There is a big problem with people spreading misinformation about POD, Etsy, Amazon KDP, and Audible lately who have little to no experience in those fields. Thank you for making this video. When I started out, I fell for a lot of bad advice from those people.

It drives me insane that people say Make $10,000 a month, but they never tell you what their net is. If you aren't making a profit after all expenses then you aren't making money. I'm also a Real Estate agent and the same thing there. I want to see a P&L!!! Great video thank you so much for shinning light on this!

Shimmy thank you for calling out the lies. Ive lost faith in most YTers. They constantly say "Use this marketing program for free or this platform for free" and you cannot do the features they say for free. I'm also sick of hearing the phrase "that being said." Thank you for your clear honesty and sharing useful info. I know its a lot of work. Thank you for being honest about that.

I’ve had a bunch of quick niche money making websites, products, and other stuff. I would never tell anyone my secrets. No one with business sense would either. They’ll tell you once it’s dried up for affiliate income.

Thank you Shimmy for your honesty! I watched quite a few videos that preach the passive income and almost a year ago opened a shop. I've worked most days, a couple of hours a day and had no sales. Then I watched some of yours and a couple of other true POD sellers. I even had you do a shop audit. I gleaned the truth, implemented some of your suggestions, started working on my shop for many hours a day, sometimes 12-15hrs and finally started seeing sales. Now my shop is making sales, getting 5 star reviews and Etsy is finally showing my listings without ads! It takes WORK! And anyone that tells you otherwise is lying. Thank you again for telling it like it is! ❤

Shimmmmmmmmy! Thank you for your video. I'm a new POD seller on Etsy and the struggle is real. Finding KZfaq content that doesn't try to sell you on false hope with POD is a struggle to find, especially when just looking for answers to simple questions. Your channel has been great for me. It keeps me motivated, but realistic which I think is key for POD. Thanks!

I hope more creators will begin to expose false info on youtube

I’m starting to disbelieve things on KZfaq now

Me and some other members was just talking about this in the hub. glad you made a video on it. as someone that just started my store in the last week, this has been one of the biggest issues, everyone says there making all this money but no one shows there store or stats on sales. no one goes into details about the hidden cost or shows all the programs you need to pay for in order to make designs. took me 100s of videos before i learned about SEO how much shipping is based on your location ect.

Thank you being upfront about Gelato. I think it's better to just do your own website then using Etsy or Amazon if you are using POD. I don't believe in over saturating any platform with a bunch of garbage that wastes peoples time. Integrity is definitely one of the most important things in any business or life.

I love that you did this I haven’t been in the biz for years but it’s more work than I was lead to believe. It’s annoying. Expose all those phonies.

What drives me nuts is they always assume any one Etsy seller who is making even a conservative 5% profit at 4k net per month has no other overhead and it's just pure profit. We don't know how much of that profit goes to taxes or to paid ads. Just because a listing does not appear as sponsored this "guru" has zero clue if the seller is running Google ads, Facebook ads, Pinterest ads or any combination thereof. Many times when you see that volume of sales it's because you are either running ads and driving lots of traffic to your listings or you have built up a large audience over time through your own site and have collected tons of emails. After factoring in ad spend that 4k he calculated could be down to 1k or less. Nobody ever talks about the possibility of ad spend. 🤦‍♀️

Thanks for this @Shimmy! I love how honest you are. I am so disappointed to hear about Gelato and will think twice about using them from now on. But I have your Hub training to look forward to so I’m sure that all will be revealed!!

I literally just watched this video yesterday. Thank you so much shimmy!

This is a well done video, Shimmy! It can be exhaustive, and frustrating to fight back against the unrealistic expectations and oversimplified narrative some of the 'guru's' put out there.

You are so right because I just recently saw a KZfaqr that was talking about POD and she doesn’t even do it herself so she has no idea how to do it.

Thank you so much for illustrating the profit margin nonsense. I wish people understood how much it actually costs with product price, shipping, fees, etc. Everyone thinks you make so much profit... it's frustrating. You explained it well. I subscribed to your channel because of that. Good work. I look forward to seeing more of your content.

