POD Program Information

Thank you for your interest in the Free Sunshields Print-on-Demand (POD) Program!

Our POD program is designed to allow you to offer custom Free Sunshields products through your own online store without having to purchase and maintain inventory upfront. You handle the sales and marketing through your Shopify store, while we handle the production, fulfillment, packaging, and shipping directly to your customers.

Below is an overview of how our POD program works and what you can expect.

How Our POD Program Works

We exclusively use Shopify Collective to manage our POD program.

You will have your own Shopify store and will participate in Shopify's Collective Retailer program. Free Sunshields acts as the Supplier, and your business acts as the Retailer.

Once the two stores are connected through Shopify Collective, we work together to determine which Free Sunshields products and designs you would like to offer on your website.

The general process is:

  1. You have your own Shopify store and are set up as a Shopify Collective Retailer.

  2. We work with you to select your products, including shirt styles, colors, and designs.

  3. You pay the initial setup/startup cost based on the products and designs you want to offer.

  4. We create the products and provide physical samples as part of the setup process.

  5. We connect our Free Sunshields Supplier account with your Shopify Collective Retailer account.

  6. Your products become available for purchase on your Shopify website.

  7. When your customer places an order, the order is automatically sent to us through Shopify Collective.

  8. We produce, package, and ship the order directly to your customer.

  9. Shopify Collective automatically handles the payment distribution between the Retailer and Supplier.

This allows you to focus on your website, customers, and marketing while we take care of the production and fulfillment.

POD Pricing & Revenue Split

Our standard POD program uses a 60/40 split, which is automatically handled through Shopify Collective:

  • 60% goes to Free Sunshields (Supplier)

  • 40% goes to you (Retailer)

Shipping charges are also paid to Free Sunshields and are handled through Shopify Collective.

The payment process is automated. When your customer places an order through your Shopify store, the order is sent to us for fulfillment. Once we fulfill the order, Shopify Collective handles the payout to the Supplier.

Private or Custom Neck Tags

We can also offer private/custom neck tags for your products.

If you would like private or custom neck tags, the revenue split changes to:

  • 65% to Free Sunshields

  • 35% to the Retailer

This allows us to cover the additional costs associated with private/custom labeling.

Initial Setup & Startup Costs

There is an initial setup/startup cost to establish your POD product collection.

The setup cost is based on the shirt styles and designs you want to offer.

As part of the setup, you will purchase a physical custom shirt representing each unique style/design combination you would like to offer.

For example:

Example 1 – Same Design, Multiple Colors

If you want to offer:

  • Long Sleeve UPF Shirt – Black

  • Long Sleeve UPF Shirt – White

  • Long Sleeve UPF Shirt – Blue

and all three shirts use the same design, you would only be required to purchase one shirt as the setup cost for that style/design combination.

That physical shirt would be produced and shipped to you as your sample.

If you would like to receive a physical sample in all three colors, you can purchase all three samples.

Example 2 – Multiple Shirt Styles

If you want to offer:

  • Long Sleeve UPF Shirt – Design A

  • Hooded UPF Shirt – Design A

these are two different shirt styles, so the setup would include one shirt for each style/design combination.

Volume discounts do apply when purchasing multiple shirts of the same style and design.

How Many Products Can You Offer?

There is no set limit on the number of shirts/products you can offer through your Shopify Collective store.

You can offer as many different products, designs, styles, and color options as you would like.

The initial setup cost is simply based on the number of unique shirt style/design combinations you want to establish.

Product Samples

Yes! We encourage you to receive physical samples before launching your POD collection.

Your initial setup/startup cost includes physical custom shirt samples based on the products you choose to offer.

This gives you the opportunity to see the actual product, printing, design, and quality before making the products available to your customers.

If you would like additional samples—for example, multiple colors of the same shirt—we can produce those as well.

Production & Fulfillment Times

Our production timeframe depends on the printing method required for the design.

We currently offer two printing methods:

Dye Sublimation

Sublimation is generally used for lighter-colored shirts and designs that do not require white ink.

Typical fulfillment time: approximately 5 business days.

DTF – Direct-to-Film

DTF is generally used for darker-colored shirts or designs that require white ink.

Typical fulfillment time: approximately 2–3 weeks.

The appropriate printing method will be determined when we work with you to establish your products and designs.

Production times are estimates and can vary depending on order volume, artwork, product availability, and other production factors.

Where Do We Ship?

We ship worldwide.

Orders placed through your Shopify store can be fulfilled and shipped directly from our facility to your customer.

Packaging & Private Label Options

We currently offer two packaging options:

1. Free Sunshields Branded Packaging

Products are packaged using our standard Free Sunshields branded packaging.

2. Unbranded Packaging

We can also ship products using blank/unbranded packaging with no Free Sunshields logos or labeling.

At this time, these are our two packaging options.

If you would like private/custom neck tags, we can accommodate that through the 65% Supplier / 35% Retailer split mentioned above.

What Platform Do We Use?

We exclusively use Shopify Collective for our POD program.

Your business will need:

  • An active Shopify store

  • A Shopify Collective Retailer account

  • The appropriate Shopify Collective setup completed on your end

Once your Retailer account is ready, we will connect our Free Sunshields Supplier account with your Shopify store.

This allows the products to be displayed on your website and allows orders to flow automatically to us for production and fulfillment.

What Happens Next?

If you are interested in moving forward, we'd be happy to learn more about your business and what you would like to offer.

To get started, please consider the following and reach out to us:

  • Your Shopify website, if it is already active

  • A brief description of your business/brand

  • The shirt styles you are interested in

  • The designs/artwork you would like to use

  • The colors you are interested in offering

  • Approximately how many designs/products you are planning to launch with

  • Whether you are interested in Free Sunshields branded or unbranded packaging

  • Whether private/custom neck tags are something you are interested in

From there, we can work with you to determine the products, printing methods, setup costs, and next steps for getting your POD store established.

support@freesunshields.com

904-484-7400

Our goal is to make the process as simple and automated as possible. You focus on your brand, website, and customers, and we handle the production and fulfillment.

We appreciate your interest in working with Free Sunshields and look forward to learning more about your business!