Are you a seller who loves managing your own inventory, packaging, and shipping? Or maybe you’ve been looking for more flexibility beyond automated print-on-demand fulfillment.
Good news – MyDesigns has you covered! We’re excited to introduce the Self Fulfillment feature, a new option that gives you complete control over fulfilling your orders.
In this friendly guide, we’ll explain what Self Fulfillment is, how it works, and how you can use it to empower your business.
Whether you’re a seasoned MyDesigns user or just discovering us, this feature opens up new possibilities for handling orders on your terms.
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What is Self Fulfillment on MyDesigns?
Self Fulfillment lets you publish any Print on Demand product from our extensive catalog to your Etsy, Shopify, or WooCommerce store without SKUs, giving you complete control over your fulfillment process.
This means that you handle the production and shipping of orders yourself, instead of relying on an integrated print-on-demand partner. In practical terms, MyDesigns will still help you manage the order details, but it won’t automatically route the order to a printing service. Instead, you’ll manually approve and fulfill each order.
This feature essentially turns off automatic fulfillment and gives you full flexibility to process orders however you see fit. MyDesigns acts as your centralized hub for order management, while you take charge of making or packing the product and shipping it out.
How Self Fulfillment Is a Gamechanger for POD
Choosing Self Fulfillment can be a game-changer for many sellers. Here are some key benefits:
Complete Control: You decide how and when an order is fulfilled. There’s no automatic process sending orders to a third party. This means you can ensure quality at every step and use your preferred shipping methods. MyDesigns order system is flexible – you can automate orders or handle them manually as needed.
Branding & Personal Touch: Self Fulfillment is ideal if you want to add personal touches to your packages – like branded inserts, thank-you notes, or special packaging. You maintain your brand’s unboxing experience since you handle the shipping.
Faster or Customized Shipping: Have the ability to ship on your own schedule. If you have inventory on hand, you might ship out the same day an order comes in, or use a specific carrier that your print partners don’t. You’re in control of shipping speed and options, which can lead to happier customers.
Cost Management: Sometimes fulfilling yourself can save on costs. For example, if you bulk-produce a product or have lower shipping rates, Self Fulfillment lets you capitalize on that. You pay no production fee to a POD provider when you fulfill an order from your own stock. The margin is yours to keep.
Leverage MyDesigns Tools: Even though you’re self-fulfilling, you still benefit from MyDesigns’ powerful platform. You can create listings in bulk, use automation for design and SEO, and manage orders all in one place. It’s an all-in-one solution that streamlines your business from design to sale.
In short, Self Fulfillment gives you flexibility and control. You’re free to run your business the way you want, while MyDesigns handles the heavy lifting of order tracking, customer details, and marketplace syncing in the background.
Ideal Use Cases for Self Fulfillment
Is Self Fulfillment right for you? Here are a few scenarios where this feature shines:
- Sellers with Own Inventory: If you keep stock of products (shirts, mugs, art prints, etc.) or produce items in-house (such as a print shop owner or artist printing your own work), Self Fulfillment lets you sell through MyDesigns and ship from your own inventory. You can list your items on Etsy, Shopify, WooCommerce and use MyDesigns to manage the orders, but pack and send items yourself.
- Handmade & Custom Products: For one-of-a-kind crafts or highly customized items, you likely want to personally oversee creation and delivery. Self Fulfillment is perfect for Etsy sellers who make handmade jewelry, custom woodwork, or other artisanal goods that aren’t produced by a POD factory. You still get to use MyDesigns for listing and order management, while retaining the personal touch in fulfillment.
- Product Personalization: If your listings allow buyers to personalize designs (e.g. add their name or a quote), Self Fulfillment gives you the time and flexibility to edit each design and fulfill it. MyDesigns will hold the order until you’ve applied the personalization and approved it. This is great for sellers offering custom text or images on products like engraved items, personalized shirts, ornaments, etc. You won’t be rushed by automation. You can review each personalized request, use the built-in design tools to finalize it, then produce and ship it.
- Mixed Fulfillment Strategies: Perhaps most of your products are automatically fulfilled by a POD provider, but a few special listings you’d prefer to handle yourself. With MyDesigns, you can do that! You might enable Self Fulfillment on certain premium products or limited-run items, while keeping others on autopilot. The platform is flexible enough to accommodate both approaches simultaneously, so you can choose the best fulfillment method for each product line.
- Quality or Brand Control: Brands that value quality control or branded packaging often choose Self Fulfillment. If you want to inspect each item, package it in branded boxes, or include freebies/swag in orders, self-fulfilling is the way to go. You can ensure every customer gets the best impression of your brand when opening their package.
- Local and International Shipping Choices: If you have insight into shipping (maybe you want to use local postal services or have better rates for international shipping on your own), Self Fulfillment lets you utilize those advantages. You’re not tied to the shipping options of a print provider. This can be useful if you run promotions like local same-day delivery or use eco-friendly packaging and shipping methods that are unique to your business.
If any of these sound like you, then definitely give Self Fulfillment a try!
How to Use Self Fulfillment: Step-by-Step Guide
Ready to take control? Using Self Fulfillment in MyDesigns is straightforward. Below is a step-by-step guide to get you started:
Step One – Select Your Product: Choose any Print on Demand product from the MyDesigns catalog that you wish to publish.
Step Two – Enable Self Fulfillment in Your Settings: During the publishing process to Etsy, Shopify, or WooCommerce, select the Self Fulfillment option in the last step. This will ensure the SKUs are set to ‘undefined’.
Step Three – Publish: Hit publish.
Step Four – Track Orders: When a customer buys this item, the order will show up in your MyDesigns Orders dashboard.
Step Five – Create & Download Print Files: If the order requires personalization or other tweaks, use MyDesigns tools to finalize the artwork, then grab the print-ready file from the order details.
Step Six – Handle Fulfillment: Produce, pack, and ship the product using your own equipment or preferred fulfillment partner.
Ready to Get Started with Self Fulfillment?
The new Self Fulfillment feature puts you in the driver’s seat of your business. If you crave flexibility and control over how your products reach customers, this is absolutely worth a try.
Self Fulfillment is currently unlocked on our paid plans—Starter, Pro, and Pro Plus—so if you’re on the Free tier you’ll need to upgrade to start using it. Level up your plan today and enjoy full control over how you print, pack, and ship every order while still harnessing MyDesigns’ bulk-publishing and automation superpowers.
And we’re just getting started. Next on our roadmap is the ability to build your own products inside MyDesigns—complete with custom SKUs, mockups, and more—so you can whip up listings from scratch and push them live in minutes, all under one roof.
And if you’re new to MyDesigns, there’s never been a better time to join. Sign up for a MyDesigns account (it’s free to get started!) and explore our platform. When you’re ready to start selling with full control, upgrade to a Starter, Pro, or Pro Plus plan to unlock Self Fulfillment and all the other advanced features.
Happy selling, and happy fulfilling! 🚀
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