--- title: "Teespring Alternatives: What Spring Became and Where to Sell Instead" description: "Teespring became Spring, and Spring is now being shut down by its owner. Here is what that means, and six places to sell custom products instead, split by who owns the shopper." author: "Ecompanda" date: 2026-10-17 updated: 2026-10-17 category: "Print on demand" readingTime: "10 min read" canonical: https://www.ecompanda.co/blog/teespring-alternatives source: https://www.ecompanda.co --- # Teespring Alternatives: What Spring Became and Where to Sell Instead _By Ecompanda. Published October 17, 2026, updated October 17, 2026._ Teespring became Spring, and Spring is now being shut down by its owner. Here is what that means, and six places to sell custom products instead, split by who owns the shopper. If you are looking for Teespring, the short story is this. Teespring was renamed Spring, and Spring's owner is now closing it. Creators who sold on it need a new home, and anyone who was thinking of starting there needs a different plan. This guide says what Spring is today, then walks through six real alternatives and the one choice that matters more than the brand names: sell through a marketplace, or run a store you own with a print partner behind it. ## What happened to Teespring Teespring started in 2011 as a place where anyone could design a shirt and sell it without holding stock. It was renamed Spring in 2021, and Amaze bought it in 2022, according to [Wikipedia's Teespring article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teespring). In 2018 it also launched a merch shelf with YouTube, so creators could sell under their videos. Today the old addresses tell the story. [teespring.com](https://teespring.com/) now opens an Amaze Commerce page, and the [Spring site](https://www.spri.ng/) says Spring is being retired and points creators to Amaze Commerce. ![The Spring home page, showing that Spring is being retired and pointing creators to Amaze Commerce](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/9g0lkkr3/production/fe070607b2c3535c4ef0a413ea5469410c32364c-1200x800.png?w=1400&auto=format) _The Spring home page tells creators that Spring is being retired._ Amaze's own [Spring update page](https://www.amazecommerce.com/spring-update) gives the details that matter to sellers: - New product creation on Spring was switched off first. - Selling tools were due to stop working after 15 September 2026, and account access was due to end on 15 October 2026. - Orders already placed were to be produced, shipped and paid out as normal. - Creators with a payout balance were told they would use a separate website to view it and request payouts. - Amaze offers to rebuild a store on Amaze Commerce at no charge, but only for creators it invites. It recreates top-selling products, not the whole catalogue. Tax details and order history do not move across. - Creators were told to download any artwork, images, listing details or other store information they want to keep before selling tools end. - Payout balances, payout status and tax information stay in a limited dashboard, then a separate payouts site. - If you bought a custom domain through Spring, you must transfer it to another registrar. For a domain you connected from elsewhere, check Amaze's notice. One caution: that page gives fixed dates in one answer and a staged, "mid to late October" timeline in another. Read it yourself before you act, and use the support form it links to if your dashboard or payouts look wrong. ### What Amaze Commerce is Amaze Commerce is not a copy of Spring. Its own pages describe a tool that studies your social accounts to suggest what your fans might buy, then helps you design products and open a store. It lists a free plan that includes creating products and publishing a store. We did not use it, so we cannot say how it performs. Anyone can open a free Amaze Commerce account; only invited creators get the free store build. It is a fair thing to try, but you should not let it be your only plan, for the reason in the next section. ## The real choice: who owns the shopper? Most "Teespring alternatives" lists compare logos. The more useful question is where the sale happens, because that decides who owns the customer, the brand and the checkout. ![Two routes compared: a marketplace owns the shop window, checkout and shopper; your own store with a print partner leaves you the brand and customer, but finding shoppers is your job](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/9g0lkkr3/production/dd573ead48fa4dbd88426d0b7053254820392938-1600x827.png?w=1400&auto=format) _On a marketplace the shopper is usually theirs first. In your own store the shopper is yours._ **Route 1: a marketplace.** You upload a design, choose products and the marketplace shows them to its own visitors. Setup is light. The cost is control. You follow their rules, you sit in their layout next to every other seller, and the shopper is a customer of the marketplace first. If the marketplace changes a policy or closes, as Spring just did, your sales page goes with it. **Route 2: your own store plus a print partner.