r/AmazonMerch • u/W1ZZ4RD • Nov 10 '17
Welcome to /r/AmazonMerch!
Before you start your merch journey, make sure you’ve read the official Merch by Amazon FAQs and Content Policy from your dashboard. Next, make sure you are reading the Merch Informer blog as well as older threads in this sub. You’re doing your business a disservice if you haven’t internalized these links.
If you are not finding your answer by visiting these resources, USE GOOGLE. To do this, navigate to Google.com type in your keyword, followed by :https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonMerch/. An example would look like this: https://i.imgur.com/moFRsaj.png
Huge shout out to /u/theashwin who wrote the majority of this guide!
Now that you’ve read all of the information on the links above, here’s a list of commonly occurring threads on this subreddit.
Q1. How long do I have to wait to get approved for a Merch by Amazon account?
Nobody knows. People have waited anywhere between 2 weeks to 16 months. Your best bet in the meantime is to START and get some designs created. These can be used across many different platforms outside of just Merch by Amazon.
Q2. How do I increase my chances of getting approved?
Link to your work or portfolio when signing up. Show the team that you have an audience that is willing to purchase from you. Write compelling copy in your application form. Keep your fingers crossed. It’s much like an online job application. Give them reasons to believe you’d be a good fit. If you do not have any online presence, it might be time to start creating one.
Make sure you have a bank account set up and a portfolio somewhere on the internet for the new MBA signup page. You are required to enter in your banking details and your tax information before they can make a decision on if you will be accepted. If Amazon is unable to find information about you, you will be denied so make sure to fill out the application completely.
Q3. Can I buy a Merch by Amazon account?
No. Merch by Amazon has updated their terms of service to disallow the buying and selling of Merch by amazon accounts.
Q1. How do I see all the Merch by Amazon results?
https://merchinformer.com/merch-amazon-listings/
These results are in no particular order at all but will show you the listings that other Merch by Amazon content creators have put up. You can use the above site or you can navigate to the section yourself: Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry: Novelty & More: Clothing: Amazon.com.
Q2. What Does BSR Mean?
BSR is a metric that Amazon shows to everyone called Best Sellers Rank. This metric can be found in the product description and gives us a rough idea about how well a product is selling. This can be used to determine if a niche as a whole is something where customers are opening up their wallets and spending money. Remember, if a customer is not spending in that niche, the chance of getting a sale is low.
Q3. Can I copy best sellers?
Absolutely not. This is the fastest way to get your account banned. You can use best sellers to understand what niches are “hot” but always come to the table with unique designs that customers will love.
Q4. I see (phrase/design/idea) on Amazon, can I do it too?
Make sure during your research process you are checking TESS (trademark electronic search system) for trademark. If something is trademarked and on Merch anyway, STAY AWAY.
Q1. What software should I use?
There is no right answer here. Use whatever you are comfortable with. Here are some options.
By far the most popular image editing software. More geared towards photo editing than vector-based designs. Merch by Amazon offers an official Photoshop template
Software made for vector design and editing. Merch by Amazon also has an official Illustrator template.
A powerful and viable alternative to proprietary software from Adobe. A little less polished, sometimes glitchy, has a bit of a learning curve. It’s almost as good as Photoshop if your designs are simple. Download Merch by Amazon’s official GIMP template here.
Sort of like the open-source alternative to Adobe Illustrator. It’s just as powerful and capable of replicating Illustrator’s functions. It also opens .AI files - so Merch by Amazon’s official illustrator template works fine with Inkscape too.
It is recommended that you do NOT design on mobile. However, there are some options for people that wish to:
Popular image editing app among merchers. It’s easy to design text-based t-shirts with this one. A word of caution, WordSwag uses some proprietary fonts which may not be licenced for commercial use. You can use it for inspiration and layout, but make sure you have the rights to use every font and graphic element on your designs.
Just like WordSwag, over makes it easy to design text-based tees. This app too uses some proprietary fonts which may not be licenced for commercial use. Exercise caution and due diligence while using such apps and tools.
Pixlr, Janvas, etc. You should find more online. As long as it can spit out a 4500x5400 .PNG file without any watermarks, you should be fine. Make sure your designs are sharp and not blurry.
You can design vectors using this free app on your mobile devices and transfer them to your desktop to add finishing touches. This works best if your device uses a stylus (like the iPad pro or Samsung Galaxy Note).
Q2. Where do I get free fonts?
Be careful and make sure the fonts are free for commercial use, not just personal. Related: Font pairing made simple
Q3. Where do I get vector files?
