Category: Business Tips

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Business Tips

What is drop-shipping?

Heard the term but aren’t quite sure what “drop-shipping” is? We’ve got answers

If you’ve considered creating an e-commerce business recently or are already an established business owner, you have probably heard about drop-shipping. If you’ve never heard about it, keep reading and you’ll gain some supply knowledge!

How does it work?

Drop-shipping is, in basic terms, a form of supply chain management. The business owner does not house any goods in a warehouse or a brick-and-mortar store and instead outsources fulfillment and shipping to a third-party. When a customer places an order, the third-party is notified and executes fulfillment and shipping procedures. The business owner doesn’t have to get involved with product inventory, fulfillment or shipping and can focus their energy and money on marketing and business development.

How does it work for Slaite?

Slaite is a print-on-demand and drop-shipping service. We work with Creators to bring their designs to life and remove the headache from logistics responsibilities. Once a Creator has designed and published their custom collection, we fulfill orders as we receive them. When a customer orders a specific product, we digitally print or embroider the corresponding design to the garment. Once the order is fulfilled, we work with our trusted shipping partners to deliver your products to your customers.

What are the pros to using Slaite?

  • Low startup investment
    • Investing in samples, advertisements and marketing your products is always recommended for success but you will save on warehousing, fulfillment and shipping!
  • No logistics fees
    • Creators can effectively run an online business without paying high service fees for inventory management, production equipment and shipping costs. We take care of the headaches so you can focus on the business.
  • Trusted and experienced partner
    • Our parent company has worked with custom printing and shipping logistics for over 20 years. We research and test all products and decoration styles and we have extensive experience with shipping logistics. You’ve got the creative spirit and we’ve got the know-how.
  • Continually emerging e-commerce climate
    • Retail spaces are moving online and recent consumer behaviour indicates an affinity with online shopping. The time is right to combine your creative design with an online business plan. Slaite is here to help you succeed.

What are the potential cons for drop-shipping?

  • Longer production times
    • To avoid wasteful over-manufacturing and creating products that will not end up being sold, Slaite produces products on-demand and per order. This can result in a marginally longer fulfillment time to produce customized and high-quality products. We are consistently looking at methods to optimize our production times to get your products to your customers as quickly as possible.
  • No direct handling of your product
    • We take our position as your trusted creative right hand seriously. We research, test and vet all our products and we are continuously reviewing technological improvements to keep our decoration equipment state-of-the-art. We always recommend purchasing product samples to ensure your products look exactly the way you want them to.

Still have questions?

We welcome feedback and questions from all Creators. If you’re still confused about drop-shipping, send us a message! We will happily help you with all your Slaite queries.

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Business Tips

What is POD?

Curious about print-on-demand? Let us help shed some light!

If you’re a creative mind, an entrepreneur or a community leader, you may have considered printing your design, logo or organization imagery onto products to sell to your audience. Historically, this could require product selection, product quality testing, bulk orders, expensive production equipment, inventory management, shipping expenses… the list goes on!

Enter: print-on-demand

Print-on-demand (POD) services make that process simple. You (the creative genius) work with a supplier that is equipped to manage inventory, print and drop-ship your customized products per-order. Once you have a customized collection created, the fulfillment process is quite simple. You can focus on marketing your products and making a profit.

Is it expensive?

Some POD services may charge monthly fees or other service fees – at Slaite, we don’t charge anything.

There are no hidden costs:

  • Sign-up is free
  • Designing your custom collection is free
  • Samples are available at cost price
  • Posting to your online store is free
  • Access to your Slaite sales is free

Who can use print-on-demand?

Anyone can get started with Slaite. If you have a creative vision, we have the expertise to help you execute your vision. Through our parent company, Slaite has over 20 years of custom printing experience. We elevate your creative business and give you the freedom to focus on business development.

What should I know before I get started?

Taking your time to get started can help set you up for success and Slaite is here for you throughout the whole process. Before you get started, you should consider the following:

  • Identify your market: Who are you selling to? What do they need? What do they like? Conducting market research before setting up can help guide your business decisions and improve your understanding of your audience.
  • Setting up an online store: Currently, Slaite can integrate with Shopify but we are working on expanding the selection.
  • Consider your design: Digital displays present images differently than the printed version of the same image. Ensure the hard work you’ve put into your design by following best practices when uploading your artwork. Check out our FAQ for more info!
  • Order samples: We encourage all our Creators to order samples for quality purposes and to help you when you begin marketing your products.
  • Understand shipping: Even with the miracle of drop-shipping which removes the role of shipper from our Creator, it is important to understand shipping logistics. Before setting up your shipping profiles in your online store, consider where your market audience is located to avoid over-complicating shipping for your customers. Check out our FAQ for more info!

If you have more questions about print-on-demand or how Slaite works, check out our FAQ or send us a message. We are always happy to hear from creative minds!

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Business Tips

Slaite App- The Canadian Print-on-Demand Provider for your Brand

Taking your creativity and monetizing on it is the perfect way to describe the current e-commerce industry. Whether you’re an artist or an entrepreneur — there is space for every type of business online.

