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Is Redbubble Legit? Everything You Need To Know

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by
Martin -
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Co-founder at Dropshipping.com
Martin is an agency owner and SaaS projects maker. His work is featured in the leading ecommerce brands, magazines and podcasts. Talks about Marketing, Business Development, and Growth Hacking!
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Co-founder at Dropshipping.com
16 minutes

Want to start your print on demand dropshipping business, But the burning question on your mind is, “Is Redbubble legit?” Fear not, as I’ve delved deep into the intricacies of this platform to bring you an all-encompassing review.

From a diverse product catalog featuring everything from trendy clothing to eye-catching wall art, to the ins and outs of Redbubble’s printing options, sales analytics, and marketplace dynamics, this review leaves no stone unturned. 

Discover the secrets behind Redbubble’s shipping times, payment options, and ever-crucial customer support.

What is Redbubble?

is redbubble legit

Redbubble is a print on demand marketplace where you can get custom-made items from various dropshipping niches like t-shirts, clothes, home & living, accessories, office supplies, art prints, etc. Thus, they have lots of designs made by users and artists. 

The cool part is you can pick from thousands of designs, and you can even choose the color of the shirt. Also, they collaborate with over 700,000 professional designers who can create your staff.

Now, let’s see whether it is Redbubble Legit.

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Quick Redbubble Review

Before diving into whether is Redbubble Legit, let’s take a look at the quick Redbubble review.

Logo

The best

  • Diverse product selection
  • User-friendly inteface
  • No inventory or shipping concerns
  • Global audience reach

The worst

  • Intense competition
  • Limited profit margins
  • Restricted pricing and production control

Starting from

  • Each item on the website comes with a specific base price; There is flexibility to set a markup for each item you sell; There are artist account fees and tiers- Redbubble Standard, Redbubble Premium and Redbubble Pro.

Redbubble Features

Next, I will review the key features of this platform, and make sure whether is Redbubble legit.

🔸 Product Catalog 

product catalog

Redbubble has a vast product catalog with products from various dropshipping niches, like: 

  • Gifts
  • Clothing
  • Stickers
  • Phone Cases
  • Wall Art
  • Home & Living
  • Kids & Babies
  • Accessories
  • Stationery & Office.

Moreover, each category has various sub-categories. So, you have lots of choices to use your design on. 

For example, in my opinion, Redbubble phone cases are among the hottest items on the platform. There’s even a dedicated section for buyers to explore at their own pace. So, you as a dropshipper, can offer a range of slim, tough, and soft case options for nearly every phone model you can think of.

Moving on to the world of clothing, hats are often a smart pick for Redbubble sellers. This means you’ve got various styles to choose from, including dad hats, baseball caps, and bucket hats. 

print on demand hats

Moreover, these items come in a variety of colors, and you can jazz them up with a plethora of designs, spanning from photos and digital art to illustrations.

🔸 Printing Options

Redbubble exclusively relies on the Direct to Garment (DTG) printing method and doesn’t offer Screen Printing. However, while their T-shirts generally boast a slightly above-average quality for DTG, they don’t outshine all the other DTG competitors.

Moreover, keep in mind that except for the dye-sublimation graphic tees and contrast tanks, all shirts are printed using the Direct to Garment printing technology. 

Also, understanding this printing method is crucial for designing shirts effectively. Thus, on light-colored shirts, all pixels will be printed as they appear in your design file. In contrast, designs on dark garments will be printed on top of a white base layer, which is printed first.

🔸 Sales Analytics

From your Redbubble artist dashboard, you can check out your sales data and earnings by examining trends in your sales history through a chart that spans up to 30 days. 

Moreover, you can also adjust this sales data analytics and check on a period of 7 days or up to 12 months. If needed, you can also apply a 7-day or 12-month filter based on your preferences.

So, what data can you benefit from?

  • Social Media: This includes traffic from URLs shared on platforms like Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and others.
  • Organic Visitors: People who land on your store after searching on Google and finding your website in the search results.
  • Direct: Visitors who directly type the URL of your Redbubble profile into Google, indicating strong brand recognition.
  • Redbubble: Keep in mind that Redbubble aids in driving traffic through affiliates, paid advertising, marketing emails, and RB search.
  • Other: Individuals who discover your store through various means, such as other websites, links, and diverse forms of exploration.

Additionally, Redbubble offers an analytics feature that allows you to identify your top-selling artwork.

