Bellydance coffee mugs! Bellydance tumblers! Bellydance stickers! Bellydance…. clocks?

Recently, we’ve been experimenting with launching our own online bellydance storefront using Print On Demand (POD). If you haven’t seen this before, POD is a business model and printing technology that allows for the production of products only after an order is received. This production method seemed like a hassle-free way to bring our (upcoming) designs to life. Little did we know that this “easy” solution came with some unexpected challenges. Here’s what we learned:

1. One of the biggest downsides is the lack of control over product quality. Since the printing and shipping are handled by third-party companies, we’re left in the dark about how the final product turns out. Sometimes, the prints are blurry, colors are off, or the material is subpar—leaving us to imagine how many customer complaints we would get. Repeated bad test samples had us reconsidering POD entirely – the last thing we want to do is ship a bellydance-themed product of low quality.

2. Shipping is another issue. Many POD companies have long processing and delivery times, which can frustrate customers who expect quicker turnarounds. Our samples took 7-10 days to arrive, further slowing down our public launch date. On top of that, the shipping fees can be surprisingly high, making the overall cost less attractive to our buyers.

3. The profit margins can also be razor-thin. POD platforms take a significant cut, leaving us with a less-than-ideal portion of the sale. Unless we’re selling in large volumes (which is unlikely since we’re just starting out), it’s harder to make a decent profit. And we don’t want to charge $30 for a basic white mug that just says something like “I Love Bellydance” (I mean we do, but we’re also a little extra too).

4. Lastly (and this was big for us), the lack of customization options is a major limitation. Many POD platforms only offer basic products, such as T-shirts and mugs, with minimal design flexibility. This makes it harder to create unique items that stand out, which is exactly what we’re trying to do!

In hindsight, while this production method offers the ideal of convenience, it comes at a cost. For us, that cost is quality control, future customer satisfaction, and profit. We learned the hard way that the convenience may *not* be worth the trade-offs.

We’re still contemplating how we want to move forward. Have you had experience with print on demand? Leave a comment below! Maybe you’ll change our minds…

Belly Dance Network