Top 7 Weirdest but Profitable Shopify and Etsy Print on Demand Stores

Anna Navolokova, Marketing Manager in Multi-Programming Solutions  •  8 min read

The modern e-commerce market gives vast opportunities for creative people to monetize their unique ideas. Selling physical print on demand products is less risky than traditional vending because you may not hold an inventory and create goods stock ahead. All you need is to build an online store, make a design and find the supplier who will print and ship it after customers pay for their orders.

You may try any business idea you were afraid of even thinking about. And some bizarre Shopify and Etsy print on demand shops, which you’ll find in this article, will convince you to make the first steps in merchandising custom stuff and succeed, whatever eccentric it is. 

POD business doesn’t limit you in product diversity. You can start with Shopify t-shirts print on demand, then widen stuff categories with sports goods or household inventory. If you don’t know what items or prints to offer clients at the beginning of an online trading journey, let us help you to figure out ways to brainstorm brilliant store suggestions.

Table of Contents

Where to find ideas for print on demand if the market is already crowded?

The best print on demand stores on Etsy and Shopify that made it

The best strategies for promoting your print on demand store if you also sell weird products

Conclusion

Where to find ideas for print on demand if the market is already crowded?

As the supply of POD grows, it becomes harder for vendors to stand out from the crowd with their goods propositions. Around 36% of customers want their stuff to be more personalized. And 48% are even ready to wait a little longer but get a unique product. So it’s quite possible to meet the users' engagement by introducing an offbeat design in 2023.

To understand what to sell in your internet store, take a deep breath and think about what target audience you’d like to work with: e.g., pet owners, sports, or hand-made lovers. Thus, you’ll narrow down the product list that customers are passionate about. 

Then, determine what kind of design is most related to your clients. It’s more crucial if a product is created around a niche than what kind of goods it is. For example, dog owners can buy both accessories for their animals, mugs with their pictures (and you can provide such service), or fauna-printed pillows. All this stuff can be interesting to your public. 

You can succeed with a POD business, giving birth to the craziest design solutions within trending tendencies. Here we’ll list some sources to find your inspiration.

Google Trends

This platform gives insights into what people search through their browsers most frequently. In addition, a tool helps to understand seasonal and fashion demands. So you can provide topical sales at the right time and place.

Google Trends is free for everyone, and its helpfulness is priceless too. With the automated alerts, you will be aware of all the popular topics in your niche.

Amazon 

With its multi million annual sales e-commerce market can give many examples of successful purchasing products. Here you can watch what other vendors propose to their customers in a specified niche and catch some design ideas (but don’t copy them).

Marketplace counts the number of items sold to better understand their popularity. Users’ reviews are another powerful source of defining the right stuff to satisfy buyers. You can find out what facilities and features people don’t appreciate in goods, and what should be added.

Social media platforms

Telegram channels, Instagram, and Facebook pages have a lot of groups, unifying people with the same interests and tastes. So reading their comments and chats may give you a reliable answer on the exciting topic. In addition, you may ask visitors' opinions on the products and design issues to get the information firsthand.

It would be an excellent solution to make your own pages on social platforms, providing a multichannel interaction with potential customers. You can organize communication with the audience, make inquiries and receive feedback on your design patterns even before they are taken to work by the POD supplier.

Surroundings

Real-world is an open source of practical ideas, which can be found in original print on demand goods. Walking through streets, looking at shop cases, and listening to people's conversations in public, you may catch random thoughts for realization in your stuff.

Visit places your target audience does, feel their needs and expectations, and you’ll be likely to give high-demand product properties.

Shopify and Etsy stores

E-commerce platforms are filled with personalized online stores representing profitable brands and extraordinary proposals. Things that are not popular at first glance find their specialized audience with an excellent marketing strategy and wise management.

You’ll see dozens of Shopify and Etsy print on demand stores associated with a particular niche. Also, you may check prices on products you are going to sell, analyze the website’s interface and apply some methods to customize your shop. Best practices implemented for channel sales will help to engage customers and also popularize the brand.

Searching for POD business ideas, don’t forget to add your own lines to the design. Then, no matter how strange they could be, you can succeed with your uniqueness. We’ve collected the top Etsy and Shopify print on demand shops which have become profitable despite their weirdness.

Why Is It not too Late to Start Your Own Print on Demand Business in 2023?

The best print on demand stores on Etsy and Shopify that made it

Anyone can create their print on demand in the UK or US Shopify stores and start trading from their home regardless of age, trading skills, location, and budget. The next e-commerce merchants used this statement and raised their stores’ sales. Let’s look at successful POD entrepreneurs and their awesome stuff.

Viral Toilet Paper Earrings from LiciaYoung Studios

Licia started her business at 14 years in early 1990. And then, with the rise of e-commerce, she finally built her strong online presence with unique pearl earrings looking like toilet paper. Her art became viral after Britney Spears reposted the accessory on her web page. Later, Licia earned annual income within one day when the toilet paper volume decreased on shop shelves during a pandemic. 

