Adobe account or the Acrobat Reader package.

Once you have submitted this form to taxation@spreadshirt.com, we will need some time to process and validate it. We will inform you here once this process is complete.

Do you have any other pressing questions? Let us know in the comments below!

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92 comments Write a comment

  3. I have just finished reading this article, particularly in the part of the tax forms. I was almost panicking!! Why? Because you have swapped the forms. The form and download link you have indicated under individuals is actually for business entities and vice-versa.
    Please correct the error.
    Thank you.

  4. I placed a s order on 9/1/21 order number 12058698. Im trying to find out if it’s in process of being made or what. It’s still on the first step. My card has been charged and is in pending. The only email I have received is original confirmation of order.

    • Hi Misty,

      As soon as you receive the order confirmation it means that everything is going it’s way! If you don’t receive anything for another 3 days please write an email to service@spreadshirt.net!

      Best,

      Ben

  5. Hi, i am a youtuber and now have a decent following. would like to know if its possible to sell merch on spreadshop if i am in Dubai , UAE and most of my followers and potential customers are in the Philippines?
    thanks a lot in advance.

    Donna

    • Hi Donna,
      In this case I would recommend the Spreadshop Forum to you! I am sure that all of your questions will be perfectly answered there!

      Best of wishes,

      Ben

  8. Can I make a design on spread shirt and buy products form the website and resell in my store ?

  9. Hi. Just wondering if it possible to “duplicate” a shop from a co.uk store to a .com store (or vice versa)?
    there is mention of something earlier with a link to a video, unfortunately, the video is marked as private. What I am trying to acheive, if possible, is to not have to upload all my designs again.
    many thanks:)

  11. Is there any way that we can track inventory that is on “available again soon “ status ? Or to know when they will be available again ?

    Thank you

  19. If i integrate my spreadshirt shop into my website using javascript, the the orders be automatically placed on spreadhshirt when a customer purchases an item?

  21. Finally (perhaps) I have understood why I cannot find a space just for use text only, looking at the Michael’s question and the Lena’s answer.
    If is it so, I would like to ask you to consider the chance to put text only (and not as PNG, but native vectorial). Besides (always if I have rightly understood) I think it could be correct explain to the new customer it’s not possible to insert text only.
    I recognize Spreadshirt presents a good user interface respect most part of the competitors, but the learning curve is not, anyway, so short.
    I think anyone imagines first of all it’s possible write on a t-shirt. Behind, if it isn’t possible is good to explain it somewhere as FAQ.
    I have spent these words and time just because i wish a strongest Spreadshirt.
    Have a nice week!

    • Hi Allesandro,

      Thanks for your feedback. You can upload vector text designs to the partner area but we will add a FAQ article, thanks for the constructive comment 🙂

      Best,
      Lena

  22. Hello,

    I have reached the minimum of $10 based on the emails and the completed sales I have made, but my account still shows as if my credit is $0. Why is that?

    • Hi Roxannna,

      I will have a look but it takes some time until your earnings are credited. By that time they will show up in the “credit” section in your statistics.

      For further questions, help and guidance you could contact us in our forum or our service.

    • If you published your designs on the Marketplace then yes, they can be used but only in the respective Shirt Designer that is part of the Spreadshop.

    • Hi I have a Danish shop and I have a customer in the USA. I noticed there is no USA on the country register for customer address. When they go to purchase. Do I have to open another store under the USA

  24. Hello, I just submitted my tax non-US citizen W-8BEN form. The auto reply tells me it may take up to 2 weeks for it to be verified. Does this mean that I can’t open/launch/activate my store/sell products until my Tax form is processed?? Thanks.

  26. Hi

    Is possible to have a store for outside of US/UK?
    If Tax information/without information can create a problem for payment from selling?
    Is possible to transfer earned money directly to ones account?

  28. Why aren’t the baby clothes I design available for purchase? It says all my designs are Men Women Accessories Home & Living. What happened to the baby clothes and bibs I created? Why are they invisible?

    • Hi Rindi,

      please let me know the link to your Spreadshop or your Marketplace Showroom so we can have a look. Thanks!

  29. I am trying to get a shirt from someone that made a product on here but I wanted to know where the product comes from, like what state or city.

    • Depends where you are located in 🙂
      We have a production facility in Las Vegas and in Greensburg/Pennsylvania.

  30. Am I able to send myself one of my own hoodies to use for an important event? Do i get charged to send or as the owner of the store am I able to get a free one sent?

  32. Is it possible to have custom packaging with my own brand name? e.g. delivery package, invoice, shipping return labels etc.

    • Hi Atique,

      You can have your custom invoice. The delivery package and the return labels etc. are unbranded. They can currently not be sent with your own packaging.

      Best,
      Lena

  35. Hi, I wanted to know can I create a shirt in Spreadshirt using the provided templates and fonts then sell it? I’ve created shirts and bought them for friends and I but when I go to “start selling” it won’t let me create a shirt from the website and sell them in marketplace. Am I don’t jgnsomething wrong?

  36. Hi there! Am I allowed to have more than one spreadshirt account? Not can I have one in the UK but can I have 2 North American accounts under my bank and tax ID?