I’ve been watching you for 4+ years and love your content. Thank you for maintaining your integrity as you grow. I hope you find all the success bro. Keep up the good work.

Mark immediately lost me when he said he's run/sold million-dollar companies, yet he makes videos about POD. I suppose many folks DO have million-dollar POD businesses. But for a man with that apparent level of business skill, POD seems like small potatoes and wouldn't be worth his time.

I just started with POD and you are right that it's not a passive income as there is a lot of research you need to do for every design and quote you use. The biggest obstacle will be traffic, no traffic no sales no matter how great your designs are and that is where I am stuck, no traffic. I promote on other SM platforms and I get very little if any traffic. At the moment paid traffic is out of the question.

Great video! KZfaq needs more creators who are honest and ethical. You’ve probably saved someone £100s worth of mistakes when embarking on this business.

Bravo! I'm glad you're out there shining a light on the reality of POD. So many people are being attracted to POD thinking it's a get-rich-quick avenue that requires no effort, no time, and no talent. I think this video will save people from getting into POD with the wrong idea. Thanks!

Thank you for your honesty! I have been doing POD for almost 3 years, and everything you say in this video is true. It is NOT passive for the most part, it is NOT easy and most of us will not make big money with it. But I am having fun with it and making a somewhat of a profit. And good designs DO matter!

thanks! I am having a problem with POD you tubers having conflicting advise. Not knowing who to trust at this point.

thanks for being sincere and for exposing this kind of scammers / scammy speech talking to beginners about duba and bugattis

Thank you very much, wish more people like you would call out these people, unfortunately some of them start very honest but after just few months they run out of topic to talk about to make videos, so they start lying

Thank you for bringing some value to the creative process and all the technical and nonsense that you have to go through just to put up a T-shirt and design it and do all the work. I’m glad you’re making people realize that it is a lot of work sometimes it doesn’t even feel like it’s worth it for the amount of profit. You make a good video.

Very smart im so glad you air this guy out 😂 I respect you buddy Im subscribing to your channel to be watching every single video you put out great content

This is the most honest conversation. You all speak honestly. I know it. I did this business. It's not an easy business

I live in the UAE and have done for 30 years and I can tell you that this is seriously not possible! Thank you for pointing out the pit falls!

Thanks for the video shimmy i was thinking of doing print on demand you've opened my eyes a lot😅

You are the first and only KZfaqr I have heard say honestly in plain language that these print on demand providers do not offer free as advertised. Yes, it is free to make listings but once you get a sale like you said, if you don’t have money in your bank to cover the sales you’ve made, then you’re up the creek. But as many people as I have watched, talk about print on demand and how much money they make, they never ever say this. I simply learned by experience and I wondered how come all of the people who talk about all these sales that they have never talk about what it actually takes to get into the business.

Go on with this good work. There are too many people in the internet who do not tell the plain truth and push others to make wrong decisions

Thanks for being so realistic, im currently starting a blog, trying to sell on ebay, and made a ebook on Amazon. Starting these income streams are hard, im still in High School and have a job as a CNA. However if I get more videos like these, it would make the process a whole lot smoother.

mad respect for your transparency!!

thank you for the transparency!

Love your honesty! Thank you very much!

Thank you for this. Very necessary information.

Hey man. Great video. Very informative. Thanks a lot and cheers!

Great video Shimmy. It got me watching the whole thing wanting to see what other wrong thing he was going to say next. Great job man! Thanks for letting people know what’s real.

YES...this! They have almost cost me my shop and I'm LIVID! None will reply to you either when they misinform you and you question them about it.-April

I have seen so many of these guys (Alura, the etsy data mining tool, showcases a lot too). I am a constant skeptic as it always sounds to good to be true. Though a few youtubers do seem to show more behind the scenes which is intriguing and feels more honest than the others. Great vid

Shimmy, you just gained an avid follower- integrity is gold. Thanks!

Thank you, it annoys me so much the people promising POD is easy money.

Great Video - just wanting to sell printed artwork and looking into it. Yeah the AI , sloppy design - it needs to be cool but its not. I am looking at some more of your vids to save some time and head in the right direction. Thanks for your honesty!

