The Teespring Business Model: From Spring to Amaze Commerce

How did we compare these two ways of selling?

We compared selling through Teespring's successor, Spring, now moving to Amaze Commerce, with running your own print-on-demand store with Printcart, on where products are sold, who sets the price, production, getting paid, plans and support. Facts about the platform come from Spring's own site and help center and from Amaze Commerce's site and help center, opened on 20 October 2026; anything we could not read there was left out.

The comparison is between two models more than two products: a creator platform that makes and ships the product for you, and a store of your own where you choose the production. Our comparisons of ecommerce platforms for print businesses and Shopify product customizer apps cover the own-store route in more depth.

How did the Teespring business model work?

According to Spring's help center, Teespring began in 2011, founded by Walker Williams and Evan Stites-Clayton while they were students at Brown University, as a quick way to sell commemorative T-shirts for a local business. It became "a new model for custom apparel: collecting orders before production to eliminate upfront costs."

The same page says the idea quickly gained traction, and Teespring expanded to let anyone create and sell custom products online without inventory risk. In that model, the platform carried production, printing and shipping, and the seller brought the design and the audience. The seller did not buy stock in advance, and the platform's catalogue and production decided which products and print methods were available.

What happened to Teespring and Spring?

In February 2021, Teespring rebranded as Spring, according to Spring's help center. As of 20 October 2026, Spring's own site states: "Spring is being retired, but your next chapter starts on Amaze Commerce." The footer of the help center lists "Spring by Amaze", "Teespring Marketplace" and "Amaze Digital Fits" under "Our Brands", with "© 2026 Amaze Holding Company LLC".

For a seller who still has a Teespring or Spring store, the practical question is what moves to Amaze Commerce and on which terms. The pages we opened do not answer that in detail, so ask Amaze Commerce directly before relying on an existing store, listings or payouts.

How does Amaze Commerce work today?

Amaze Commerce says it turns a creator's ideas into products to sell "without inventory, upfront costs, or design software": the creator generates artwork with its AI tools, chooses products such as T-shirts, hoodies, hats and home goods, sets a profit per sale and shares a store page at your-name.amazecommerce.com. When someone buys, the product is made on demand and shipped to the buyer.

On pricing, its help center says the creator chooses a profit per sale and the selling price is production cost plus that profit; final prices may adjust with production costs and currency while the profit stays as set. Because products are made when they are ordered, the help center says the production cost is the same whether one person buys or a hundred do; plus sizes, such as 2XL and up, cost slightly more to produce, and the selling price adjusts so the creator's profit stays the same. Profit becomes available once the order ships and is paid out to PayPal or Payoneer on request.

The help center's Manage Your Subscription page lists Free at $0/month, Basic at $9.99/month and Pro at $19.99/month, billed monthly, with annual billing coming soon, as of 20 October 2026; the home page shows Free and Basic. The Free plan lists 100 credits a month, a Brand Analysis of your channels, image generation, background removal, "Create products and publish your store" and 1 GB storage. The Storefronts page says richer storefront customization is coming soon. Support is by email at support@amazecommerce.com, with a help center.

What does running your own POD store with Printcart look like?

Instead of selling through a creator platform, a print-on-demand seller can run their own store on Shopify, Wix or WordPress/WooCommerce, with the Printcart app for that platform. Customers personalize products in an online product designer or upload their own artwork, and every order arrives with a print-ready file in SVG, PDF, PNG or JPG.

The seller sets the prices, takes payment through their own checkout and chooses who prints: their own shop or a partner. The Printcart Cloud Print API can pass orders to automated fulfillment. Printcart's store plans list a Free plan, with an online designer on the storefront, limited products and storage, CMYK print-ready export and community support, and a Premium plan with priority support; the prices are on that page.

A seller who wants the store built for them can start from Printcart's T-shirt print-on-demand store or T-shirt printing store; the full-store packages start at USD 799 a year with the Printcart Premium licence and 10 of your products set up.

What does each route cost per month?

A creator platform charges one monthly plan, while your own store adds up a store platform and a designer app. On Amaze Commerce, the subscription page lists Free, Basic at $9.99/month and Pro at $19.99/month, billed monthly, as of 20 October 2026; production cost is built into each selling price, so there is no separate print bill.

An own store costs the store platform plus the app. Shopify's pricing page gives its Basic plan at $39 USD a month paid monthly or $29 USD a month paid yearly, and WooCommerce's pricing page says its core is free, with hosting at $25 – $350/month for most stores, as of 20 October 2026. Printcart's Free plan adds the designer at no charge, with Premium prices on its store-plans page, and production is paid to whoever prints the order. Our ecommerce platform comparison sets out the first-year platform costs.

Which questions separate a creator platform from your own store?

The main difference between a creator platform and your own store is who runs each part of the business. On Amaze Commerce, the platform produces, ships and sets the base cost, and the creator adds a profit; in your own store, you set the full price, own the checkout and customer list, and arrange the production yourself or through a partner.

Ask four questions. Who sets the price: a profit on top of a platform's production cost, or a price you set against your own costs? Who produces and ships: the platform, or a print shop you choose? Where does the buyer pay: on the platform's store pages, or in your own checkout? What do you pay every month: a creator plan, or a store platform plus a designer app? The table and the matrix in this article answer them from each side's own pages.

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<a href="https://solution.printcart.com/insight/teespring-business-model"><img src="https://solution.printcart.com/insight/teespring-business-model/platform-or-own-store.webp" alt="Matrix comparing Amaze Commerce with an own store on Printcart: where you sell, price, production, payment and plans" width="1440" height="1080"></a><br>Source: <a href="https://solution.printcart.com/insight/teespring-business-model">Printcart</a>

What should you check before you choose?

Because Spring is being retired and some Amaze Commerce features are marked "Coming soon", confirm directly with Amaze Commerce what is available today and what happens to an existing Teespring or Spring store, listings and payouts. If print-file formats, customer uploads or API access matter for your business, ask Amaze Commerce for the current details, since the pages we opened do not state them.

For your own store, check that your store platform has a Printcart app, place a test order on the Free plan, and open the print file that arrives. The print-on-demand explainer covers how the own-store model works end to end.