When a “basic” CafePress shop is all you need
CafePress has two options. One is the premium shop that allows you to brand your CafePress storefront and create as many products as you want. That’s $6 or so bucks a month. The other is the “basic” shop. This is a simple HTML storefront that is branded CafePress (well, you can upload your logo…) and they limit the products that you can sell to one of each. That means that you can only have one mug, one bumper sticker, one ornament, etc.
If you’re a webmaster or blogger and aren’t interested in becoming a CafePress power user with thousands of products in your shop, then a basic shop is a great, free solution. This is especially true for those who have content-rich sites and some traffic that could potentially contribute some non-advertising revenue.
Let’s say you have a WordPress blog that’s gaining momentum and that you’re starting to acquire a fan base. Let’s also say that you have a basic CafePress shop that you opened with a couple designs and you’re wondering if you should expand to a premium shop so that you can sell more stuff.
A good option is to import the products you already have (don’t worry, that’s super easy to do!) into PrestoGifto and then find affiliate merchandise to round out your store. Chances are if you’ve got a message, then someone else on Cafepress has the same message or cause and there’s great stuff that your users would find appealing. The benefits?
- Making money selling other people’s stuff
- Not having to design anything
- Not having to upload anything
- Selling outside the stiff competition of the CafePress marketplace
- Offering a diverse selection of items
- Integrating your store right into your blog or site’s UI
- Keeping your users on your blog or site while they browse
