Anyone who tells you that the best POD (print on demand) product to sell is t-shirts is just trying to make money off of you (probably selling a course on how to sell t-shirts.)
Here’s the truth about POD profit margins, backed by my experience as an ecommerce coach with 10s of millions of dollars in student results.First - let’s define what a “vanity metric” is.
Example: an online coach has tons of followers but no student testimonials showing that their coaching actually works.
But vanity metrics also apply to our profit margins and the screen shots we often see in this little corner of the internet.
Let’s break it down.Someone tells you they’re selling POD t-shirts at a 20% profit margin. So after their cost of goods, ad expenses, processing fees etc, they are keeping 20% of the sale price.
If you are selling that t-shirt for $25 that means you are netting $5 per t-shirt - so $5 in your pocket.
Now let’s say you’re selling POD jewelry (my fave) for $100 at a 20% profit margin.
That means you are netting $20 per jewelry item - so $20 in your pocket.
That means you are netting $20 per jewelry item - so $20 in your pocket.
You can say these two products are making the same 20% margin but over 100,000 units the $20 route gives you an extra $1.5 million in your bank account.
Other things to keep in mind:
Which product truly has broad appeal and how far can you scale it?
Imagine the difference in audience - how many people would buy a funny dad tshirt vs how many men would buy a necklace for their wife?
Also keep in mind the return rate for apparel items where fit is an issue vs the return rate for a sentimental gift.
I’m not saying it’s impossible to make some money with shirts, but it’s not likely to make the kind of life changing money that our coaching program has built a reputation on.
My job as a coach is to get my students the most impactful results as quickly as possible and to keep them on track, bringing them back to the tested formula when that good ole’ shiny object syndrome comes a knockin. 
Thank you for reading!
Selling Print on Demand is something I obsess over.