If/when logo(s) finalized, can we get our own merch? I know some print-on-demand places do a nice job of making storefronts. I’m thinking of how very wonderfully meta it would be to own a coffee mug with the monogrammed logo on it.
Things that would need to presumably happen before we could do this:
I’d be interested. It’s a good thing to start thinking about but I think we need to figure out what we’re doing from a blog / site perspective before we start selling merch.
Something to keep in mind with the POD places is that the margins for sellers is very thin. It’s the best way to get started since we don’t have paid staff, capital to pay for bulk creation of goods, a physical location, and the ability to manage shipments ourselves at this point but this probably isn’t going to be a large source of income especially while we don’t have something bringing in new audience members.
I had some ideas for jewelry, most of which is easier to make in multiples anyhow. It’ll be at least a good month before I have anything to photograph, though.
Agreed. I think this is a bit cart before the horse.
I’m a fan of Zazzle.com. I’ve ordered from them several times and the quality of the printing is really high.
I have bought and sold things on Zazzle. They make it extremely easy to offer a large variety of items and to get a small commission on them. I agree with @Eve that the revenue would not be terribly significant, but it could represent a passive income stream that doesn’t have the same moral objections of the Amazon affiliate program or StackSocial. It’s unlikely that our costs could be covered entirely via merchandise sales, but if it doesn’t cost us much in terms of time and resources, and merchandise is something that people want, then I don’t see any problem with it.
and who doesn’t want an Elsewhere Cafe Coffee Cup?