** You run a shop on a platform such as Shopify, and a print partner makes and ships each order when it is bought. You keep the domain, the email list and the brand. The cost is effort: you build the store and you find the traffic. If you want to go this way, our guides to [setting up a Shopify store](https://www.ecompanda.co/blog/set-up-shopify-store) and to [print on demand apps for Shopify](https://www.ecompanda.co/blog/print-on-demand-shopify-app) cover the steps. There is a middle group too: creator shop platforms such as Fourthwall and Spreadshop. They give you a branded shop without building one, but the platform still runs it. That is the closest match to what Spring offered. New to the model itself? Our explainer on [what print on demand is](https://www.ecompanda.co/blog/what-is-print-on-demand) covers how the orders flow and where the risks sit. We did not place test orders with any of the companies below. Everything here comes from their own site, help pages or app listings, and we say so where we could not read something. ## The six alternatives ### Printful [Printful](https://www.printful.com/print-on-demand) is a print partner that connects to a store you run. Its [Shopify App Store listing](https://apps.shopify.com/printful) describes it as a print-on-demand dropshipping supplier that prints, packs and ships orders. It lists integrations with Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Etsy and Storenvy, plus design tools, a mockup generator and options such as custom packaging and pack-ins. The listing says the app is free to install and that Printful charges for fulfilment and shipping when a product sells in your store. Printful's own page also pushes ordering samples before you sell. - **Pick this if:** you want your own store and a single partner with branding extras such as packaging and embroidery. - **Skip this if:** you want a ready-made shop with no store to build, or you plan to compare producers item by item. ### Printify [Printify](https://apps.shopify.com/printify) works differently. Its listing describes a network of independent print providers, and you choose which provider makes each product. It works with Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Squarespace, TikTok and Wix, and the app is free to install, with product and shipping costs billed when a sale is made. A paid plan also exists. Because products come from different providers, quality and delivery times can differ between items. Check the provider named on each product before you publish it. - **Pick this if:** you want to choose between several producers and sell on more than one channel. - **Skip this if:** you want one producer and one quality standard across your whole range. ### Gelato [Gelato](https://support.gelato.com/en/articles/8996069-what-is-print-on-demand-pod-with-gelato) sells itself on local production through a network of print partners. Its help pages say it delivers to more than 200 countries and produces locally in 32 of them, with the caveat that an order is not always printed in the country you expect, so each product page lists indicative locations. Its [integrations page](https://support.gelato.com/en/collections/8521535-integrations) shows connections for Shopify, Etsy, TikTok, Amazon, WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, BigCommerce and a direct API. You can also place manual orders from its dashboard without a store, which suits samples. - **Pick this if:** your buyers are spread across several countries and shorter delivery routes matter to you. - **Skip this if:** you sell in one country and want the simplest possible setup, or you need a fixed place of production for every item. ### Fourthwall [Fourthwall](https://fourthwall.com/) is a creator shop platform. Its site says you can create products, launch a branded shop and add memberships and digital products, with no upfront cost and no credit card needed to start. It also says it acts as the "Merchant of Record" and handles sales tax collection and remittance, which removes a chore that surprises many new sellers. It works with fulfilment partners in the US, UK, EU and Australia. You trade control for convenience. The shop is theirs to host, and your product range comes from their catalogue. - **Pick this if:** you have an audience, you want merch plus memberships or digital items, and you do not want to build a store. - **Skip this if:** you want to run a wider store with many non-merch products, custom code or a complex catalogue. ### Spreadshop [Spreadshop](https://www.spreadshop.com/) offers a free-to-open shop with design tools, where you set your own prices on top of its base price, and it prints and ships on demand. Its home page says there is no setup fee, no credit card and no minimum order. ![The Spreadshop home page with the headline about a free merch shop](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/9g0lkkr3/production/dfc89cadcb1bbe87673ccb7ee8a5aec5806565d2-1200x800.png?w=1400&auto=format) _Spreadshop offers a hosted merch shop that you do not build yourself._ We did not find details on custom domains or deep store customisation on the pages we read, so ask before you rely on either. - **Pick this if:** you want a quick, hosted merch shop for a podcast, club, event or small following. - **Skip this if:** you want full control of the storefront, your own domain strategy or plans beyond merch. ### Zazzle [Zazzle](https://www.zazzle.com/sell) is the marketplace option here. It invites creators to open a free Zazzle store, and its [creators page](https://www.zazzle.com/creators) talks about designs from independent creators. Its seller page leans towards events and keepsakes (weddings, birth announcements, graduations), so a design that suits a party invitation will meet more natural demand than a gaming logo. - **Pick this if:** your work is stationery, event or occasion