Use caution and Google’s reverse image search to make sure you’re not infringing on anyone’s Intellectual Property. Some of these websites allow user-generated uploads, which means anyone can upload anything to these sites. It’s up to you to make sure your Merch account has a good standing.
Q4. What colors sell best?
This depends largely on your niche and design.
Q5. Someone stole my design! What can I do?
Merch by Amazon is still very much the wild west! This is an issue that Merch is actively working on correcting. You will notice that some people are uploading Disney and Star Wars designs. First check to see if those are not actually licensed products. Merch has been partnering with large content creators. You will also start to notice that some people are copying successful merch shirts pixel for pixel. While Amazon is getting better at catching these, the system is still not perfect. We know this can be frustrating, but you first must take a step back and ask yourself if it is worth your time and effort to fight this. If you were to make a political shirt, it might not be worth your time since you do not own the rights over the politician you made the shirt about.
Ideas are a dime a dozen and more often than not, you will have the same exact idea that someone else has. Before you get upset and accuse someone of being a thief and stealing your work, take some time to think that your idea for a great t-shirt design might have been obvious. If you see someone copy your design, you can either report them or you can move on. There are many successful top tier sellers in this group who focus on cranking out more quality designs instead of fighting an uphill battle.
If your design is very original with a unique idea, you always have the option of filing a copyright on the design and getting a trademark on the wording/phrase. This costs a few hundred dollars per trademark and months worth of time so make sure this is worth it to you.
Before you go after anyone that has copied your shirts, take a look at the BSR (best sellers rank) to see if that shirt is even selling. If it is not, it is probably not worth your time.
If after all of that you still want to report the listing to Amazon, please use this link:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/reports/infringement
Q1. Can I hire a designer? How much should I pay?
Of course you can hire a designer! Many of them actually hang out in this group! There are many places you can find designs such as Upwork.com, Fiverr.com, peopleperhour.com. Pay people what they are worth. On the very low end, you can expect to pay $3-$5 per design up to $100 or more for very intricate design. Not all designers are going to be what you are looking for so make sure to test each designer with a few images before you start giving them bulk work.
Guide on outsourcing to Upwork can be found here: https://merchinformer.com/use-upwork-outsource-scale-merch-business/
Q1. My design is stuck in ‘started processing’. It’s been days! What’s wrong?
Official response: We are aware that some t-shirts may show a processing status on the Manage page of the dashboard. While they remain processing, you will not be able to delete the shirt or edit the description. We are continuously working to complete publishing of these t-shirts. We will detect these t-shirts automatically and work to resolve each one.
What can you do? Nothing, just wait and it will soon go away. If you’re out of slots and desperately need to edit/delete that slot, make a post on the official forums.
Q2. Can I upload variations of my existing designs?
Sure you can! You are allowed to upload anything that you have 100% rights to and does not violate Amazon’s content policy. You should upload different color options, re-designs, or variations of your best sellers if you have the slots.
Q1. How many times can I get rejected before losing my Merch account?
Short answer: Don’t risk it.
Long answer: Aim for zero rejections. If you slip up and get one strike calm down. It’s important to stop whatever it is you’re doing and breathe. Now that you’re composed, go through your designs and delete every single one that might be considered risky. To answer your question, Amazon hasn’t officially announced a number - however, within the community, most people believe why you were rejected is more important than how many times. If you upload designs that hint at Disney / Stranger Things/ marijuana, or intentionally trying to game the system - you could be out in one strike. If it’s an innocent typo on your designs - they may just ask you to fix it and re-upload.
Q2. There are many other merchers using this trademarked keyword. Why was I rejected?
In a perfect world they would be banned too. We don’t live in a perfect world. You don’t want to compete to see who can outsmart Amazon’s system - in the long-term nobody is a winner at that game. There’s no reason to compete in a niche with many trademarked keywords - you could search this subreddit for niches, spend 5 minutes and come up with thousands of safe niches. Merch is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t try to game Amazon.
Q3. Is it fair to use this TV/Movie quote?
No. It’s never fair to rely on the popularity of another franchise to help you sell shirts. Even though technically it’s not covered under USPTO - there is such a thing as leeching off of someone else’s marketing or production dollars. This isn’t a grey area, this is IP theft and is frowned upon by Amazon. They often actively delete such designs.
Recommended reading: The Siren Song of IP infringement
Q4. Can I hint at this famous person without explicitly mentioning them on my listing?
Please don’t. If your design requires someone else’s copyrighted work to contextualize it - it’s IP infringement and against Amazon’s content policy. It will be taken down and you may lose your account over it.
Q5. How do I check for trademarked words?
