Print on Demand

What Print on Demand is

Print on Demand, which signs itself POD, is a print-on-demand dropshipping manufacturer of customized sports apparel, built around combat sports: rash guards, grappling shorts, wrestling singlets, compression shorts and leggings, alongside T-shirts, jerseys and polos. Sellers design products in a 3D customizer on the site, POD manufactures each order, and ships it from its address in Claremont, California under the seller's brand. The homepage pitches "print on demand dropshipping for combat sports and more", and the shipping policy describes the company as "a manufacturer of customized wholesale print on demand products." It suits gym owners, fight teams and apparel brands in grappling, wrestling and fitness who want their own branded gear without stock.

What a seller gets

The homepage splits the offer into four parts. "Your brand": "Sell your custom-branded products on demand without worrying about inventory or huge upfront costs." "Design in 3D": "Create and visualize your designs in real time using our innovative 3D product customizer tool." "Manufacturing": "Partner directly with a manufacturer to create high quality products that your customers will love." "Fulfillment": ship products directly to customers under the seller's brand name through its dropshipping service. The summary line is "We'll dropship your products, shipping them directly to your customer under your brand name."

Most products are all-over print designs. The product blurbs read "Design your own all-over print Men's Wrestling Singlet using our 3D product customizer tool", and the same wording is used for the short and long sleeve men's rash guards (the long sleeve cut is a tight fit), the women's short sleeve rash guard, a women's rash guard with side panel, and the men's grappling shorts. For the grappling shorts the company adds that its customizer lets a seller change colors, add text and graphics, and upload team artwork. For sharp output the site asks for vector logos in .EPS, .AI or .PDF format. A product category named "Bulk Print on Demand Sublimated Kids Apparel" points to sublimation for the kids' range.

The catalog is organized by customer. Men's apparel covers a baseball jersey, leggings, a motocross jersey, rash guards, shorts, a T-shirt, a polo shirt and a wrestling singlet. Women's apparel covers leggings, rash guards, shorts and a T-shirt. Kids' apparel covers a rash guard, shorts and a wrestling singlet.

Sellers who do not want to start from a blank canvas can pick a pre-made design and adjust it in the customizer. The homepage shows BJJ rash guard designs named Warrior, Takedown, Blackfire, Blue Matrix, Counter Strike and Kinetic Flow, and grappling shorts designs named Power Mesh, Tactical, Fighter's Edge, Iron Sun, Combat Axis and Fighting Spirit. Pre-made collections also exist for compression shorts, leggings and spats, the motocross jersey, men's shirts and the women's rash guards and T-shirt. The company also sells pattern templates, so a seller can drop artwork straight onto the flat garment pattern.

A four-part video series explains the workflow: "How Does POD Work?", "Using the 3D Product Customizer Tool", "Adding Your Design to Our Pattern Templates" and "Turning Your 3D Mockup Into an AI Model Photo". The last one matters for a seller who needs product photos for a store without a photo shoot.

Branding, labels and inserts

Branding goes beyond the print. The tagless label service is sold as an 11″x11″ DTF gang sheet for $6.00: "Fit as many label designs as you can onto an 11″x11″ gang sheet. Upload the file in transparent PNG file format below, and we'll use DTF printing to print your designs onto film for safekeeping." When an order needs a label, POD will "retrieve your tagless label from storage and heat press it onto your apparel." That lets a seller put a brand mark inside every garment without sewn tags. Package inserts are sold as a separate product for adding the seller's own material to shipments.

Membership and prices

The Reseller Membership is listed at $19.99, down from $24.99, and "Renews monthly. Cancel any time." Its benefits, in the company's words: "Free shipping", "20% discount on every order", "Free tagless labels for your products", "Free package inserts for your shipments" and "Free access to our complete library of pattern templates". Subscriptions run through PayPal, so a PayPal account is required.

The featured products carry listed prices: the Active Edge Men's Compression Shorts at $26.99, the Active Men's Leggings at $33.99 and the Adarna Men's T-shirt at $29.99. Members get the 20% discount on every order on top of those prices, plus free shipping.

Samples are sold as their own products. The Men's Rash Guard Sample (Short Sleeve) in size Medium and the Men's Grappling Shorts Sample in size Medium are each $14.99, with the promise "we'll ship it to you right away."

Shipping and policies

The shipping policy is specific about how orders leave the building: "Each item in your order is individually wrapped in a clear plastic bag and shipped via USPS in a plain, unmarked polybag. The shipping label will display your brand name (or your name if unavailable) as the shipper. We ship from our address in Claremont, California." The company says it is "not a shipping company" and uses USPS as a third-party courier, so lost parcels follow USPS procedures. Customers are responsible for correct addresses, and POD will not refund orders sent to a wrong address. If a customer receives an incorrect or defective item, the seller is asked to contact POD promptly for a resolution. The site also publishes a return policy and a color matching policy, and offers order tracking, a help center, FAQs and a section called the Locker Room.

The site publishes no production turnaround time.

Who it suits

POD suits sellers in combat sports and fitness: a BJJ or wrestling gym selling club rash guards and shorts, a fight team ordering singlets, a fitness brand building a line of leggings and compression wear. The 3D customizer, pre-made designs and pattern templates make it workable for someone without a design team, and the brand-name shipping label, tagless labels and package inserts give a seller the pieces of a private-label product. For a seller who places regular orders, the membership adds free shipping and 20% off each one.

It is less of a fit for sellers who want mugs, posters or home goods, since the range is apparel only, and for sellers who want to hold off on a subscription: the discounts and free labels come with the monthly membership.