I've spent months drawing the characters for my Far North Queensland Adventures 2027 calendar. Twelve illustrations, a cover, the calendar pages and a printed proof. Once it was ready, I had another decision to make. Where was I going to sell it?
I already have a Squarespace website, so I started there. But I use ThriveCart for my digital products, and I've added custom CSS to hide the usual Squarespace checkout and buttons. I want my digital papers, clipart, SVGs, email signature kits and Canva templates sold through ThriveCart. Making the same shop work for print-on-demand orders was more complicated than I wanted.
Then there was shipping. At first glance, connecting Gelato to Squarespace appeared to mean configuring shipping charges manually. I might have missed an easier option, but I wasn't keen on working out postage for customers in different countries (and let’s not even go there with the tax stuff).
So I tried Etsy.
From drawing to printed calendar
Gelato printed my calendar, and I ordered a proof to see how the pages actually looked. Colours and layouts can look lovely on an iPad, but seeing the real product matters. Print on demand means I don't need to buy a stack of calendars and store them at home. Gelato produces and fulfils orders as they come in.
I set up four Etsy listings, covering Monday and Sunday starts for different markets. Etsy provides shipping profiles and checkout features, including collection of certain taxes where required. It doesn't eliminate every seller's responsibility, but it made the customer-facing ordering process easier for me.
Why I'm happy to pay the Etsy fees
Etsy has listing, transaction and processing fees. I knew I needed to account for them when deciding on my A$40 price. For this product, I decided the convenience was worth the fees.
My plan is to use my website and ThriveCart for digital products I've created, and Etsy for print-on-demand products through suppliers such as Gelato or Printify. Art prints or T-shirts might join the calendars one day. I don't need to make one checkout do everything.
I still want people to visit my own website, so I created jodraper.au/calendars with links to the Etsy listings. It's my little calendar shopfront, even though Etsy takes the order.
My first sale went to Canada
Reiko, a fellow member of Laura's Creative Pals, commented on my calendar post. I sent her my website link and she bought a calendar for delivery to Canada. How lovely is that?
She paid A$53.63 including postage. Gelato charged me A$31.16. My Etsy October activity showed A$48.78 after its fees and a Share & Save refund, leaving A$17.62 after Gelato. That figure includes some earlier listing fees from my experiments, so it isn't a precise per-order breakdown. But it gives me a sensible picture of what I kept.
I haven't made a fortune from one calendar, but someone has bought my artwork and the process worked.
Find the platform that works for you
Would I say everybody should use Etsy? Absolutely not. You might prefer Shopify, Gumroad, your own website or a local market stall. Somebody else might enjoy packing and posting orders themselves.
This isn't about which platform is best overall, or even which is cheapest. It's about which works for your products and how you want to run your business.
My way doesn't have to be your way. It's your art, your business and your choice.
Want your own Far North Queensland adventure?
If you'd like a copy of my illustrated Far North Queensland Adventures 2027 calendar, head to https://jodraper.au/calendars and choose your adventure.
My illustrated calendar was finished, but where should I sell it? Here's why Etsy and Gelato worked better for my business setup than my first Squarespace plan.