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Etsy and Print-on-Demand Seller Starter Kit (2026)
15
items For anyone opening an Etsy shop that sells custom shirts, totes or vinyl goods, whether you make them yourself or test designs before handing them to a print-on-demand service. Buy in order: the books and a cutter first, the heat press once orders ar...
The practical basics of turning a craft into a business: pricing, selling wholesale, the legal setup and when to quit the day job. A good first read before you spend money on equipment.
Craft, Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco
Written for makers who sell at markets, online and wholesale, with worksheets for pricing and line planning. Useful if you need to figure out whether your shirts make money after fees and materials.
Make. Sell. Repeat. by Emily Worden
Etsy search only gets you so far, and this short book covers the other half: sharing your process so people find your shop. A quick read for anyone who hates the idea of self-promotion.
Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon
The cutter most vinyl and iron-on sellers start with, and it handles fabric and thin leather too. Skip it if you only plan to sell digital designs through a print-on-demand service.
Cricut Maker 3
Weeding is the slow part of vinyl work, and a proper hook and tweezers make it go faster than a safety pin. Cheap enough to buy on day one.
Cricut Basic Tool Set
The iron-on vinyl that a lot of shirt sellers treat as the default, because it cuts cleanly and weeds easily. Start with white and black rolls before buying every color.
Siser EasyWeed Heat Transfer Vinyl
A handheld press for your first few dozen orders. It heats more evenly than a household iron and fits on a kitchen table, which matters if you don't have a craft room.
Cricut EasyPress 3 (12 x 10 in)
The upgrade once you're pressing shirts every week and the handheld press starts slowing you down. A full-size press gives even pressure across the whole design, which means fewer peeling transfers and fewer returns.
HTVRONT 15x15 Swing-Away Heat Press
Holds transfers in place so they don't shift when you close the press. Easy to forget until a crooked shirt costs you a blank and a refund.
Heat-Resistant Tape (2 Rolls)
Cheap blanks for test presses and product photos before you commit to a supplier. The G5000 is also a common base shirt on print-on-demand catalogs, so your samples will match what customers get.
Gildan Heavy Cotton T-Shirts (6-Pack)
Etsy shoppers judge the listing by the first photo, and a light box gets you clean, evenly lit shots of mugs, stickers and folded shirts with just a phone. Fine for small items; hanging or flat-lay shirts need a window or bigger lights.
DUCLUS 16-Inch Photo Light Box
Holds your phone steady over flat-lays and inside the light box, and the remote means no blurry shots from tapping the screen. Also handy for the short listing videos Etsy lets you add.
UBeesize Flexible Phone Tripod with Remote
Guessing package weight is how new sellers lose money on shipping labels. Weigh one of each product packed and ready to ship, then set accurate shipping profiles in Etsy.
UltraShip 55 lb. Digital Shipping Scale
A folded adult shirt fits in a 10x13 mailer, and a light mailer keeps most orders in the cheapest shipping tier. Reorder item.
Metronic 10x13 Poly Mailers (100 Pack)
A few cents per order to make a plain mailer feel like it came from a real shop. A small touch, but Etsy reviews often mention packaging.
Thank You Small Business Stickers (500 Roll)