Now her website is one of the successful print on demand Shopify stores, also selling glitter accessories for women.

Reusable pads and period underwear

Vending eco-friendly products is a prioritized task in modern reality. Some Shopify print on demand shops started to sell reusable pads and women's underwear for period days. Tampon shortage in 2022 showed that such an initiative is trendy. Women don’t have to search for pads or other personal hygiene products because they always have tissue washable ones. Besides, reusable underwear reduces environmental pollution. Thus, we see how an unusual product can save nature and clients’ costs.

LGBTQ apparel and accessories

Landon Reed is one more interesting seller among top print on demand Shopify stores. He provided a unique store for a narrow audience. With his customized stuff, he protested against the rainbow as an association with an LGBT community. So, now Pride Parade participants can wear clothes that will reflect their lifestyle while not attracting too much public attention.

Slippers for Getting Cozy

This product is a popular idea for Etsy print on demand stores like Jurga Felt Life or Home Soul. A great example of how your creativity can grow into an extensive business network. Slippers with different designs won millions of hearts. And what's important, you don’t have to produce them by yourself. Just find a master and provide dropshipping strategies for Etsy to make a successful start-up.

Vintage maps, tree rings, and foodie-focused art

People like to make their homes cozy. Etsy print on demand art prints is a popular request on a platform. You can also find very extraordinary proposals for different interiors among traditional pictures. For instance, the VintageMapsCo store has a large assortment of ancient maps, which makes the seller unique in a special niche. With a print on demand integration with Etsy, the owner could organize a profitable business and reach almost 8000 sales.

Instead, YellowLionStudio focused on picturesque food-oriented compositions. The owner also provided free shipping as an additional way to grow sales. Steph Patterson Art became a star seller in his category - watercolor landscapes and tree painting. His Etsy print on demand success was called by customers who wanted to feel natural harmony inside their houses.

Comparing Etsy vs. Shopify print on demand, we can say they both provide an excellent opportunity to find your target audience and promote unique stuff.

The best strategies for promoting your print on demand store if you also sell weird products

Previous working print on demand Shopify examples showed that sellers could make a profit even with strange stuff, oriented on a narrow part of customers. Understanding their target audience’s requirements and building thoughtful brand value and visibility allowed store owners to create a solid foundation for POD business. When you assure an enterprise’s undoubtful backbone, it's time to provide marketing methods that play an essential role in improving your brand’s recognition and user base growth. Here are some options your promotional strategy should include:

1. Establish a social media presence. It’s not about your personal page but a profile for your POD store. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok - all have their type of customers. And entering this social space, your online shop can rely on increasing traffic and reaching your new clients everywhere they are. With the social platforms' help, you can build strong relationships with users, gather their reviews, answer comments and fix product cons.
2. Provide e-mail marketing. It is a must-have for any e-commerce business. With the client’s e-mail addresses database, you will open one more channel to communicate with them. Suppose users missed your promotions on social media. Then you can send notifications and news about POD stuff to their e-boxes.
3. Allow client’s reviews. Visitors will more likely purchase your goods if they read other real customers’ comments. Getting users’ feedback is also important for improving your product’s quality (or its’ customization) and service level. You don’t have to guess what they want. Consumers will exactly tell you this. All the best print on demand Shopify stores have a field for customers reviews.
4. Optimize your website. Use relevant keywords in your content for search engines. List detailed information on shipping policy, payment systems, and product properties. Check whether your online store is fast enough, user-friendly, and catching visitors’ attention. Also, try to provide an excellent customer experience from the first click on a web page. Follow print on demand Shopify store examples to build the same attractive design.
5. Use an influencer's help. Famous persons or companies sometimes can have a multimillion audience that listens to their opinion. If they agree to promote your stuff on their social pages or blogs positively, you may expect a huge traffic flow to your store. And here, you should make efforts to keep visitors' attention and turn them into buyers.

All these promotional methods may become useless if you don't know your target audience enough. So, you should learn them better, for instance, guided by the best print on demand Shopify stores, to understand what content you should provide on each promotional stage. Then feeling personalized with users’ pains and interests according to their age, tastes, or gender, you can attract more traffic with a marketing campaign.

Digital Marketing Trends that Will Bring Your Print on Demand Business to a New Level in 2023

Conclusion

Print on demand branch gives equal opportunities for artists to express themselves and sellers who want to establish low-risk businesses with customizable stuff. However, whether you want to merchandise popular products or try to impress the audience with bizarre ones, you need intense preparation and learning based on customers’ analytics and marketing strategy.

With wise management and a multichannel approach, you can sell print on demand on Etsy or make a profitable t-shirt Shopify store, reach new customers, and raise your income.