art, and you want a marketplace to bring the shoppers. - **Skip this if:** you want to own the customer relationship or the look of the shop. ### Marketplaces we are not reviewing Etsy is another marketplace people try, and print on demand there has its own rules, so use our [guide to print on demand on Etsy](https://www.ecompanda.co/blog/etsy-print-on-demand). We did not review it here. We left out Redbubble, Amazon's merch programme, Bonfire and Sellfy because we could not read their own pages, and we do not review what we cannot check. ## Comparison | Option | Type | Where shoppers buy | Who prints and ships | Fits best | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Printful | Print partner | Your own store | Printful | A branded store with one partner | | Printify | Print partner | Your own store | Providers in its network | Choice and many sales channels | | Gelato | Print partner | Your own store | Local partners in its network | Buyers in many countries | | Fourthwall | Creator shop platform | A shop it hosts | Its fulfilment partners | Fans, merch and memberships | | Spreadshop | Creator shop platform | A shop it hosts | Spreadshop | A fast merch shop | | Zazzle | Marketplace | Zazzle | Zazzle | Cards, invitations and event art | ## How to choose ![A choice chart: shoppers must find me leads to a marketplace, fans and a simple shop leads to a creator shop platform, and own the brand leads to your own store with a print partner](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/9g0lkkr3/production/dc488abd7ce05f751ccbbbe09ad6e8a9855a2484-1600x747.png?w=1400&auto=format) _Pick the route first, then the company._ 1. **Do you already have an audience?** If yes, a creator shop platform or your own store will convert it. A marketplace helps most when nobody knows you yet. 2. **Do you want to own the customer list?** Only your own store gives you that without conditions. 3. **Will you sell more than merch?** If you may add other products later, such as digital goods or a physical line, start on a platform built for general selling. 4. **How much effort can you give to setup?** A hosted shop is live in less time. A store you own repays the effort over a longer horizon. 5. **Who handles tax?** Fourthwall states it does. On other routes, work out your own duties, or ask an accountant. A practical path for a new design: test it on a marketplace, and move it to a store you own once it sells. Always order a sample of each product first, whichever company you pick. ## Questions people ask ### Is Teespring still open? Not for new selling. Amaze says Spring is being retired in stages, with selling tools due to end after 15 September 2026 and account access on 15 October 2026. Its notice also says the full shutdown is "targeted for mid to late October", so check your dashboard. ### What replaced Teespring? Amaze, which owns Spring, points creators to Amaze Commerce. Anyone can open a free Amaze Commerce account, and invited creators also get a free store build. Creators who are not invited, or who prefer another route, can rebuild elsewhere. ### What is the best Teespring alternative for creators with an audience? A creator shop platform such as Fourthwall or Spreadshop is closest in spirit, because you get a branded shop without building a store. If you want to own the brand for the long term, a Shopify store with a print partner is stronger. ### Do I need Shopify to use Printful, Printify or Gelato? No. Their listings and help pages show links to several other platforms and marketplaces, and Gelato also has a direct API and manual ordering from its dashboard. Shopify is a common choice because the apps are easy to install. ### Is print on demand free to start? The partners above describe free plans or free-to-install apps, and say product and shipping costs are charged when a sale is made. You still pay for your own samples, your store plan if you use one, and any ads. Check each current plan page for details. ### Are marketplaces better than your own store for a first design? They can be a cheap way to test a design with real shoppers. They are a weaker home for a brand, because the shopper and the layout belong to the marketplace. ### Can I move my Spring customers to a new shop? Amaze's notice says order history and tax details do not transfer, and our reading is that you should not expect customer data to move either. Rebuild your audience by updating the links in your bios and channels and pointing them at your new shop. ### Which print partner is cheapest? We cannot say, and we would not trust a single answer. Base costs differ by product, provider and country, and they change. Order the same sample from two partners and compare the real total, including shipping. ## Your next step Pick the route first, order one sample, and keep your artwork backed up. If you want help with the store route, from theme to print partner set-up, you can [talk to us](https://www.ecompanda.co/contact). We are happy to say so plainly if a hosted platform is the better fit. ## Related - [Etsy Print on Demand: How It Works, the Rules and When to Move On](https://www.ecompanda.co/blog/etsy-print-on-demand) - [Best Print on Demand Sites for Artists: Marketplaces vs Your Own Store](https://www.ecompanda.co/blog/best-print-on-demand-sites-for-artists) - [What Is Print on Demand? How It Works and Whether It Is Worth It](https://www.ecompanda.co/blog/what-is-print-on-demand) --- Canonical HTML version: https://www.ecompanda.co/blog/teespring-alternatives