Thank you for making this! I see more and more people on KZfaq now whose only goal is to get views (and therefore $$) as a 'trusted expert'. They don't seem to care if they're misleading viewers, just make it seem as easy as possible. Fortunately, the more I learn, the easier it becomes to see the difference between those out for themselves and those who really want to help others.

Nice video, some solid points. Transparency is extremely important to me, I do everything I can to be as thorough as possible and avoid making big unrealistic claims. I'll endeavour to be even more analytical in the future.

i agree, if you use some pod platforms you can reduce the workload, but not extenguish it

I realised a while ago that all these "Make $10,000 a month with POD using Etsy" videos are a con. I'd be happy with a grand a month!

Shimmy...thank you for this vid...also watched his , but felt very irritated by so much of what he was saying....so glad you pointed all this out. He says its easy....IT IS NOT!!!!!!

Thank you so much for this video! It’s amazing that you told the truth as it is! ❤️

wow.... Thank you so very much for making this video. Thank you.

One other thing - the sites that show the data on each listing, don't take into account the store sale. So if the mug is on "sale" for 20% off, the actual sales price won't be the number they used to calculate profit for a listing - such as that mug. So that number can appear as much as 50% (or more) higher than the real amount of revenue.

oh lord i just watched his video and I have watched yours..THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING THE THINGS CLEAR AND REALISTIC

Great video Shimmy, I have nothing against Mark, I love generally his content and I know he is a great businessman but when it comes to POD he doesn't have enough experience to teach anyone. I am a POD seller myself, on Amazon, Etsy, Shopify, and all the rest and I cannot agree more with what you said in this video. It's clear that Mark was paid to say what he said, and it's a shame. I hope he understands that if he continues like that he might risk losing his audience.

I actually did watch the video, and I did not get this impression at all. He was not saying that his POD stores made millions; he was saying that he knows a thing or two about business (and he does), so certain tips that he gives are from some kind of knowledge. I think some of the clips used in this video are out of context. But, I also learned many things from you, too, so I appreciate your help.

I loved this commentary. Definitely entertaining and and educational 💯

great video. probably one of THE most helpful. Thanks

I recently looked into starting an etsy shop and did a “free” consult. At the end of the 15 minutes of her employee sitting in what looked like a dorm room selling her course, she asked me was I ready to buy her $12,000 course. Oh, and to make it convenient for me, I could break it down into one of her payment plans…

Thank you so much for this video The first person you reacted to i just watched it a few days ago and had lots of questions So thank you for answering my questions

Love your videos, I started looking at your videos because I'm thinking about setting up a shop to sell my wife's art , as print on demand etc , number of art work is limited but is suitable for prints , mugs and clothing , so any tips would be helpful or a pointer to your videos for me to watch, keep up the great work .

Thank you for making this video. I did recently watch Mark's video and I then started looking into having a Print On Demand shop. I wont be doing the print on demand business now.

The first is do the foot work and set passive income as the end goal. I am very picky of the work I do and I’ll be putting pride on the product I’ll be selling. “No none would do job as you except to be done”

Great video. People should be getting called out when needed

I value authenticity above all else. This guy really makes me cringe. Thank you for sharing this video and for being so genuine and authentic.

Thank you for this.

Thanks for another great video Shimmy.

I salute your transparency! I do agree, there are VERY many of these videos which are kind of misleading. You can make it big, but not as a side hustle. If you keep it as a side hustle, it can bring in some nice dollars (or pounds ;)), especially if you actually enjoy your niche, but don't expect that Bugatti xD.

Pod is not passive income! You cant just sit around and money rolls in. You are 💯 % correct.

Thank you Shimmy for your reviewing the video.

Guy also did a complete scam video in the KDP niche also. Was tempted to make a similar video - thanks for creating this!

hi shimmy can you please make a video on uploading seamless patterns on threadless templates using photopea please. I don't have means to have photoshop or any other paid software for uploading deigns on templates

Your honesty won me. Keep it up

Finally, someone who posts a reasoned response on all those money grabbing passive income videos on POD! On spot, well done!

