Blog

How to Dropship with a $0 Budget Using dropXL

Bogdan Rancea
Articles dropshipping

Dropshipping, just like print on demand, has easily become one of the most popular business models for ambitious sellers who want to launch a company online, without a lot of upfront cost. Still, while dropshipping remove a lot of costs upfront for things like manufacturing and inventory storage, it doesn’t automatically let you run your entire business for free.

Most dropshipping companies even advertise the opportunity to start with “almost nothing” in financial resources. Really, though, you can still end up paying for an ecommerce platform (and domain name) product samples, marketing, as well as the dropshipping catalog you want access to.

So here’s how you can actually start a dropshipping business without paying anything, at least until you make your first sale.

Continue reading “How to Dropship with a $0 Budget Using dropXL”

Doba vs Spocket: Which Dropshipping Platform Should You Be Working With This Year?

Bogdan Rancea
Articles dropshipping

Dropshipping is still very much alive and well in 2026, with a market worth about $543.53 billion, but as always, increased (or even just continued) interest means the competition keeps getting tougher. The best way for businesses to stand out is to choose the right partner.

Spocket and Doba are two popular ones, particularly for companies building a Shopify site. Spocket is all about selectivity, with a curated catalog highlighting trending items usually sourced from suppliers in the US and Europe. Doba has a far larger inventory, with a strong focus on U.S.-based suppliers and U.S.-warehouse products for sellers targeting the American market.

It also gives companies a broader selection of integration options for marketplaces, and an AI agent, Doba Pilot, that now covers a lot more of the day to day work than it used to.

Here’s how I’d compare the two in 2026.

Continue reading “Doba vs Spocket: Which Dropshipping Platform Should You Be Working With This Year?”

Fourthwall vs Redbubble: Where Should You Be Selling Designs This Year?

Bogdan Rancea
Articles Ecommerce Print on Demand

Redbubble hasn’t always been my top pick for companies interested in print-on-demand, but I definitely see the value there for newer sellers. You can customize a huge selection of products, instantly find an audience, and start earning money without running a whole ecommerce operation in the background.

Fourthwall is different. It’s less about getting products in front of shoppers quickly, and more about giving you a home base for your brand where you can scale and sell just about anything. You’re not just limited to premium print on demand, you can sell products you source yourself, digital downloads, plus memberships, without a separate tool.

At this point, I’d probably recommend both, but to different sellers with different problems. If you have artwork and not much of an audience, Redbubble is great. If you have an audience but you don’t have a flexible way to turn their support into cash, Fourthwall is better.

Continue reading “Fourthwall vs Redbubble: Where Should You Be Selling Designs This Year?”

20 of the Best Sustainable, Eco-Friendly Products I’d Tell POD Sellers to Stock in 2026

Bogdan Rancea
Articles Print on Demand

Personally, I love the idea of building a product catalog around genuinely sustainable options, and I’m not the only one. Studies have found that customers are willing to pay almost ten percent more for eco-friendly goods, according to PwC’s Voice of the Consumer survey.

But it’s easy to get lost when you start building your first catalog, particularly since a lot of suppliers in the print on demand space say their items are eco-friendly, but don’t give you many details about what that actually means.

For this list, I’ve been careful, checking the details behind every product I recommend for myself, to make sure you can keep the sustainability promises you make.

Continue reading “20 of the Best Sustainable, Eco-Friendly Products I’d Tell POD Sellers to Stock in 2026”

Fourthwall vs Spring: Better Merch Store or Better Business Platform?

Bogdan Rancea
Articles Ecommerce

I’ve used and reviewed both Spring (previously Teespring) and Fourthwall several times in the past, which you’d think would make this comparison a lot easier. Really, it’s still a tricky one, because the two platforms are further apart than they look.

Spring is still one of the easiest ways to sell merch if you have an existing audience. You create a simple storefront with a limited layout, choose products from Spring’s collection, customize them, then sell them straight through the platform. Spring even connects with social channels too, so it’s great if you’re monetizing a YouTube or Twitch audience.

Fourthwall is great for creators too, but it’s a much more comprehensive ecommerce solution. You can sell retail-grade print-on-demand merch through Fourthwall’s catalog, but you can also sell digital downloads, memberships, or subscriptions. You’ve even got the option to accept donations. Plus, you get a complete customizable storefront with a custom domain, Merchant of Record support, plus a really useful AI shop assistant.

Continue reading “Fourthwall vs Spring: Better Merch Store or Better Business Platform?”

How Often Does Gelato Pay Out? When Your Money Actually Arrive

Bogdan Rancea
Articles Print on Demand

Gelato, the print on demand platform, never pays you. It is a supplier: it charges your card for production and shipping instead of paying you sales revenue. If you are asking how often does Gelato pay out, there is no date to find and no fault with your account, because your income arrives from your sales channel on that channel’s schedule.

Expecting a payout date was reasonable. Redbubble, Merch by Amazon, Society6, TeePublic and Zazzle all pay creators on a schedule, so a seller arriving from one of those has good reason to look for the same setting in Gelato.

Continue reading “How Often Does Gelato Pay Out? When Your Money Actually Arrive”

Shopify vs Google Sites: Can a Free Builder Compete With a Real Ecommerce Platform?

Catalin Zorzini
Articles

Shopify and Google Sites both let you build a website, but that is where the similarity ends.

We have spent hundreds of hours testing website builders and ecommerce platforms, and after putting both tools through their paces, Shopify is the clear winner if you want to sell online. Google Sites only makes sense if you need a free, basic site with no store attached.

Continue reading “Shopify vs Google Sites: Can a Free Builder Compete With a Real Ecommerce Platform?”

Fourthwall vs Etsy: Etsy Finds Buyers, Fourthwall Builds the Business

Bogdan Rancea
Articles Ecommerce

I still like Etsy, and obviously, other creators do too. Pattern by Etsy, for instance, grew 44% in the last year and a half, according to one report. It is quick, convenient, pretty affordable, and ideal if you need a fast way to find and connect with potential buyers.

Still, it is hard to see it as a long-term option for a real brand. Eventually, you want more control over your online presence and your audience, maybe a few more options for what you can sell, too.

Fourthwall is the alternative to Etsy I tend to recommend at that point, because it is just as straightforward and still affordable, but it is a lot more directed at helping businesses grow. You build a store under your own name, sell anything from custom POD products to memberships, plus you get support with tax issues.

Continue reading “Fourthwall vs Etsy: Etsy Finds Buyers, Fourthwall Builds the Business”

shopify-first-one-dollar-promo-3-months