So I am going to try my luck on the ecommerce route.

I think there are sites out there that you can upload a design then they will turn it into a t-shirt print that people can buy and you get a "cut" for each shirt sold.

If they can also offer printing on coffee mugs, plates, toilet paper etc. the better.

Any suggestions?

cafepress, zazzle, redbubble, and DeviantArt

Cafe Press for sure. That seems to be the big one ;). I was thinking about it too, but with 2D art. Still on the fence :P

I got a mug from Zazzle before for my husband but wasn't impressed. After many washings the screen printing on the mug is just a light shadow of it's former self. Not impressed at all.

Laurie

I have a site on CafePress and a couple of others (my store is called Shirty Goodness). Haven't sold anything except to myself though... don't have enough time to give to the project.

There are also kits and equipment you can get to make such things at home, if you were interested in making some samples to show and sell at craft fairs to generate local supply contracts.  A printed portfolio of different kinds of things would be handy, so the potential customers can flip through it and not just say "I don't like dragons" or whatever happens to be in sight.

Home made bsuiness cards with Poser art would help sell the concept also. :)

I think I'll just keep away from online headaches and make soap :P

Laurie

Quote - I think I'll just keep away from online headaches and make soap :P

Laurie

Wow! You make soap? Is that lucrative?

I've got all the stuff but haven't made the plunge. However, I've watched SOOOO many videos on how to do it I could probably do it in my sleep...lol. My grandmother made soap as a youngster so she knows all the dos and don'ts to keep me on track ;).

Some people manage to do very well making soap. So much so they actually do it for a living. I mean, after all...who doesn't wanna try homemade all natural soap at least once? LOL. And some of it even looks good enough to eat :P There's different ways of making it too which is sort of interesting. And with those stick mixers you can whip up a batch in mere minutes rather than the old way which took a couple hours of constant stirring.

We have a lot of craft shows - BIG craft shows - around here so I'm thinking I won't do too bad. Better than I could probably do with 3D...lol. I used to make the most beautiful chain mail jewelry. Wound and cut the rings myself. However, they are time and labor intensive, not necessary something ppl buy all the time. So consumables are probably the way to go.

I had a friend who made soap years ago. It turned out really well, but she didn't really wanna do it all the time and just gave em out as birthday and Christmas gifts ;).

All I need now is a full body rubber suit. I hate burns of any kind...LOL. But in lieu of a full rubber suit, I guess gloves and goggles will have to do ;).

There seem to be a lot of gents who make soap as well; it's sort of a coed sort of sport :P.

If anyone is interested I know a lot of resources. It may be one of the potentially more dangerous things I've yet to do, but I've had tiny saws shatter in my face so what's a little lye? LOL.

Laurie

Use Poser art packaging with a sufficiently covered Vicky in a tub using the soap.

After all, if we can have NVIATWAS, why not have SCVIATUTS? :D

I GOT A GREAT IDEA!

Make customized soaps by 3D Printing it!

Wow! This should be possible!

I was going to say something about smart props and textures, but I am too ignorant to make such a joke.

Seriously, then, think of this:  Create an appropriately sized Poser image - something simple, probably using the Outline or Cartoon view - and take it to someone who makes stamps or does the carving for block-style printing, then stamp your image into the soap.  Bunnies and bears, for example.

Quote - I GOT A GREAT IDEA!

Make customized soaps by 3D Printing it!

Wow! This should be possible!

Go for it!! :D

My wife made greeting cards with Poser renders.  I rendered the pics to her requirements, she then made fancy cards to put them on, sometimes cutting up several layers to make a 3d effect.  I think it's called decoupage, or something like that.

She did guitars, Daleks (surprise), pinups, flowers, spaceships and loads of other stuff.  A printed insert on suitably coloured paper finished 'em off. 

Didn't make a lot of money on them but it was fun for a while. 

I have a great idea for novelty cakes of soap, but I don't think the TOS will allow me to tell you what it is! :tt2:

Quote - I have a great idea for novelty cakes of soap, but I don't think the TOS will allow me to tell you what it is! :tt2:

Why Les! I didn't realize that about you..lol.

Laurie

Not sure on internet sites for selling but I have used a site to upload some of my renders for printing.  I have a number of tee shirts and each year I make up calenders for family and friends, I have also purchased a canvas print and I have a five foot banner of my favorite of my Sci-Fi heroine hanging from the door of my room pictured as though she is just walking in.

I purchased most of this while on sale and they have sales all the time.  I have a coffee mug that is now 2 years old and used every day and there is no sign of fading or scratching so far.

I have no connection with the company but I have been pleased with everything I have ever purchased from them.

http://www.vistaprint.co.uk

Quote - I have a great idea for novelty cakes of soap, but I don't think the TOS will allow me to tell you what it is! :tt2:

I knew a girl at university who would make different sized but otherwise normal looking cup cakes and charge by the "cup size."  Little cup cakes (about the size of three Rollo candies) were the A cups . . .

IIRC, Ann Summers sells genital shaped soaps and candles.  And chocolates.

As for Poser renders on T-Shirts, render a pair of norks and get 'em printed on the front.  

You're welcome.  :D 

Quote - IIRC, Ann Summers sells genital shaped soaps and candles.  And chocolates.

As for Poser renders on T-Shirts, render a pair of norks and get 'em printed on the front.  

You're welcome.  :D 

"Tell your boobs to stop staring at my eyes!"

I sell jewelry on the internet.  If I were to actually put some real effort into it, it would provide a full income.   But I inherited the inventory, and am not particularly interested in keeping popular items in stock because it would require dealing with customs brokers and making fairly large orders from overseas.

But my point is that you can sell items online that other people manufacture, through you own store (not one that charges you a huge commission -- unless it's Amazon, which I wish I could use) -- and you can make a decent profit.

I sell almost exclusively wholesale, which cuts the profit per item in half basically, but gets me fewer, bigger orders, pay much less in shipping, and customers who are, for the most part, much better behaved than retail customers.

I think that Cafe Press may be a great way to start, but if you want an income, eventually you have to stop giving them $10 a shirt.  Because you'll never get your t-shirts in retail stores without a way to sell wholesale.  Selling retail on the web is damned hard when everyone can make their own Cafe Press store -- unless you can offer much more competitive pricing.  Even then, it's hard to market with so much competition.  Less competition in the wholesale sector. Much less.

ETA:  On the other hand, stores like Cafe Press require no monetary investment, so if you don't mind taking the time to do extensive marketing because you enjoy that sort of thing, there's no reason not to do it.  Also, I don't think these stores require that products be exclusive to them (worth asking about), so you might be able to sell the same design at all of them.

is there one of these services who will print naughty novelty mugs and stuff?

the novelty shops in Chelsea area, well, some are pretty tasteless, but there is a market for it  ;)