Redbubble vs Society6: Wich is Best for Print on Demand? (2023)

Original Source: https://ecommerce-platforms.com/articles/redbubble-vs-society6

Both Redbubble and Society6 offer a range of opportunities for those wanting to share their passion and artistic talents at a more affordable price.

From printing your unique designs onto t-shirts to wall art, duvets, and phone cases, these print-on-demand (POD) platforms offer a decent range of products to customize and sell to art fanatics worldwide.

With that said, are you eager to learn more about these POD services? Fab! Keep reading to find out more.

What is Redbubble?

Redbubble was born in 2006 in Melbourne out of the founder’s desire to share their images and creations with a broader audience.

In short, Redbubble is a print-on-demand service and marketplace. On the designer side, they can upload their work onto over 70 different products. So from phone cases to wall art, t-shirts, and much more, you’re bound to find a product you want to print your unique design onto.

In contrast, online shoppers can search the marketplace and purchase products and artwork from independent artisans.

At the time of writing, Redbubble enables over 700,000 creatives worldwide to launch their own online Redbubble shops, sell custom products, and generate money on their sales.

What is Society6?

Great businesses often arise from lightbulb moments triggered by mishaps – which is precisely how Society6 came into being.

In this instance, the founder’s friend was invited to the prestigious Miami Art Basel show to showcase their artwork. However, they couldn’t afford the attendance fees. It soon dawned on them that other creatives would be in the same position. So, in 2009, the founders decided to launch Society6 so that artists and designers could share their designs with a broader audience at an affordable price.

Like Redbubble, Society6 is also designed for both artists and art lovers alike. Where artisans are concerned, they can use this POD service to customize many different products, including more unique items like furniture, bedroom, and bathroom accessories!

Similarly, customers can peruse Society6’s marketplace. They’ll find thousands of designs from independent artists located in over 160 countries.

How Does Redbubble Work?

As I’ve mentioned, Redbubble makes sharing your creativity with the world pretty easy. All you have to do is open a shop (for free, may I add), pick the products you want to customize, and upload the artwork onto said products.

Then, you can make these items available on your store. When a customer makes a purchase, Redbubble then prints your artwork on the item and ships it directly to your customer (who incidentally can be located nearly anywhere in the world).

To get yourself up and running with Redbubble, sellers should complete the below steps:

Set up and verify your online account for free.
Tinker with your profile and account settings
Visit the account details page and check your payment details are correct. Here you can pick your preferred payment method; PayPal or bank transfer.
Customize your shop by adding a bio, avatar, and social links.
Upload your artwork
Add a title, tags, and description to your work.
Enable the products you wish to place your artwork on
Edit your artwork’s appearance on the product, and pick your product’s style and color (if applicable).
Review pricing
Start selling; look out for the “Made a sale” email.
Printing begins when you make a sale, and the product is shipped to your buyer.

Alternatively, if you’re a buyer, browse Redbubble’s array of exciting pieces. Then if you see something you like, make a purchase and put a smile on the creator’s face!

How Does Society6 Work?

Society6 also has similar aims. I.e., to empower talented creatives worldwide to sell their masterpieces to those who appreciate their work.

To get up and running with Society6, sellers need to complete the following steps:

Create and verify your account (verification costs $1)
Edit your shop settings (select your default sort and filter options to control the product types shoppers see when they land on your shop).
Edit your shop appearance (cover image, avatar, and bio)
Upload your work
Customize your preferred products – clothing, furniture, wall art, etc.
Start selling
When you make a sale, Society6 will fulfill, print, and ship your customer’s order on your behalf.

Alternatively, if you’re in the market for art or products made by independent artisans, explore Society6’s marketplace and purchase whatever inspires you.

Redbubble Pricing

First, you’ll be pleased to hear that creating an account is free.

However, when pricing your products expect to shell out for the product’s base price (after a customer makes a purchase). Base costs consist of Redbubble’s service fee for being a marketplace host and a manufacturing fee charged by the third-party manufacturer. You’ll also be expected to pay shipping costs and any necessary sales tax or VAT.

Please note: Redbubble tries to use manufacturers close to your customers, so changing the delivery address may affect the base price.

Unfortunately, Redbubble isn’t very transparent about its base costs. Unlike other print-on-demand services like Printful and Printify, you can’t view them upfront. Instead, you must go through the trouble of uploading your design, enabling a product, completing the design, and adding the product to your cart!

You then charge an ‘artist margin’ on top of the above fees – this is how much you’ll make from a sale. You can set a percentage markup of the base price, which defaults to 20%. However, you can alter this percentage. It’s worth noting that your ‘Product Pricing’ page displays these figures based on your local currency and shipping settings, so the final cost will differ depending on the customer’s location.

