ShineOn vs CustomCat: A Complete Print-on-Demand Comparison

The print-on-demand industry has exploded over the last few years, offering entrepreneurs, creators, and online shop owners a simple way to monetize their ideas through custom products.

Two of these POD services are ShineOn and CustomCat 💜

While both print-on-demand providers offer strong solutions for product creation and fulfillment, their approaches, offerings, and specializations differ.

Let’s dive into what makes each platform unique, the types of products they offer, the pricing structure, and how they integrate with personalization tools like Customily to elevate the customer experience!

ShineOn: Jewelry and gifts with a personal touch

ShineOn offers a range of high-quality, sentimental products, such as necklaces, bracelets, mugs, acrylics, canvas, and even message cards, all designed to be uniquely customizable. The platform is built around emotional gifting, where customers can add their personal touch to create unique gifts for special occasions like weddings, birthdays, and holidays.

ShineOn main characteristics

• ShineOn's core product line is jewelry and sentimental gifts. Their products are designed to be gift-worthy, emphasizing emotional connections. This makes ShineOn a perfect platform for sellers targeting the gift market.

  
  

• Sellers can customize message cards or engravings on products, adding text, images, or symbols. This provides a sense of uniqueness that customers desire when they buy gifts.

  
  

• ShineOn takes pride in the quality of its materials. From sterling silver to stainless steel and acrylics, they ensure that their products resist the test of time, which enhances customer satisfaction.

  
  

• ShineOn has a fast production and shipping system, offering a quick turnaround. This is crucial for sellers whose customers are often purchasing last-minute gifts.

  
  

• ShineOn’s platform is user-friendly, allowing sellers to quickly set up and manage their products. Integration with online shops like Shopify is seamless, meaning store owners can manage everything from one dashboard.

CustomCat: Versatility and big fulfillment

CustomCat is one of the most versatile and robust POD platforms available, with an extensive catalog that includes apparel, accessories, home decor, and much more. Its large-scale production capabilities are what sets CustomCat apart, making it a strong option for entrepreneurs looking to sell high volumes of products without worrying about fulfillment.

CustomCat main characteristics

• CustomCat offers a catalog with more than 550 products. This goes from t-shirts, hoodies, and hats to mugs, blankets, and phone cases. It’s perfect for stores that want to provide a wide variety of items.

  
  

• CustomCat stands out when it comes to handling large orders. Their massive production facility allows them to efficiently fulfill bulk orders, making it suitable for sellers with high order volumes.

  
  

• Whether you’re looking for embroidery on apparel or high-quality DTG printing, CustomCat offers multiple printing methods to fit your product designs.

  
  

• CustomCat has very competitive prices, especially when it comes to apparel. Their pricing model includes a flat-rate plan, which is highly beneficial for sellers looking to maximize their profit margins.

  
  

• CustomCat offers worldwide shipping, allowing sellers to reach a global customer base. This is particularly valuable for stores that work with international audiences.

Pricing and Profitability

ShineOn's product prices are higher due to the premium materials used in their jewelry and gifts. However, this allows for higher profit margins, especially for personalized and emotionally driven products.

CustomCat offers lower-cost products, particularly in apparel, allowing for more accessible price points and the potential for high-volume sales with lower profit margins per item but greater overall sales revenue.

Fulfillment speed

Typically fast due to the nature of its focused product range, ShineOn ensures that their items are made and shipped quickly to meet customer expectations. This efficiency is crucial for ShineOn’s target market, where customers often purchase last-minute gifts for special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, or holidays. By prioritizing fast fulfillment, ShineOn meets the high expectations of gift buyers who want their products delivered on time, especially when time-sensitive occasions are involved.

CustomCat is built to handle big orders efficiently but may take slightly longer due to its larger catalog and higher volume of product types. The platform’s ability to process big orders makes it ideal for stores with high traffic, but sellers should account for the slightly extended fulfillment timeline, especially when offering a diverse array of customizable products.

Integration with personalization software

When it comes to adding an extra layer of personalization to your products, both ShineOn and CustomCat integrate smoothly with Customily, a powerful tool designed to give customers the ability to personalize their orders directly on your website.

Whether it's customizing a necklace with a name or choosing unique graphics for apparel, Customily's interactive design platform ensures that customers can see their personalization come to life before they make a purchase.

• The integration between ShineOn and Customily is seamless, allowing customers to add personalized messages, symbols, and images to items like necklaces, bracelets, and acrylics as well as gifts like canvas, posters, and mugs. ShineOn’s focus on emotional gifts pairs perfectly with Customily’s easy-to-use interface, offering customers a smooth experience when personalizing gifts.

  
  

• Given CustomCat’s vast product catalog, the integration with Customily offers endless personalization possibilities. Customers can customize everything from embroidered hats to printed mugs, making it easy for store owners to offer unique and personalized products at scale. This integration is especially useful for sellers who want to offer on-demand customization for a wide array of products in one shop.

  
  

Which Platform is Best for You?

Choosing between ShineOn and CustomCat depends on your store’s niche and your business goals 😉

Both ShineOn and CustomCat have been positioned in the POD industry, and their differences reflect their target markets. So, whether you’re creating a gift shop or a large-scale merchandise business, ShineOn and CustomCat both provide robust solutions that can be tailored to your needs.

Happy selling! 💜

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ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

Customily Product Personalizer is the best solution to sell personalized products, both in the e-commerce and the print-on-demand market. With the widest range of personalization tools, free clipart designs, realistic live previews that increase conversions, and printing files that help you automate your printing business; Customily is the ally you need to boost your profit margins in a high-competitive market.

Visit our website to learn more about us.

Or try it for FREE on Shopify.

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