🔸 Redbubble Marketplace

is redbubble legit

This is one of the best Redbubble features. So, if you are still wondering is Redbubble Legit, let’s take a look at this feature. 

Redbubble lets you sell your designs in their marketplace. So,  you can directly showcase and sell your creations to an audience already interested in them, facilitating a quicker path to earning money.

Moreover, the marketplace is user-friendly and easy to navigate, featuring various filters and categories for consumers to explore. Additionally, you can even offer coupon codes and discounts.

However, it’s important to note that you’ll be in competition with a diverse group of other creators for attention. Additionally, your profits and sales might not reach the same levels as they would if you had your own dedicated website.

🔸 Shipping Times 

is redbubble legit

Redbubble provides estimated shipping timelines for each product, conveniently located below the “Add to Cart” button. Thus,  these timelines cover both express and standard shipping options.

redbubble shipping

Furthermore, orders from independent artists are shipped from various countries, including Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Also, it’s important to note that if your item is shipped from a country different from your own, customs duties may apply. So, the overall shipping cost on Redbubble depends on factors like the chosen shipping method (standard or express), the item’s origin and destination, the packaging used, and the order amount.

🔸 Payment Options

payment options

Redbubble offers multiple payment methods. So this also shows whether is Redbubble legit. 

On this platform, you can make or receive payments via Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. Also, you can use services like “buy now, pay later” with Afterpay or Clearpay. 

What’s more, the platform supports popular payment methods like PayPal, Amazon Payments, Apple Pay, Klarna, and Sofort. However, keep in mind that these methods are only available for certain countries. Check it out here.

Furthermore, when it comes to payment, Redbubble’s payment cycle kicks off on the 15th of each month, allowing you to earn money for every sale once you hit the minimum payment threshold of $20.

Also, if your sales haven’t been shipped by the 15th, or you haven’t reached the threshold, the earnings will carry over to the next pay cycle.

In addition, if you haven’t reached the $20 payment threshold and you have earned $2 or more, you will receive an annual payment, combining your total earnings, in December.

🔸 Customer Support

Redbubble offers various ways for customers to reach out. First, the company has a brick-and-mortar office in the US and Australia. So, if you live nearby, you can always visit. 

is redbubble legit

Furthermore, you can email them, and you can also reach them via social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest. 

Also, they have a Help Center where you can find answers to the most FAQs. 

redbubble help center

🔸 Marketing Options

Redbubble gives your creations an initial marketing boost. This means you can start making your brand known by promoting it outside of Redbubble, with their off-marketing options.

off site marketing

For instance, if someone views your artwork, Redbubble will keep showing it to that person while they’re online over different websites.

Hence, this also involves using different types of ads to bring customers to your Redbubble page. For instance, you can run email campaigns or create content on another website.

Furthermore, Redbubble has a special section on its website called “featured artist” where you can try listing your products to reach more customers. 

is redbubble legit

However, I highly recommend you optimize your Redbubble selling page if you want to succeed in your social media promotion, since that is how Redbubble’s algorithm works. Thus, this means making your design look great, using tags properly, regularly adding new products, and creating a complete profile. 

So, is Reddbubble Legit? Let’s also see how it works.

How Does Redbubble Work & How To Use It?

With Redbubble, instead of starting your own website and adding products there, you can establish your presence in a ready-made marketplace. 

Moreover, Redbubble doesn’t connect with popular online store platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce, so you can’t integrate it into your existing online shop like other dropshipping tools.

So, let’s see how to start dropshipping on Redbubble.

Step 1- Create An Account

To begin, you need to sign up for an account, and it won’t cost you anything. There are no subscription fees to maintain your account. So, from the website homepage, click on the “ Sign up” button. 

Next, you will have two options for creating an account. Since you are a dropshipper and want to make some money, choose the first option “ Artist signup”.

is redbubble legit

Also, remember to confirm it when you receive the confirmation email. 

Step 2- Create A Storefront

Once your account is set up, you will land on their dashboard. So, from here, I start with creating a storefront. So, click on the second grid, and let’s begin. 

redbubble dashboard

Here you need to add your avatar, and cover image, set up your social links, and write a bio. 

create storefront

Furthermore, you can check on your store URL, which is placed in the Copyright URL section. 

What’s more, one impressive thing about Redbubble is its advertising strategy. Once someone looks at your artwork, Redbubble will continue to show your work to that potential customer while they’re browsing online. So, you better check in the off-site marketing option.

redbubble copyright

Thus, this is one of the many green flags for whether is Redbubble legit. 