  37. Hi,

    For most of the apparel and accessories, there is no option for the design to fill the object. E.g. the mug has a limited space where the design I choose will show. Same for aprons, beach towels etc

    Is there a setting that I am overlooking or the limited space is the only option to put the artwork on?

    • Hi Rahel,

      If you are asking yourself whether we offer all-over prints then I’m sorry to dissapoint you. We only offer printing on set design areas.

      Best,
      Lena

  38. Hello,

    Does the company plan to offer other payment options like Payoneer. I live in Nigeria. I cant get a bank account in the USA or the EU, also cant receive payment with the PayPal account for Nigeria (we can only pay with it and not receive money with PayPal.

    Thanks,
    Royal.

    • Hi Royal,

      Thanks for bringing this up. For now this is unfortunately not possible but I will forward your feedback and let you know whether we have long-term plans n changing this.

      Thanks for your patience,
      Lena

  39. Hi, can I ask a question?
    How do you change the size of the clothes we are designing because I am making youtube merchandise and most of my viewers are kids, however, my size came up as adult men and I can’t change it.
    Thank you bye!

    • Hey Harvey,

      Please make sure that you’ve switched on the filters “Kids” and “Babies” and activate different product groups within this filter. If you let me know your userID (you can find it on the top right on your dashboard I can also do it for you.

      Let me know 🙂

      Thanks,
      Lena

  40. I had a Spreadshirt store a few years ago and was pretty successful. I decided to open another one today and this FAQ section has made me even more confused.

    Are you saying that there is now NO WAY to create a product for my store without uploading a design? What if I want to sell t-shirts with text and no images? It used to be so easy — create a product, design the product, sell the product. You could choose to use designs or you could choose to use text. I’m guessing this has changed.

    All I’m trying to do is add products to my store and I’m finding it to be completely impossible. Would love some feedback.

    • Hi Keri,

      If you want to add text, then you currently have to add a text design to your product. On the upside you can now super easily and quickly create multiple products at the same time. We are working on making design creation easier for you guys. We’ll keep you posted on the blog and in our newsletter so make sure you’re subscribed.

      Best,
      Lena

  41. Hi,

    I would like to know if I have to open 2 (or more) separate accounts for US and Germany / Europe / UK?

    And will your customer support handle possible returns and customers questions only for marketplace or also for stores?

    THANK YOU!

    Looking forward to working with you!

    Dominic

    • Hi Dominic,

      Yes you would need to open one account for: US/CA/AUS and one account for all of EU. You can link your shops though so customers will always be on the “correct” shop.
      Of course Spreadshirt takes care if handling returns for both marketplace AND shop (so completely hastle free for you). For the shops specifically you can have a look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWPym2AEsW8&t=3s

      Let me know if you have any other questions,
      Lena

  42. Hi my name is Eika
    and my question is I was making my own shirt and it said I can download any image and I did but I want to delete from my down load history please help

    • Can you please let me know your userID so I can check? Please keep in mind that your commission is credited approx 2 weeks after an order is sent.

      Best,
      Lena

  45. Hi,

    Everytime I click on “Activate Shop”, the spreadshirt heart pops up, and stays there for hours on end, but it does not go through to activating the shop. What can I do to rectify this issue?

    • Hi Rachel,

      Yes you can. Just drag and drop the design on the tile below the large product (the tile that shows the product from behind). This places the design on the back of your product. Hope this helps.

      Best,
      Lena

    • Since we’re offering a free shop system, this is not possible. Thanks for your understanding.

  50. I’d like to be able to replace my designs with updated versions of the same design but there doesn’t seem to be any way of doing that. It means selecting and adjusting all the products for every design all over again. Very frustrating.

    • It’s not the first time we get this feedback and we will be working this year on a solution for the problem you’re describing. Thanks for your feedback 🙂

    • Hi Michael,

      Currently there is no way to add text to your products. This feature will eventually be added but for now the solution is to add the text as a PNG to your products.

      Thanks,
      Lena

  52. I need to fill out tax information for outside USA?
    What if I do not wish to sell at all to USA?
    We dont need to do this for EBAY

    Its easier to just find a service like this outside USA, your too hard.
    Or just by $3 shirts from china and do it myself.

    • Hi Raechel,

      Not sure what you mean exactly and where you are based but yes like for any business we need your tax information. We are also based in Europe if you want to have a look (www.spreadshirt.co.uk). Let me know if you have any further questions. Oh, and getting a 3$ Shirt from China won’t guarantee the same quality as our Shirts – that’s for sure 🙂

      Thanks,
      Lena

  53. Thanks for your feedback Diane 🙂

    We’ve discussed (here on the blog and in the forum) having a default commission and have heard good arguments for and against. I also agree that these questions point to some usability issues where things like the commission aren’t clear to new users. I’ll pass this along to our product management 🙂

  54. If people frequently make the same mistake there is a usability design issue. This is true with the design / shop commission issue. The problem may be work flow but that could be expensive to address. A fair and simple solution is to set a default value for each. This would ensure some compensation for the designer, unless they intentionally reset the value to zero. It should never be the case that a designer get nothing while the user of the image earns money, unless the designer intentionally and knowingly so chooses. That is just fair.

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