Is Print On Demand Oversaturated? Is Print On Demand Worth It In 2023?

Is the print on demand business model too saturated to benefit from? Is it still worth it? And can you actually make a living from print on demand? All of those questions will be answered in this post, so make sure to read all the way through until the end!

First of all, let’s talk about what market saturation is.

Market saturation is basically when a product or market is overused so much that it’s practically impossible for anyone to make decent money from it anymore, and it’s time to get back to the drawing board and start brainstorming new ideas.

Market Saturation Definition

Now, let’s look at what print on demand is. 

Print on demand is a fulfillment method online sellers use to simplify the process of sourcing and shipping physical products. Print on Demand isn’t a specific product that can be oversaturated. It’s simply a method of product creation.

If you’re trying to sell cat t-shirts with print on demand, and everybody and their grandma is selling cat t-shirts, that is a saturated or ‘oversaturated’ market. Of course, this applies whether you’re selling them with print on demand or not.

If you want to avoid getting into a saturated market, do research on that market before you start. While you’re thinking of niche customer ideas, look them up on the Etsy marketplace and see how many results there are. Usually 1500 to 3000 results is a good range to aim for.

When getting into a market, for the best results, you want to make sure your competition is low, and the demand is high. If the competition isn’t very low, but it’s not that high, you still have a chance, but it’s going to take more time and effort to break into that market. For beginners, you’ll likely want to start in a niche with very low competition.

However, you don’t want to only focus on the competition alone, you also want to make sure the demand for products in your chosen market are high. Think about what kind of audience this market will have.

If you’re wanting to sell products that target customers who love rabbits, ask yourself if there’s people out there who would consider themselves obsessed with rabbits. Ask yourself if there’s a ‘rabbit fan club’ out there. You want to target people who are so passionate about your niche, that they’re willing to pay you their hard-earned money.

If you’re selling a t-shirt with a graphic of a simple smiley face on it, that’s very unlikely to be successful. Even if it’s one of the best smiley face designs ever printed on a t-shirt, there’s likely no passionate audience for that product. Therefore, it's going to be very difficult to become a market leader with this listing.

Now that you have a clear understanding of what market saturation is, and how you can overcome it, let’s move on to our next question.

Is print on demand still profitable? And is it still worth it?

First of all, yes. You can still make money from print on demand. In fact, people will be making money from print on demand for a very long time. It simplifies the process of one of the most proven business models in all of history--running a store.

As for it being worth it, that depends on you. Print on demand, and entrepreneurship in general, is not for everyone.

If this is something you’re truly willing to do for a long time, and you’re willing to make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, and improve with time, you will be one of the 1% that become successful.

There is so much money to make in this industry, but the vast majority give up too early to see their full potential. You can only get better. You can only learn more and more with time. Therefore, the only way to truly "fail" is to give up.

If you’re one of those people that asks “how much money can i really make from this?” that depends entirely on you, and how long you’re willing to keep pushing.

If you would rather stick to a normal day job, that’s fine. That’s completely normal. However, if you want to take total control of your financial destiny, and you’re okay with knowing that it won’t happen overnight, then this is for you.

Of course, don’t quit your job before you’re successful. You have to pay the bills. However, you can use your free time to build your business. You'll likely make little to no money for a long time, because with anything in life, there’s a learning period. But if you keep going, you will get there eventually, if you’re willing to learn and improve over time.

Can you make a living from print on demand?

You can make a full time income and more with print on demand. However, as I said in the previous question, it will take time and determination. If you’re willing to put in the up front work for as long as it takes, then one day you'll be able to enjoy the benefits of passive income.

And due to the nature of passive income, you don’t lose your time from it once it’s successful and fully automated. Therefore, you'll be able to create another source of passive income. And this time it won’t take as long, because you’ve learned so much from the first business. And you keep repeating this process, until you decide it’s time to stop.

That is the great thing about entrepreneurship. It’s all up to you. You’re in control of your financial destiny. Rather than selling your time to a fast food restaurant in exchange for just enough money.