Starting an online print-on-demand business can be tough but it also provides certain freedoms that a regular business does not. The traditional route of buying inventory and then managing it on your own is something of the past. You can now set up your shop, design your products and sell them with ease online.  

Print-on-demand services are a great option to consider when setting up your e-commerce business. Here’s what you’ll get when you sign up for Slaite and choose us as your print-on-demand provider!

Why Slaite is the ideal choice for your print-on-demand business

Diversity of Products

What you sell makes a difference. The standard classic tee is essential but it’s the unique products that will make you stand out from the crowd. We have a wide selection of products, from tees to hats, on our site that can be designed with your artwork. Each product has certain features, such as the material, color or size selection that makes it a distinctive choice for your design.

It’s essential to have the perfect combination of basics, along with a wide variety of other products. Choose a print-on-demand provider that has a good selection of products to choose from so that you can find the perfect product that matches your brand image.

Quick Shipping

You’ve designed a product, put it up on your shop and then what happens? Your goal is most likely to start selling your products as soon as possible and shipping plays a huge part in this process. With e-commerce growing in size, as well as popularity, consumers are looking to the Internet to do most of their shopping. It is estimated that consumers believe the standard shipping time for online orders is 3-5 days. Shipping is an important factor to consider when choosing a drop-shipping service – at Slaite we use UPS to courier most local packages in 1-3 business days to guarantee your customers get their products quickly, so that you can continue to profit!

Proudly from the North

Did you know that Slaite is Canadian? We’re located in Oakville, Ontario and fulfill all our orders from our facility and ensure that everything is done in-house. In doing so, we can make certain that your print-on-demand orders are processed efficiently and effectively. Choosing a local drop-shipping service means that you don’t have to worry about holding your own inventory and are able to sell your custom products at a low risk. Print-on-demand is a great low-investment way to kick start your own business and using a local drop-shipping service will be easier on your budget.

Quality

Think of a t-shirt or a hoodie as the canvas for your design. It’s important to consider the brand and material of the product when choosing what to print your design on. Choosing a lower quality product may result in cracks or fades within your design and could directly affect the success of your business. While higher quality products have a higher production cost, they will stand out in the print-on-demand market and customers are more likely to prefer and rave about an exceptional product.

POD Done Right

Starting a POD (print-on-demand) business and picking the perfect drop-shipping service may seem like a lengthy task, but it is a perfect way to bring your creative vision to life. And if you’re overwhelmed by the options out there, then let Slaite help you out! We’re here with you every step of the way and want to work with you to continue creating for your online business.

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Business Tips

Set-Up Checklist- 10 Steps to Setting up your Print-on-Demand Online Business with Slaite

Setting up a POD (print-on-demand) business may seem like a daunting task but by using a drop-shipping service, like Slaite, the process is quick and easy. Slaite makes the process simplistic for you – from designing your products to setting up your shop – we’re here with you every step of the way to help you build your e-commerce business.

Just follow these 10 simple steps to set up your shop, so you can start focusing on selling and profiting from your POD business!

Make an account with Slaite

Before you start anything, you need to register with Slaite. After registering you’re able to pick your products, design them and post them to your shop.

Consider shipping rates

Shipping is an important factor to consider because it affects your prices and your production times. Slaite understands that shipping is essential to every e-commerce business and that’s why we provide a simplistic shipping model. We courier ship to Canada and the US in 1-5 business days and charge a flat rate – plus we have fast and trackable shipping.

Design

Your design and artwork are the root of your creative vision and the visual signifier of your brand. When selecting a file format to design your products, ensuring the quality and file type meet Slaite’s is important to avoid any production hiccups.

Pick your products

This is the part where you pick the canvas for your design. While the basic white tee is essential, consider adding in a hoodie to make your brand offerings stand out from the crowd. You can check out Slaite’s product offerings before you sign up to get a good idea of what fits with your brand.

Customize

Customizing is where it all starts to come together. Use your design files to customize the products you’ve picked and watch your brand start to come to life.

Connect your store

Once you’ve finished designing your products, connect your store to start publishing them to your online shop.

Set up a payment method

A simple step—but an important one! We accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express as methods of payment. We unfortunately do not accept debit payments at the moment.

Order samples

We understand that seeing and feeling your products is important and that’s why we offer samples to our customers. You can get a sample by visiting the “My Collections” section in your Slaite account – choose from any of the products you’ve designed and place an order to get a first-hand look at your creation.

Publish to your store

For orders to be fulfilled using our automation system you need to sync your designed products to your online store. You can do this by selecting your designed products in the “My Collections” section on your Slaite account.

Profit

This is the part where we take over. We’ll handle printing your products, managing your inventory and the logistics for your online shop so that you don’t have to. What’s left for you is focusing on monetizing from your creativity.  

Your creative right hand

The perfect print-on-demand provider allows you to build an online store and grow your custom brand at a low-risk and cost. Slaite uses an automated fulfillment model that makes selling your products a seamless process from start to finish. Think of us as your creative right hand – we work with you to get your creativity out and into the world.