Bonfire

Bonfire is a hosted merch platform for creators, nonprofits, schools, churches, small businesses and personal fundraisers. Instead of plugging into a store you already run, it gives you the store itself: a campaign page or branded storefront, a design tool, checkout, printing, shipping and customer support in one place. The footer says the company is based in Richmond, VA, and the homepage says that "since 2012, we’ve been trusted by individuals, communities, nonprofits, and businesses to be the merch experts." Its pitch to sellers is short: "Let Bonfire take care of printing, shipping, and customer support, so that you can focus on what matters most."

The product range is apparel first, with hats, bags, drinkware and kids styles around it. It is built for people who want to sell merch to a community without building a web store or holding stock.

How selling on Bonfire works

The core model is the campaign. You pick products, upload art or build a design, set a selling price, and publish a campaign page that you share with your audience. Buyers order while the campaign is open. The company's comparison guide says campaigns "can remain open for up to 21 days and are relaunchable." When a campaign ends, Bonfire batches the orders, prints them and ships each one to the buyer. Its FAQ puts it plainly: "Once the campaign ends, we print and ship the items to your customers."

The setup checklist the company publishes has five steps: upload art, select styles and colors, set price, publish, share. Its blog adds that "you can have your products set up and launched within minutes." Beyond single campaigns, the site offers on-demand merch stores, personal fundraisers, nonprofit merch stores and peer-to-peer fundraising, plus a beta branded store product it calls Pro: "Open a fully branded custom merch store in minutes. No inventory or integrations needed." Creators get two further routes, a page for YouTube creators and a program it names "Sell with Merch Shelf," which the comparison guide lists as the YouTube Product Shelf.

There is also a second use of the same catalog. Under "Order at cost," you can design and buy products for yourself or a group, with the homepage headline "Buy custom products without order minimums" and a promise of bulk discounts. The FAQ confirms: "There are no minimum order quantities (MOQs) when ordering custom products from Bonfire." That makes Bonfire useful for a team or school that wants a box of shirts delivered to one address as well as for a creator selling to hundreds of individual buyers.

What a seller pays and earns

Bonfire charges no setup or subscription fee. The blog states: "Bonfire is completely free to use and has no platform or service fees. There are no startup, monthly, or subscription costs to start selling or create a branded store." Your earnings are the gap between your selling price and the product's base cost; the blog calls this simple subtraction the profit formula. The base cost is deducted automatically, and profit is paid out via PayPal or Change, depending on nonprofit status. According to the comparison guide, "your payout will be available for you to request within one business day of your successful campaign batch."

The one fee the FAQ names sits on donations and tips: "The only fee you’ll ever pay is an 8% processing fee for donations/tips on orders, which is reduced to 3.5% for verified nonprofits." The company's own guide concedes that its base cost can be higher than on networks with many print partners, and presents the absence of fees as the trade. The homepage and blog do not print base costs per product, but the footer links a pricing calculator, so a seller can check the numbers before launching.

Catalog and design tools

The homepage lists the most popular products as t-shirts, hoodies, bags and printed hats, with further ranges for Comfort Colors, long sleeve tees, tie-dye shirts, eco-friendly styles, sweatshirts, activewear, kids products and drinkware. The FAQ adds premium unisex tees, and the blog mentions tote bags, coffee mugs and aprons. The comparison guide gives the catalog size as 230 products, a focused range rather than a sprawling one.

For the eco-friendly range, the company's blog describes an Earth Conscious Merch collection sourced through partners such as Stanley/Stella, Econscious and Allmade, using organic cotton, recycled polyester and TENCEL Modal, and says it carries GOTS, OEKO-TEX and Fair Labor Association certifications.

The free Design Tool offers clipart, text and design elements, and you can upload your own art. The blog says you can "select up to 9 products within the same product group" to preview a design on. Customizable Design Templates give a starting point, and a paid service called Bonfire Studio pairs you with the company's design team in Basic, Standard and Premium packages. The footer also links a "Request a custom design" option.

Production, shipping and quality

Bonfire prints through partner shops rather than a single plant. The blog says it "partners with trusted and vetted print partners around the country to ensure the highest quality, no matter where your order is printed," and that "our production team works closely with our printers to ensure our quality standards are met." It calls this "centralized production," meaning Bonfire rather than the seller picks and oversees the printer.

On timing, the blog says "production times are typically under 7 business days, with domestic shipping times estimated between 7-14 business days," and the FAQ gives "typical delivery is within 7–14 days for U.S. orders depending on the product and shipping method." Because campaigns batch orders, a buyer's wait starts when the campaign closes, not when they order.

Bonfire does ship abroad. The FAQ says "Bonfire ships worldwide" and that "international shipping starts at $11.99 for the first product and goes up by $4.00 for each additional product from the same campaign." The company is candid about the limit: "Since all orders are printed and shipped from the US, customers may experience a longer transit, as well as potential duties/VAT on delivery." It advises sellers with international buyers to set expectations with them up front.

Support, returns and nonprofit features

Buyer service is where Bonfire does the most work for the seller. Buyers contact Bonfire directly about order problems, so the seller never handles a complaint. The blog says "returns can be made within 90 days of purchase, and include free replacements for sizing issues or lost in transit," and that "replacements and refunds come directly from Bonfire, so the seller’s profits won’t be affected." Support runs through messaging and email, with "quick responses typically under 1 business day." The company's published contact address is support@bonfire.com.

Nonprofits get extra tools. Buyers can tip or donate at checkout, verified nonprofits get exclusive features and the lower donation fee, and donations to a verified nonprofit's campaign "generate automated receipts indicating the tax-deductible amount," according to the blog. Sellers can also "collect supporter emails when buyers opt in at checkout" for updates and future launches. The homepage case study shows the National Forest Foundation raising $24,873 from 1,979 supporters.

Who it suits

Bonfire fits sellers who want to run merch as a community event rather than as a store: a creator dropping a limited run to an engaged audience, a nonprofit or school raising money with shirts, a church or club outfitting members, a personal fundraiser with a clear deadline. It removes almost all operational work, including customer service and returns, and costs nothing to start.

It suits less well a seller who wants a large, always-growing catalog, wants to choose their own print partner, or sells mainly outside the US, where transit is longer and duties may apply. Sellers who already run a storefront on their own platform will find that Bonfire hosts the store itself rather than connecting to theirs.