The annual estimate of greeting card retail sales is above $7.5 billion! It proves that
people still prefer greeting cards over GIFs in this high-end digital age. As it gives a personal touch to the feelings you convey!
While buying greeting cards and gifts offline is still existent, online card shopping has also emerged popular of late. To compete with the leading brands like Archies, Hallmark and other big fishes in this industry is tough. But it is possible though!
So, are you ready to launch your new online card retail business? Or to expand your offline card retail store into an online one? Below are some good ways to sell greeting cards online.
How to Sell Greeting Cards Online (Highly Recommended Ways)
Print-On-Demand is highly trending nowadays. The reason is, customers can not only purchase products but also customize them. They can select different images to keep on their products. The companies then print these products with images on them.
You can upload images on greeting cards and other products and sell them on such print-on-demand companies. Being a designer, you can set a base price and add the commission you want to earn. Generally, it is around 10%. Zazzle, Red Bubble, and Cafe Press are some good print-on-demand companies you can tie up with.
Trading your cards through these sites have various advantages viz:
1. No big investment in products as the company takes care of printing and requirement fulfillments.
2. No shipping charges as the company pays for shipping.
3. No need to deal with enquiries or complaints from customers.
4. The company handles them all. However, you can allow your customers to contact you for their design requests if you want to.
5. Hassle-free payments. The company handles all payments and pays you via PayPal or check depending on your location.
6. Continuous selling of your designs for years making it your source of passive income.
If you are good at innovative artwork and craftwork, you can go for selling handmade cards online. However, the cost of making such cards is higher. It’s because you have to be ready with all crafting materials with you. You may require cards, rubber stamps, stickers, ribbons,, ruler, die cutting machines, etc.
Moreover, you will have to handle shipping charges also. Nevertheless, handmade cards are in great demand. Therefore, higher card-making costs will bring you higher profits.
Most of these sites either charge you monthly or ask for a commission on your earning from sales.
If you are selling handmade cards offline, you can upload them on various sites to sell them. This way, you don’t only get to sell your cards but also promote them. Some popular sites where you let you sell your handmade cards are:
1. Amazon
2. Etsy
3. Shopify
4. iCraft
5. Artfire
6. Supermarket
7. Folksy (UK based)
8. Dawanda, and more.
If you are financially sound and can invest huge amounts, your own card retail website is a good idea to go for. You have to take care of everything from taking card orders to dispatching them. But hold on!
First, your site is not the ‘lonewolf’ of the online card retail industry.
Many major players like Hallmark, Etsy, Zazzle, etc. are already a tough competition. So, your site must be visible enough for people to view, notice and visit.
For this to happen, you must learn SEO skills. Or hire someone who would do that for your site. So that your site shows up in top search results.
Second, you need to choose a feature-rich Card Design Software that lets your customers customize cards.
‘Freelance sites’ is yet another good way of earning income through online sale of cards. This option has its own advantages some of which are:
Unlike other options, you don’t need to create cards and wait for others to buy them. On the contrary, you just need to work on specific design requirements of customers. This puts you at a relatively lower risk of low sales and profits.
You don’t have to take care of uploading card designs timely, managing orders or shipping order. Just take orders as they come and fulfill them.
Also, you can earn a pretty good amount by catering to multiple customers monthly or yearly. If your designs go down well with clients, your popularity escalates. And you can get more and more orders. Again a bonanza for you!
Though not directly related to selling cards, this way that fits here somehow. If you are good at innovation, sell it to card companies. Some card companies pay you for their submission. But before submitting your idea to a site, analyze the style of cards they sell thoroughly. If they like your poetry, quotes, sayings, design and theme ideas; you can earn anywhere between $25 to $300. To tie up with such companies, you first need to sign a statement. And confirm that your idea is original and you won’t use it anywhere else.
Some good companies that pay you for ideas are:
1. Oatmeal Cards
2. Blue Mountain Cards
3. SNAFU Designs
4. Smart Alex
5. Warner Press
6. Comstock Market Place, and more.
Thus, you see that the greeting card business will never go out of fashion. So, you can always go for it. Just start selling cards online besides selling them offline. And boost your card retail business!
Mr. Pratik Shah is Creative Head of Brush Your Ideas, a Web-to-Print technology solution offering custom product design software and Web-to-Print Storefront Solutions. He is a tech enthusiast and an avid blogger and writes about ecommerce and web-to-print industry.