Use The Web: Redbubble.com

Hello readers -

This is the first installment of what I am going to be calling the “Use The Web” series. My aim is to point  you in the direction of sites/services/ideas that you might not know about but could easily put to use in your own musical and artistic endeavors.

Redbubble is an easy to use web portal and manufacturing company for artists who are looking to profit from their artwork by selling directly to their fans. Artists upload their work and fit it to one of the pre-formated templates that Redbubble provides for the types of products they distribute, which include t-shirts and posters, and begin selling right away.  Each artist is given a profile page on the site, which is essentially a visual portfolio for their work. Artists are searchable based on their unique usernames or by tags associated with their merchandise and can be “subscribed” to so that customers can be notified when any new products are made available.

Earnings are deposited on the 7th of each month either through direct payment into a bank account or Paypal account, or by check via snail mail, providing you have earned at least $20 US in that month. Pricing of products is determined by adding a fixed manufacturing price that Redbubble sets depending on the type of product you are selling to the percentage markup that you as the artist wish to charge. You keep the percentage, and they keep the base price. The customer pays shipping and handling.

Signing up for a Redbubble profile is quick and painless, as you can see in the video below:

If you looking to make your first foray into distributing t-shirts, posters, and odds and ends online but have no idea where to start, Redbubble certainly seems to be a great place to begin. The way that Redbubble handles its pricing means that roughly $5 to $7 per t-shirt (depending on your markup) goes directly into your pocket. Not a stellar amount, but considering that the messy details of manufacturing, distribution, and payment processing are handled for you, its not a bad deal, especially if you are just getting started. The clean aesthetic of the site, its ease of use, and its simplicity to navigate all serve as an asset to helping you look a bit more professional for a much lower barrier to entry in terms of the time and expertise required to handle on your own.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

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If you have any suggestions for something I should be covering on Use The Web, feel  free to contact me via a message on the Facebook group.