Making Money With CafePress – Here’s How It Works

Updated October 10, 2026.

CafePress is a website that sells T-shirts, mugs, hoodies, tote bags, and other products featuring original artwork and designs.

You can upload original artwork to sell in the CafePress marketplace or through a seller shop. It is one of the longest-running print-on-demand sites around!

When someone buys a product featuring your design, you earn a commission or markup, depending on how it is sold.

You don’t have to purchase inventory or package orders yourself, which makes this a fairly simple way to try selling your designs.

You upload your own design and choose how to sell it, either through the CafePress marketplace or in a seller shop.

If your designs sell, CafePress handles printing, orders, and shipping. There are many different products you can put your designs on, although the selection can change.

Making Money With CafePress

CafePress has a “Design & List” option for putting your original designs in its marketplace. The site can display your artwork on products without your having to handle the orders.

Another option is setting up your own seller shop to showcase all your products.

This feature gives you a lot more control, but it will also take more time to set up on your end.

The way you earn money will depend on if you use the “Design & List” feature or if you set up your own shop.

With Design & List, CafePress’s current seller terms say you earn 5% of net revenue from marketplace sales, after applicable discounts, returns, and other deductions.

With a seller shop, you choose a markup above CafePress’s base price, and your commission is that markup minus adjustments for refunds and returns.

Is setting up a shop free?

You can upload original designs to sell in the CafePress marketplace without buying inventory up front.

Its current seller terms say fees may apply to private seller shops, so review the costs before starting one.

If you’d rather create a separate online store, Shopify is another option for selling designs on print-on-demand products.

You can connect it to a printing and shipping provider, but you’d also have to pay for your store and handle more of the setup yourself.

Do you have to be an artist to create designs?

Short answer is no. But, it does of course help if you’re someone with a creative streak.

If you’re new to graphic design, Canva is a browser-based tool that can help you create your own artwork.

Just be sure you have permission to use every element in the designs you plan to sell.

Canva templates can give you ideas, but you cannot resell an unchanged Canva template or a standalone stock image on merchandise.

Once you’ve made an original design and checked the licensing, you can upload it to CafePress.

Your creativity is ultimately what is going to sell the products you design.

If you are good at coming up with funny slogans or sayings, that will work in your favor to sell your creativity as I am seeing a lot of products like that for sale on CafePress.

Seasonal events, hobbies, and funny sayings can also give you ideas, as long as the artwork and wording are yours to use.

The sky is really the limit!

How can you be sure your stuff sells?

You can’t, and it will be partly up to you to make sure that people find your stuff.

If you have a website or blog that gets some traffic, you can place a link to your shop there, increasing your chances of making money with CafePress.

If you’d prefer to build your own brand rather than rely on the CafePress marketplace, a Shopify store gives you more control over how you present your products.

Just keep in mind that you’ll be responsible for bringing visitors to that store.

You can also share your designs on Facebook or consider paid ads if you have a budget.

How do you get your CafePress earnings?

CafePress pays sellers through PayPal or a mailed check.

They will not issue you a check unless you have $100 in earnings. But you can get a Paypal payment as long as you have $25 in your account.

CafePress says it pays within 60 days after the end of the month when your balance reaches your chosen payment threshold.

If you are below that threshold, your earnings carry forward until you reach it.

One important point in the seller terms: If you go 365 days without uploading a new design or making a sale, CafePress says its license to your designs becomes royalty-free.

Keep your payment and contact information current, too, because inaccurate details can also affect your right to royalties.

Can you sell on CafePress if you are not a US resident?

CafePress allows sellers in many countries, although eligibility and payment options depend on where you live. You’ll need to be at least 18 and provide accurate payment and tax information.

Want to get started making money with CafePress?

Go here to sign up and learn more about the selling process. Good luck!