{"id":9814,"date":"2020-01-21T15:49:24","date_gmt":"2020-01-21T14:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vexels.com\/blog\/?p=9814"},"modified":"2023-07-25T13:55:47","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T11:55:47","slug":"merch-by-amazon-pro-arguments-and-research-for-the-german-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/blog\/merch-by-amazon-pro-arguments-and-research-for-the-german-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Merch by Amazon: Pro-arguments and Research for the German Market"},"content":{"rendered":"

Merch by Amazon<\/strong> is for many by far the most popular and important platform in the shirt business. This is mainly due to the enormous reach that the marketplace offers. But this pro-argument also attracts a lot of competition. MBA has been online in the USA for about 5 years and many niches are now very competitive. But there are also alternatives – for example, the still young German marketplace. Here there is still a lot of potential, especially for newcomers to the merch business. Prerequisite: You invest some time for research in advance. In this article, I will show you how you can research the German market and find lucrative niches.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before we start:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My name is <\/span>Nina Klose<\/span><\/a>, I am an entrepreneur from Germany and co-founder of <\/span>Merchreport<\/span><\/a> \u2013 the tracking and analysis software especially for the German Merch by Amazon market. I am not only a merch seller myself, but also have a lot of background knowledge and data about the MBA market in Germany through my daily work. You could say that I know the market almost by heart. In this article I would like to give you some insights and tips for your research for new shirts, hoodies & co. especially for the German Amazon marketplace, so that you can have a successful start.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Merch by Amazon?<\/span><\/h2>\n

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Before we go into practice, I would like to explain in a few sentences what Merch by Amazon<\/strong><\/a> actually is and what makes it so interesting:<\/span><\/p>\n

Merch by Amazon (short MBA) is a so-called <\/span>Print on Demand Service<\/span><\/i> (POD) for merchandise items. Users can upload their own designs and create T-shirts, hoodies and other products which can then be sold directly on Amazon. No warehouse, production facility, external manufacturers or a high amount of start capital is required. As soon as an order is received, the items are printed <\/span>on demand<\/span><\/i> by Amazon’s partners and shipped to the customer via prime shipping.<\/span><\/p>\n

MBA was launched in the USA in autumn 2015. Initially only as a platform for software and game developers, who should be given the opportunity to create their own merchandise for their products. But the rush for the platform was soon so immense that MBA became known far beyond the developer scene. Since summer 2018, Merch by Amazon is now also open for Great Britain and Germany.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Comparison: Merch by Amazon USA, UK or DE?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Amazon.com is a gigantic marketplace compared to DE and UK. Here is where MBA in T-Shirt Business has proven itself for several years. In the USA, due to the size of the marketplace and of course the population, there are significantly more customers online. But the same applies to competitors. On the other hand there are the new European marketplaces. Both Great Britain and Germany are still quite young in terms of MBA. Although the revenues here are not as high as in the USA, there are still many niches that are hardly or not at all occupied – which can definitely and especially for newcomers be a good opportunity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Compared to the established US sellers who are already successful in the MBA business, I see an advantage for German-speaking providers on Amazon.de above all in the language and also in the better (cultural) understanding of the target group. But there is also a lot of potential for non-Germans if you invest some time and get to know the chosen target group. On the other hand, the UK market could be a good entry market for providers from all European countries who speak English. However, the marketplace seems to become more and more interesting for many Americans due to the lack of language barriers, which of course can also lead to more competition. Therefore, my favorite is definitely the DE market!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Advantages on the German Marketplace<\/span><\/h2>\n

With the opening for Europe, Merch by Amazon is becoming increasingly popular. And although there are already tens of thousands of T-shirts on Amazon.de, many niches, which have been working well in the USA for a long time and are strongly contested, are still hardly occupied in Germany. For this reason alone, the German market is worthwhile for new sellers.<\/span><\/p>\n

My personal tip: Especially at the beginning of your MBA career, concentrate on just one marketplace. Why? Well, at first sight, Amazon in Germany doesn’t seem to be very different from the USA or UK. But one mistake many sellers make is the following: They take shirts that sell well in the USA and then copy designs and listing texts 1:1 and publish them for example on Amazon DE. This may work, but is more of a gamble.<\/span><\/p>\n

Soft factors such as climate, cultural differences or buying behavior of the target group should also be considered. And hard factors and key figures such as the <\/span>Bestseller Rank<\/span><\/a>, can not be compared between marketplaces. The scope of the product catalog is far too different for this. In theory, you would, therefore, have to research or analyze the potential of all three marketplaces for your design idea. So in the end, you won’t save nearly as much time as you first thought.<\/span><\/p>\n

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If you now specialize in only one market, you build up expertise here. You get a feeling for regional and seasonal characteristics, know what sells well and are therefore far ahead of other sellers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Research for the German Market<\/span><\/h2>\n

Are you interested to start your merch business abroad? Then I will show you now how to start your research for the German market. We will take a look at how to find niches with <\/span>Merchreport<\/span><\/a> and prove your ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, you can also work without a tool first and get a feeling for the numbers and the daily business. On the other hand, a software also offers you many advantages, such as significant time savings in research or historical product data and the numbers based on them, which help you to assess the potential of individual products and niches. Such data is hardly or not at all manually ascertainable to this extent, but extremely helpful for a professional MBA business.<\/span><\/p>\n

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But no matter if with or without a tool \u2013 in the beginning it’s all about inspiration and first ideas for your shirts. So now we start with the process of idea generation. There are different approaches to this, which I will show you below.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brainstorming and identifying trends<\/span><\/h3>\n

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The first and easiest method is the classic brainstorming. Here the quality of the ideas is not (yet) important. What is more significant is that you go into the thinking process and write down everything that comes to your mind. As a small extension, you can also actively search for trends that might have the potential for new t-shirts.<\/span><\/p>\n

The following questions can help you brainstorm and search for trends:<\/span><\/p>\n