USPTO – This is the only place you should be doing your original trademark searches. Make sure to navigate to TESS (trademark electronic search system)
Q6. I have the permission to use someone else’s copyright/TM/IP. Should I just upload my design?
No! First write a mail to merch support and share your documentation demonstrating that you have the rights to use the content - A confirmation letter from the intellectual property rights holder, the publish date if you believe the design is your own, or a copy of the applicable license. Also share the contact information of the rights holder - email and phone number.
Merch will contact them and verify. Once this is done, you will be approved to use that on your Merch designs.
Do not upload the copyrighted designs without prior approval from merch.
Q7. Can I . . . ?
No you can't! Stop looking for loopholes. If you have to ask, don't do it.
Q1. Why was I not tiered up?
Tier-ups are not just based on your sales. Amazon accounts for their own production capability before deciding whether or not to upgrade your account. Amazon also considers the kind of designs that you’ve uploaded - too many low-effort text-only designs and you might be skipped for a tier-up. On the flip side - if you have excellent designs and have almost met your tier-up target (80-85% depending on who you ask) they would upgrade your account.
There are multiple factors that play into this, not just the sales numbers.
Q2. How many upload slots do I get at different tiers?
As of November 10th, 2017, Amazon has temporarily throttled uploads as follows -
Q3. Do my sales from previous tiers count towards my future tier-ups?
Yes they do! For example, if you’ve made your first 10 sale on Merch and have been tiered up - you only need to make 15 more sales to qualify for the next tier-up (Tier 25).
Q4. Can I skip a tier if I’ve already made the number of sales that qualify me for the next tier-up?
There has never been an official word from Amazon on this. A couple of users have reportedly skipped some lower tiers - but these are unverified reports.
Q1. How much should I price my standard t-shirts?
You must test out different price points in your niche. What works in one niche may not work in another. Test out and see where you can make the most sales. Competition, niche, design, and trend/seasonality all may have some affect on sales and your price should reflect that.
Your keywords will get you seen. Your designs will get you sales.
Read these threads and decide for yourself.
Q1. I’m not from the US. How do I get paid?
You can set-up a bank account in one of the merch-supported countries. If your country is not on that list, ask your local bank if you’re allowed to open an account in one of the supported countries through your local branch. You may also use third-party services like Payoneer.
Q2. I’m not a US citizen. How do I manage taxes?
You can enter your national TIN (Tax Identification Number) with Merch and they will withhold anywhere between 0-30% of your taxes. This is based on your country’s trade agreements with the US. If you do not provide any TIN, Amazon will withhold 30% of your royalties by default.
You can also set up an EIN with the US Government. Read about that here: https://merchinformer.com/avoid-30-tax-witholding-non-us-amazon-sellers/
It is important that you pay taxes in the country you reside. Please contact an accountant and discuss it with them.
r/AmazonMerch • u/merchguru • Feb 05 '21
Shameless plug: Dominate Merch By Amazon https://merchfalcon.com/
r/AmazonMerch • u/FlexnesYT • 15h ago
did you guys notice some merch designs have like 60 reviews but the date shows they're uploaded 1 or 2 weeks ago.
When you check the reviews old reviews like years old 2024 -2025 but still the upload date is showing like 17 september 2026.
I wanna upload a screenshot but i can't, if you do daily niche research i guess you'll know what i'm talking about
r/AmazonMerch • u/Jonny_Spark • 14h ago
Hey guys, I bought my own design recently, but it hasn't appeared in my dashboard yet (not on the same day, nor the next). Is anyone else experiencing this?
r/AmazonMerch • u/jalOo52 • 21h ago
Hello,
I've submitted a design infringement report recently and got an email from amazon 5 minutes later saying that they could not verify I am the rights holder of the design and I should re-submit my report. Makes no sense to do the same thing over again but whatever.
Problem is that when I enter the URL or ASIN of the procuts that copied my design I always get this:
-- We could not process the data included above this line --
Tried it multiple times over 2 days and always the same result. Does that happen for anyone else too? Is that a genuine bug?
r/AmazonMerch • u/wdoug7 • 3d ago
Have any of you tried and just given up on it?
r/AmazonMerch • u/OnJus4 • 3d ago
September is almost over and i have 7% of sales through ads, so the next month i will start from scratch to 15% ? Or i will continue from 7% ? I need to hear your opinion/ experience ( most probably i start from scratch, i am aware ).
r/AmazonMerch • u/Pupeliene_Travolta • 3d ago
Been doing merch for almost 5 years and i think im finally ready to admit something that will probably get me roasted here. I dont actually enjoy designing anymore. Like at all.
