Open MisterMakerNL opened 2 years ago
I have done a bit of research in the past... here is what i had gathered:
Purpose: Organise a web shop that sells FreeCAD swag
These are the basic items available on the web shop:
Item | Production cost | Packaging cost | Sending cost ( Europe / Worldwide ) | 15% donation to FreeCAD | Total with 21% VAT | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
T-shirt (weight 150g) | 10 EUR | 0.1 EUR | 10 EUR / 46 EUR | 3 EUR / 8 EUR | 28 EUR / 77 EUR | |
Mug | ||||||
Stickers | 0.1 EUR | |||||
Manual | ||||||
3D-printed logo/key ring | ||||||
Sponsor | ||||||
Donation |
T-shirt: 10 EUR / piece (t-shirt + print + shipping) from https://www.shirts-bedrukken.be
T-shirt envelopes: > 0.1 EUR / piece from https://www.bol.com/be/nl/p/50-x-ondoorzichtige-plastic-envelop-webshopzakken-verzendzakken-a4-24x32-5cm/9300000051424509/?s2a=
Sending costs: 150g 20x10x1cm from Belgium to Germany
Sending costs: 150g 20x10x1cm from Belgium to Brazil
Other examples:
Another web shop produces and ships the product (t-shirts, mugs,...). The shipping costs reduce dramatically. Need to check platforms, rates, product availability, etc.
Available open-source webshop platforms:
Honestly, i kind of gave up because the maintenance and shipping costs seem pretty high. But let's reactivate the subject!
I think if you have to do it all yourself and you don't already have a web-shop running it might be better to do dropshipping. I once tried to make a web-shop for myself but that totally sucked, had to use paypal and when I changed my mobile number I could not log in to pay-pall anymore. They have zero support, just glad I had no money in that account as I could never login again. The complete process was annoying!
Could also buy some merch shirts + stickers and give away to devs post some photo's and see people reactions. It is a nice way to do some experience with the merch and give some devs a nice present. It seems like a t-shirt can go in post package since blender only charges for postal package (€4,6).
We can also brainstorm about more expensive stuff too offset the delivery costs. I could make the Freecad logo on my cnc but not sure if someone wants too pay around 100 euro for a Freecad logo. (which it will probably cost.) Although using CNC or laser isn't the stupidest idea since due to the cam workbench we have a network of CNC machines over the world. 3D printing is also an option but personally I feel 3D prints feel a bit cheap and 3D printers are pretty saturated by now.
We should also can make a poster, which is not expensive but I just though about it.
Another non-profit I work with has used Cafe Press in the past (though it has been many years, we didn't sell enough to make it worth the maintenance efforts): https://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/sell/index.aspx?area=openashop&page=openashop
I think that Amazon offers a service named "fulfilled by Amazon" (FBA) which includes a very cheap shipping.
I mean why not, I'd wear it especially on fairs. (mostly to piss off the Solidworks and Autodesk Vars :) )_ Blender example: https://store.blender.org/ There are complete companies who can do this for someone, but they will probably take a big chunk of money from it. I am not sure who Blender uses, I assume they do not print there own t-shirts. I also have no experience with merch, so cannot really help in that direction. But maybe start with a sticker until the workflow flows. The book from issue 9 is also merch I realize, but I was more thinking about the stickers and t-shirts.