MerchCompass

Recommended gear

The equipment, blanks, and books we'd buy if starting an Etsy or POD shop today. Links go to Amazon — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Cutting & Pressing

  • Cricut Maker 3

    Workhorse cutter for HTV, vinyl decals, and paper crafts.

    Buy on Amazon →
  • Cricut EasyPress 2

    Affordable starter press for one-off shirts and small batches.

    Buy on Amazon →
  • 15x15 Heat Press

    Real heat press for consistent pressure on tees and hoodies at scale.

    Buy on Amazon →

Vinyl & Substrates

  • HTV Iron-On Vinyl Roll

    Heat transfer vinyl for shirts, totes, and aprons.

    Buy on Amazon →
  • Sublimation Paper

    A-SUB paper for dye-sublimation onto polyester and coated blanks.

    Buy on Amazon →

Apparel Blanks

  • Bella+Canvas 3001 Tees

    The premium tee Etsy buyers expect on softer, retail-feel shops.

    Buy on Amazon →
  • Gildan 64000 Softstyle

    Budget blank with the best margin per shirt for volume sellers.

    Buy on Amazon →

Design Tools

  • Wacom Intuos Drawing Tablet

    Hand-drawn POD designs without the iPad price tag.

    Buy on Amazon →
  • Photo Lightbox

    Clean product photos at home — the cheapest listing upgrade you can buy.

    Buy on Amazon →

Shipping & Ops

  • Rollo Thermal Label Printer

    Stop wasting ink. Print shipping labels in seconds.

    Buy on Amazon →

Books

  • Etsy SEO Mastery

    Search-rank fundamentals for new shops.

    Buy on Amazon →
  • Print-on-Demand Business Guide

    End-to-end POD playbook from research to fulfillment.

    Buy on Amazon →