It's weird (and wrong) that KZfaqrs try to sell POD as passive income! Passive income would be like creating a digital book or an app. You create it once and walk away. There's no returns to deal with so it's as close to passive as one can get. Yes, you still work, but you don't have to lose time as youbdo with physical returns and customer service. Great video. Another one needs to be made on people who are looking to get rich off of minimal efforts and shortcuts! Spam your way to success. The ones who lack creativity, discipline and enduring persistence often fail or give up in a few months or a year without trying new ways or minor tweaks. I see people fail all because they won't read! These same people will upload videos calling the whole thing a scam! If I opened a cake shop and it failed, I wouldn't call cake shops a scam lol. Theres so many factors involved. You make very nice videos, Shimmy. One day, I'll tell you a funny story about your name 😊

Shimmy thanks for the content. I literally just finished watching his video and am now a new subscriber to your channel. My wife and I would love to start a print-on-demand business but have a couple questions. Should we start by first creating an LLC? What POD options would you recommend?

Love your work, brother!!! X

Hey loving your content! Some months back you kinda recommended Gelato. But now I think you are not. It would be very nice if you make an updated video on which pod company is best Printify / Printful / Gelato ! [taking into account 1) quality and pricing 2) environment friendly and sustainability 3)delivery time] Thanks !

great video. honest reviews. you've gained a subs

Hey Shimmy! What is your opining on the Gildan 2000?

Thanks for your nice work. I don’t watch those gurus videos anymore.

Personally, when I watched his video, I didn't assume print on demand was one of his streams of income. However, hearing your perspective of his video was really helpful because of the large amount of misinformation in this side of social media.

Hi there Shimmy, been a subscriber for a while. Fantastic information & KZfaq content, Thank You. Does the element of having to pay from your own money apply to a Shopify store ? We thought that when someone pays for item's, then it's the customer who pays first ? 👍🧡

Great video, thanks so interesting about the g-5000 your 100% right every one seams to recommend that.

Great content Shimmy ❤

Kudos to you for making this 👏

Thank you from Germany

it's essential for new entrepreneurs to differentiate between realistic guidance and flashy, unrealistic promises. Always vet the credentials and actual experience of those who offer advice, ensuring they have a track record of genuine success. 👍

Very important realistic perspective video!

I'm having problems with Gelato, not directly with Gelato (they kindly reordered for free for the third time) but with the Italian courier GLS, that is one of the top player, very strange, my first order had no problems

Hi Shimmy, I am a new subscriber and have only seen a couple of your videos so far but I like them a lot, Thanks! Can I please know the name of your Etsy & Shopify stores? I would love to see how you lay them out. Cheers.

Good Job Mr. Morris!

Exactly, as you mentioned, there's no proof that they made it, if a creator made something and used it in a tutorial, he'd put it in the description for people to support him.

Thank you Shimmy for taking the time to debunk these myths around POD. I love your attention and depth of analysis.

I never seen a video of yours before, but I’m very glad I found your channel as I’m doing the research into POD. I am in fact looking for as low-effort of a passive income stream as I can find, since I’m becoming a stay at home mum very soon, and it would be nice to have some extra money coming in. But I’m glad to have my hopes dashed _now,_ before I try it and put in a lot of work at the start, and discover that it won’t be taking in even hundreds of dollars every month, with little work. There may not be an actual method of “low effort“ “passive income“ out there, but I’ll keep doing my research and see what I can manage as a new mum. :)

Thank you so much

I think a major problem is also that the average person does not have a lot of business sense (I.e running a business, hidden costs, taxes, etc), simply because they aren’t exposed to how a business runs, and so they fall into the trap of these videos and think these methods are easy/passive. It’s very easy to fall into this trap, especially if someone is unhappy with their current job.

1000 listings on Etsy is $200 min. Why is he not mentioning that? You are right he is being dishonest.

exactly the question i posted in his video, 1000 listing at 19 p each would be a lot in a month.

I print ts, sleeves, tags, direct to garment, and heat press. I’m quite curious what’s going on here…