It’s also worth noting that as of May 2023, Redbubble introduced account tiers to reward particular behaviors.

There are three tiers, which are as follows:

Redbubble Standard: This is the starting point of the tiered system; by positively interacting with the marketplace, you can move to the premium bracket.
Redbubble Premium: You can reach the premium level by growing your audience.
Redbubble Pro: If an artist is a top seller, they may be invited to become a pro; this is reviewed every year.

Redbubble Standard accounts are subject to a flat account fee. This fee is based on monthly earnings and, therefore, only charged once an artist actually makes a sale. In contrast, Premium and Pro accounts aren’t charged a fee as a reward for positively engaging with the platform.

Premium and Pro accounts also boast more advantages. For example, access to an email newsletter with tailored tips and insights, advance notice of sales dates, priority participation in fan art programs, and more. Building on that, Redbubble Pro unlocks a dedicated account manager, increased marketing and PR opportunities, advanced customer and marketplace insights, and more.

Society6 Pricing

Again, you’ll be pleased to hear that it doesn’t cost a penny to create a Society6 account, and there’s no monthly fee.

As mentioned, you’ll have to pay a $1 fee to verify your account.

Product pricing on Society6 is determined by the base price (set by Society6) and the markup (set by the artist).

To clarify:

The base price: This is the item’s cost before the artist markup is applied. It includes the expense of product manufacturing and hosting the product on Society6’s marketplace. For example, a pillow may have a base price of $35; however, with a 15% markup, the retail price will be $40.

Artist markup: This is a percentage of the base price that you, as the artist, set to determine your earnings from the product sale. The default is 10%. However, you can adjust this however you wish (up to 999%).

Retail price: This is the price displayed to potential customers on Society6’s marketplace and is just the base price plus the artist markup. Unfortunately, this doesn’t include sales tax or shipping costs. Shipping fees range from $0.30 – $8 and fluctuate depending on the product you’re selling and are deducted from your earnings. You can review a more specific breakdown of Society6’s shipping fees here.

All prices are rounded up to the nearest dollar when displayed on the marketplace.

Redbubble Print Quality

T-shirts and basic clothing apparel are printed using direct-to-garment printing. This method involves adding a pre-treatment before putting the garment in the printer to ensure the print sticks and sinks into the textile fibers for long-lasting results.

With phone, laptop, or tablet cases, the skin is designed to snuggly adhere to your product. However, please note that these skins don’t offer the same level of protection as the ‘Snap & Tough’ cases.

But don’t take our word for it; Redbubble has many delighted customers:

“The hat itself is very good quality, and the print is precise and high quality.”

“High quality. They are really great at making sure you are satisfied. I try to order all my tees from here first!”

Society6 Print Quality

Society6 also boasts excellent print quality.

The platform offers high-quality and high-resolution imagery from artists all over the world.

Where wall art is concerned, the paper is described as ‘glossy’ and ‘thick.’

Please note: to boost the quality of the print, artists should capture and edit their artwork to the highest possible resolution, ensuring the digitized canvas is 6500 x 6500 at 30ppi at a minimum.

Society6 has many thrilled customers:

“I love the quality, the awesome staff, and the helpfulness. They have excellent products, and we have never been anything short of impressed. Literally, we have two full drawers of their t-shirts in our dresser!”

“Great customer service and quality product”

Redbubble Best Selling Products

Some of Redbubble’s best-selling items include stickers. After stickers, t-shirts come in a close second. After all, who wouldn’t want a top with a unique design on it that a passionate artist has created? Other best-selling products include; mugs, pillowcases, and eye masks.

Society6 Best Selling Products

Society6’s best-selling items include but aren’t limited to, wall art, curtains, and canvases. The wall art, in particular, goes down a treat, with styles such as abstract art, nature pictures, colorful picks, or black and white art.

Redbubble vs Society6: My Final Thoughts

Now you know more about Redbubble and Society6, which (if either) might you consider using?

Whether you’re an artist looking for somewhere to showcase your creativity at an affordable price or a buyer searching for something a little different to wear or put on your wall, both platforms offer an array of products and opportunities.

However, if forced to decide which is better, I would say Redbubble has the slight edge. Namely, because Redbubble offers more in the way of analytics and attracts more traffic to its marketplace. Whereas Society6 might be the more popular choice for selling wall art, canvases, and other prints.

That’s enough from me, over to you. Have you used either POD platform? Let me know your experiences in the comments box below!

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