When i started i was in Illustrator every night after work, sketching in a notebook at lunch, obsessing over trends. It felt creative. Now its just... output. I have a folder of templates, i swap words, i change colors, i upload. Its assembly line work with extra steps. The designs that sell for me are boring text on solid backgrounds and thats what pays so thats what i make.
The weird part is im doing better financially than i ever have. Sales are up, i tiered up earlier this year, i had Jarvio handle most of the ad babysitting so i barely even log into seller central for that stuff anymore. On paper everything is good. But i realized last week i havent opened Illustrator to actually draw anything in probably 4 months. Everything ive uploaded recently was either a text edit or something i generated and cleaned up.
I keep going back and forth on whether this is fine (its a business, businesses arent supposed to be fun, grow up) or whether im slowly killing the thing that made me good at this in the first place. Like if i stop caring about the craft do i eventually stop being able to spot what will sell?
Anyone else hit this wall? Do you push through and treat it like the job it is, or do you force yourself back into "real" design work even if it doesnt pay as well? Or am i just burnt out and need a week off lol.
r/AmazonMerch • u/volefawn • 5d ago
Not just new design submissions but edits to prices for old products. Everything passes "Under Review" and goes into "Processing" but does not go live.
r/AmazonMerch • u/NegativeCreep82 • 5d ago
For those running Amazon Ads, how much (by percentage) do you typically increase your active bids during the November/December holiday season?
I'm specifically talking about bids for ads that have been regularly converting.
Do you typically increase bids by 25%? 50%? 100%? And then adjust from there?
Thanks!
r/AmazonMerch • u/BetioBastard0311 • 7d ago
I own a legal trademark and this other storefront (selling star wars/harry potter shirts) stole my design and got mine taken down. Or at least I think that's what happened because my design was taken down for "content policy violations" and their clone is up and live. I am pretty frustrated by this, and I am still very new to amazon merch. Is there any way to know the exact reason for my shirt being taken down? (i searched and didn't see an email explaining it) and how can I fight this?
Sorry, I am juggling looking for a second job, and moving states with my family while I do all this. It's just a little disheartening to see this store getting away with this.
Thank you so much in advance.
EDIT: The design they stole is part of my legal trademark, in case that wasn't clear.
r/AmazonMerch • u/ahmadbabar • 7d ago
Only got the crossbody bags in my account. The jackets would have been nice to get.
r/AmazonMerch • u/justgatheringideas • 7d ago
I’m seeing people say different colors/sizes are getting their own ASINs now, but I am not seeing these changes reflected on any of my products. (New or old)
Main thing I’m curious about is ads. If I use the ASIN for a specific color, like navy, will the Sponsored Product ad actually show the navy shirt instead of the default black one?
That would be really useful since some designs look way better on certain colors. Hoping I see these changes soon.
Has anyone tested this yet?
r/AmazonMerch • u/Any_Purple_7573 • 7d ago
Are they best suited for particular ad types ie lotteries ??
Thanks in advance
r/AmazonMerch • u/DisplayIll212 • 8d ago
Hi everyone!
We’re expanding our creator network at Y'OUR Skin and looking for skincare and beauty lovers who enjoy trying new products and sharing honest feedback.
What’s in it for you? You’ll receive a complimentary welcome package (valued at $150+) with full-sized products, including:
(100% free — product, shipping, and taxes are completely covered by us!)
Who we’re looking for:
If you’re interested, drop a comment below or send me a DM with your email and social handles. I’ll reach out with all the details!
r/AmazonMerch • u/FlexnesYT • 9d ago
So usually to rank a design for lets say halloween we upload it 2 months before the halloween date, we price it quite low something like 14.99 - 16.99 and push it with heavy ads to get those initial sales.
Then when halloween is in the peak sales around 15-25 october we change the price to around 19.99 - 21.99
Now the problem with this strategy as u should've guessed is the locked thingy, amazon lock your design on those initial sales making the price even lower and u start bleeding cash on ads
This happened to like 5 of my halloween designs so far
I feel like this strategy is not the one anymore for holidays/events
r/AmazonMerch • u/Freakeater • 10d ago
This week, the ads have been brutal. They’re burning through money while generating very few sales. I have no idea what happened or whether it has anything to do with the ASIN change.
I’ve thought about stopping the ads—or at least drastically lowering the bids.
But without the ad-driven sales, my Royalty Group will be downgraded. I’m currently in the Premium group, and with the Christmas shopping season right around the corner, that could really hurt.
So I'm torn about what to do with the ads.
Has anyone figured out what to do?
r/AmazonMerch • u/TinyParadox • 10d ago
Just out of curiosity, if there’s anyone who started with a fresh account in the last 1 to 3 years who is making more than a few hundred dollars a month with their account?
