The Merch by Amazon service has launched in the UK and Germany. Merch offers creatives and artists a chance to upload their artwork and imagery to Amazon and then they can be printed on demand of everything from t-shirts to aprons.
The designers get a commission for every item they sell and Amazon takes care of the product pages and also does all the production, delivery and customer service, if the product gets sold. At the moment Merch is only available to merchants in Europe on an invitation basis. So you will need to apply if you want to start selling your creations.
Amazon is reported as saying about the new service in the UK and Germany:
We are excited to announce that Merch by Amazon is live in Germany (www.amazon.de) and the United Kingdom (www.amazon.co.uk)! We will enable accounts on a rolling basis and will notify Content Creators via email when their accounts have been approved. When an account is enabled for these new marketplaces, options to select them will become available in the product creation process. Note that we will not be able to provide updates on approvals for individual accounts. Please review our updated Content Policy and FAQs for additional information.
– Amazon
It’s a nifty enough service that has been available in the USA for some years and has now launched in Europe. It’s non-exclusive to designers and you can estimate your potential royalties using the calculator on the landing page, if you’re curious about what you might be able to earn.
Of course, there are multiple platforms out there that offer a similar service but the Amazon offering is likely most notable because of how it protects the trademarks and intellectual property of your artwork and that of big brands too. Other less stringent services are available.
