Print on demand has no inventory, but it does have lead time. Designs need to be listed early enough for search to pick them up and for production and shipping to arrive on time.
Key US selling dates
- Valentine’s Day (February 14)
- St. Patrick’s Day (March 17)
- Mother’s Day (second Sunday in May)
- Father’s Day (third Sunday in June)
- Fourth of July
- Back to school (late summer)
- Halloween (October 31)
- Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday in November)
- Black Friday and Cyber Monday
- Christmas and the winter holidays (December)
A simple planning rhythm
- Research and design well before the season, while you have time.
- List early so listings have time to collect views.
- Check provider cut off dates for holiday delivery. Providers publish these each year.
- Update processing times in busy months.
- Review results after each season and note what sold.
Niche events
Hobby and fan communities have their own calendars: fishing season, football season, gardening season, graduation. These can be less competitive than the big holidays.
TREVOR: add your own best selling seasons from Odd Lantern Co, if you are comfortable sharing.
Selling to Canada too? Canada Day and Canadian Thanksgiving fall on different dates. See the Canadian seller calendar.