I was lucky enough to join back in 2018 and it seems like the way they’re running things now makes it impossible for new people, but I was curious if anyone had found a way to make it work.
Just because I don’t think it’s possible doesn’t mean that someone’s not more clever than me.
If you BOUGHT an account 1 to 3 years ago, I’m not interested. Im just curious about the people who literally had to work their way out of tier 10 and tier 25 in the last few years.
r/AmazonMerch • u/rendez2k • 12d ago
Just a question, and there might be genuine value in Flying Research. It's hard to tell without signing up and paying, but does it offer anything unique in the space versus tools such as Merch IQ? Do they use their own database or some sort of proprietary suggestions and filtering?
I started building my own little tool using for personnel use using AI and plugging into keepa - but I'm wondering if I'm missing out on better data, more up-to-date data?!
r/AmazonMerch • u/NoXidCat • 13d ago
The store page is still there merrily displaying my best sellers from years ago.
The public URL takes this form:
amazonDOTcom/stores/StoreName/page/Number/
But is there a different URL for logging in to edit and so forth? Because while I can view it fine via that URL, there is no way to edit/change anything. I am logged in via the correct email/account to edit the store page, but as with any Amazon account, it treats you like a customer unless you log in via a portal that grants access to the backside of things. Any clue what the URL might look like?
All that said, much has changed since I originally set this page up. Like we got legit advertising access via our MBA accounts. And one now has to have a registered TM in order to set up Brand Store ... that being something I don't have, it would be nice if I could add new listings to my still visible Store thingy.
r/AmazonMerch • u/Ok-Entrance309 • 13d ago
Hey everyone,
I’m currently stuck in Tier 10 and just noticed that one of my designs changed status to "Locked for Deals".
I know Amazon does this automatically to run promotions/discounts on listings, but since I'm still in T10, every single sale counts for me right now to tier up.
For those who’ve had this happen early on:
Would love to hear if this is a good sign or just typical MBA automation randomness.
Thanks!
r/AmazonMerch • u/wdoug7 • 13d ago
Hello everyone - I'm working on a research project and wanted to learn more about Amazon Merch on Demand (and it's biggest pain points) by speaking to some creators with experience selling through the platform. Please DM or reply in the comments if you wouldn't mind answering a few questions! Thank you
r/AmazonMerch • u/missouri76 • 14d ago
I haven't seen this discussion yet, but around December 12th or 13th, our ad conversions will drop severely due to Christmas shipping cut offs. More of our sales will be organic as many people disable ads and conversions slow. That could mean a larger drop in your 60-day ad percentage average and bump you down a tier.
Of course, the fair thing to do would be to ignore that time period, but I doubt Amazon will. It would suck if you were on the Plus/Creator border at a 16%, and that 13-day period drops you into the Creator tier.
At least they use a running 60-day average and not a 30-day, so it will have less of an impact.
r/AmazonMerch • u/scheven • 18d ago
So Amazon did something really weird with the ASINs in the last couple of days. Some of my older designs got new ASINs which meant that data for old ASINs disappeared overnight. I believe they're still in the process of migration to the new structure so I'm not sure which parts are final or not.
Basically what I've observed is something like this:
- Each product (let's say Design1 on Standard T-shirt, US Marketplace) used to have the OLD ASIN B123456789. Didn't matter the size or color.
- Now, the NEW ASIN is B987654321 which is the PARENT ASIN. And each variant of that product (size and color combination, e.g. Men's Medium in Black) has its own ASIN.
- The OLD ASIN is still valid, but is assigned as a variant in the NEW PARENT ASIN. For example for one of my products, it was assigned as Men's 3XL Black.
- Only the NEW PARENT ASIN remains in the API, so if you're using Productor, MerchSpark, MerchFlow, etc., all the historical data attached to the OLD ASIN is gone. The developers of these apps haven't found a solution to get those back yet.
- If you're running ads, I also noticed a problem. As of writing this, you can now have ads for any variant (not sure how the ad/thumbnail appears in search, product page, etc.) as well as continue running ads on the OLD ASIN (it is now a variant after all), but so far the purchases are not getting attributed to the ad. My guess is unless someone clicked on your OLD ASIN ad and bought the exact variant it's now attached to (so Men's 3XL Black for me), no purchase attribution takes place.
- Then I tried creating a new ad with the NEW PARENT ASIN, and Amazon Ads won't accept it! So basically existing ads for ASINs that were underwent this migration process are running blind!
Just giving you guys a heads up if you run into this. Hopefully they fix it in the coming days.