In addition, I also suggest you hide the “Pin it” button and stop redirecting people to Pinterest, which is really not your point here. Also, I will not select the “mature content” option since I don’t want a popup of mature content to show around my storefront. Now, click on “save changes”.

Next, from here, you also need to edit your Payment details. So, from here I will add my actual address, and select my currency. Lots of people forget about this step. So, don’t be the one that does that too.

edit paymebt details

Step 3- Upload and Create Designs 

Afterward, all you need to do is create your artwork and upload it to Redbubble. So, from the dashboard, navigate to the “Create Product” section, and click on “Add designs”. So, this feature also talks a lot about whether is Redbubble legit.

create designs

In the next window, I will select Add New Work, since I will use a new one from my PC.

add new work

Now, the first thing you need to do is upload your design. So, from your PC just select the design you want, and upload it to Redbubble. Next, you need to write in the product title, description, and at least 15 tags. 

is redbubble legit

Furthermore, Redbubble offers categories such as men’s clothing, women’s clothing, device cases and accessories, kids and babies, stationery, home décor, stickers, and gifts. Each category has various options. 

So, now, you can “enable” the products you want to add to your design. Also, you can edit the design, and adjust its size, color, product color, etc. 

products design

Lastly, you need to select your media type, product default, etc. Once you are done, click on “Save Work”.

Tip: If you want to make good dropshipping sales on Redbubble, I suggest you upload more than 100 designs.

select media

Redbubble prints your artwork on different items and ships them to your customers, taking care of returns and complaints. 

Redbubble Pricing 

Redbubble’s pricing approach is quite clear-cut. Each item on the website comes with a specific base price. For example:

  • T-shirts can be priced between $25 and $40, contingent on the design and material.
  • Phone cases can fluctuate between $20 and $45.
  • Art prints may start at $15 and extend to $100 or more for larger sizes and premium materials.

Following this, you have the flexibility to set a markup for each item you sell

pricing redbubble

In addition, Redbubble provides various options for determining the profit margin. For instance, you can establish your price using a percentage markup, applying that percentage to every product in your inventory.

Let’s take an instance where the base price of a product is $60, and you set your markup at 25%. In this scenario, the retail price of your product would be $75 ($60 x 25%), excluding taxes and shipping. Consequently, your total earnings per sale would amount to $15.

It’s worth noting that Redbubble defaults to a 20% markup, but you can adjust the percentage as you see fit. So, using the example above, if you set a 20% markup, your earnings per sale would be $12.

Also, according to Redbubble, the average markup tends to be closer to 25%

Artist Account Fees

There are also account fees for artists or dropshippers using Redbubble. So, as you earn more, the account fee decreases as a percentage of your total earnings. 

Monthly Sales Account Fee
$5 to $5.99$2.30
$20 to $24.99$9.20
$50 to $59.99$22
$100 to $149.99$34
$250 to $299.99$60
$500 or more$92

Thus, Redbubble categorizes accounts based on factors like activity, success as a seller, and adherence to community guidelines.

  • Redbubble Standard serves as the starting point. Progress to Premium by building your brand, creating content, making sales, and promoting your account on social media while following community guidelines.
  • Redbubble Premium is for sellers with a solid follower base, an established personal brand, and a history of selling unique products. There’s no account fee for the Premium tier. While most start with Redbubble Standard, you might qualify for Premium right away based on signup criteria.
  • Redbubble Pro is for top sellers who consistently achieve high sales, invest significant time in growing and promoting their store, and have a dedicated following. Plus, there’s no account fee for this tier as well.

Is Redbubble Legit?

Yes, absolutely! Redbubble remains a trustworthy and reliable company.  Firstly, it was established in 2006, which means that it has been a part of online shopping for nearly two decades

Also, on Trustpilot, the company has ⭐3.7 out of 5 stars

is redbubble legit

And, like many online selling platforms, Redbubble has received some negative feedback over the years, mainly related to customer service and fluctuating profit margins.

negative reviews

Despite this, Redbubble is a credible platform, and it still has a great 65% positive customer testimonials and feedback.

redbuble positive reviews

Still, Redbubble provides a secure and dependable space for creators to upload and sell their art prints on a variety of products. Moreover, the platform ensures the security of every payment using top-notch standards

It also offers convenient ways to reach customer support if any issues arise, along with plenty of educational resources for beginners aiming to establish their presence online. Thus, you can contact them via email, social media, etc. Plus, they have a helpful Help Center as well.

Redbubble Pros & Cons 

Next, I will list the pros and cons so you can make your decision whether is Redbubble Legit. 

PROS
Diverse product selection

User-friendly inteface

No inventory or shipping concerns

Global audience reach

CONS
Intense competition

Limited profit margins

Restricted pricing and production control

Pros

✅ Diverse product selection

Redbubble offers artists the opportunity to showcase their work on a wide range of products, providing a way to boost visibility and sales.

✅ User-friendly interface

The platform is easy to use and navigate, simplifying the process for artists to establish their shops and share their designs.

✅ No inventory or shipping concerns

Redbubble handles printing, shipping, and customer service, relieving artists from the burden of managing these aspects.

✅ Global audience reach

Redbubble boasts a large and diverse audience, offering artists the chance to connect with a broad spectrum of potential buyers.

Cons

❌ Intense competition

Given the platform’s numerous artists, standing out and making sales can be a challenging endeavor.

❌ Limited profit margins

Redbubble takes a significant portion of each sale, restricting the potential profit for artists.

❌ Restricted pricing and production control

Artists have minimal control over the pricing of their products, which may be frustrating for those who prefer setting their own prices. Not just that, but you also have no idea about the material or printing quality, since you only see the digital version of your product.

Redbubble Alternatives

💡 Tip: Check out the 13 Best Print On Demand Companies For Dropshippers In 2024.

Lulu

lulu vs redbubble

Lulu allows anyone with creative ideas to turn them into a business. Also, your products can be easily sold on major platforms like Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Lulu’s own marketplace.

Firstly, Lulu Xpress offers print-on-demand services, enabling the creation and sale of books, calendars, and other printed materials without the need for inventory or upfront costs.

Additionally, the platform provides a straightforward and user-friendly publishing process, allowing users to upload content, customize their books or products, and publish them for sale effortlessly.

Beyond printing, Lulu Xpress equips users with marketing tools and resources to promote and sell their products. 

Furthermore, Lulu Xpress seamlessly integrates with popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce.

Fortunately, shipping takes only 3-5 working days to over 150 countries worldwide. To expedite deliveries, Lulu Xpress has established facilities in Europe, the U.S., and Canada.

Regarding prices, it’s challenging to provide a specific figure, as costs depend on the type of content being published.

Zazzle

zazzle vs redbubble

Zazzle is a leading print-on-demand marketplace that allows you to sell and customize custom merchandise online. With a wide range of products available, including invitations, clothing, home décor, accessories, and even electronic devices, Zazzle provides designers with limitless options to create and sell their unique designs.

One of the standout features of Zazzle is its extensive customization options. Thus, users can further personalize their products by changing fonts, adjusting text size, and updating color choices.

In terms of pricing, Zazzle offers competitive prices, allowing users to set their profit margins and easily determine the base price for each item.

When it comes to shipping, Zazzle is dedicated to delivering orders in a timely manner.  Hence, it has 4-7 business days for standard shipping and 2-3 business days for premium shipping.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this blog article is an ultimate guide for Redbubble, unraveling its features, intricacies, and the burning question – is Redbubble legit? From exploring its vast product catalog and printing options to dissecting sales analytics, shipping times, and payment methods, you can learn all here.

So, using these insights you can learn how Redbubble works, and get a step-by-step guide to kickstart your dropshipping journey, and even alternatives to consider.

So, is Redbubble legit? Absolutely! With a history spanning nearly two decades and a Trustpilot rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, Redbubble emerges as a credible platform. Despite a few bumps related to customer service and profit fluctuations, it maintains a solid 65% positive customer feedback.

As for my opinion, I believe Redbubble is worth a try. Its user-friendly interface, global reach, and diverse product selection offer a unique space for artists and dropshippers. 

However, be prepared for intense competition and limited pricing control. If you’re a budding creator or dropshipper, Redbubble could be your canvas for artistic expression and potential entrepreneurial success. So, dive in, explore, and let your creative journey begin!

About the Author

Profile picture of Martin
Martin Stoimenov
Martin is an agency owner and SaaS projects maker. His work is featured in the leading ecommerce brands, magazines and podcasts. Talks about Marketing, Business Development, and Growth Hacking!
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