Sticker business in Pakistan: sell stickers online

Stickers that sell online

A sticker business needs little money and no shop. The hard part is not printing. It is picking stickers that people order in sets, and making each parcel worth sending. These are the kinds that fit an online store selling on cash on delivery:

• Laptop and phone stickers. Sold as themed packs: a study pack, a cricket pack, a desi slang pack.
• Urdu poetry and meme stickers. Lines of shayari, Punjabi and Urdu phrases, local jokes. You write or commission them, so they are yours to sell.
• Name labels for school things. Small waterproof labels with a child’s name for books, bottles, lunch boxes and pencils. Each set is made to order, so there is no dead stock. More on these below.
• Packaging stickers for other brands. Small online sellers need logo stickers for boxes and mailers, thank-you stickers and “handle with care” labels. This is selling to businesses: fewer orders, but each one is a roll or a few hundred pieces.
• Car and bike decals. Larger cut vinyl lettering and shapes. They sell, but they are bigger, need careful flat packing and come with more questions about fitting and size, so add them after the small stickers work.

Pick one or two of these to start. A store with forty random designs is harder to photograph and harder to explain than one with a clear set.

How a sticker is made

Before you talk to a printer, know the four choices that decide what a sticker costs and how long it lasts.

• Paper or vinyl. Paper stickers are cheaper and fine indoors: labels on boxes, notebooks, packaging. Vinyl is a plastic film that handles water and touching, so laptop, phone, bottle and name label stickers should be vinyl.
• Laminated or not. A clear laminate on top protects the print from scratches and fading. It comes in gloss or matte. For anything that goes on a phone, bottle or lunch box, ask for it.
• Die-cut. The sticker is cut right through, backing and all, to the shape of the design. Each one comes loose, which looks good in a pack.
• Kiss-cut. Only the sticker layer is cut, and the backing stays whole. Use it for sheets with several stickers, like a set of name labels, or for a single sticker with a border of backing around it.

Ask the printer to give you a sample of each material they use. Stick one on a bottle, wash it, scratch it, leave it in the sun. You will know what to sell before a buyer tells you.

Print yourself or use a local printer

Start with a local printer. They already have the machines, the vinyl and the cutter, and you only pay for what you order. Send your designs as print files, ask for a small first run, and check the samples before you list anything.

Prices vary a lot between printers and with material, size, cut and quantity, so get quotes from three printers for the same job: same size, same material, same laminate, same cut, same quantity. Ask what the price drops to at a larger quantity, and how many days a reprint takes.

A home printer and a cutting machine make sense later, when you are reordering the same designs every week and the printer’s bill is steady enough to compare with the cost of your own machine, ink, vinyl and time. Our guide to the t-shirt printing business covers the same question for tees, and the vinyl cutter used for tee prints also cuts sticker vinyl.

Designs you are allowed to sell

Search any sticker page and you will see anime characters, cartoon characters, football and cricket team logos and luxury brand marks. Those belong to someone. Selling them without permission means a single complaint can take your page down, and your brand ends up known for someone else’s work.

• Do not print brand logos, cartoon characters or team logos without permission.
• Do not print art you found on Instagram or Pinterest. The artist owns it, even if no name is on it.
• Draw your own designs, or pay an artist and get it in writing that you can print and sell them.
• Read the licence on any font, icon or clip art you download. Some free ones do not allow use on products you sell.

Your own brand name is worth protecting once it sells. Stickers fall in class 16 of the trademark classes IPO Pakistan uses, which covers paper, printed matter and stationery. Our guide on how to register a brand name (in Urdu) walks through the filing.

Small orders and the delivery fee

This is the problem that decides whether a sticker business makes money. One sticker sells for a small amount, and the courier charges the same to carry an envelope with one sticker in it as one with twenty. If buyers order one sticker each, delivery eats the whole sale.

• Sell packs, not singles. Make themed packs of a fixed number of stickers, and price the pack, not the sticker.
• Bundle across designs. Two packs at a set price, or a pack plus a name label sheet, raises the order without a discount on every item.
• Set a free delivery amount. Charge delivery on small orders and make it free above an amount that needs a full pack or two. Our guide to delivery charges for an online store shows how to pick the amount.
• Pack flat in a letter-size envelope. Stickers weigh almost nothing. Put them between two pieces of card in a flat envelope so they do not bend, and keep the parcel light and small.

Courier rates change and differ by city, so check them before you set the delivery fee. The free courier charges calculator lets you compare what a light parcel costs with the couriers.

Custom name labels

Name labels for school things are made to order, so you never hold stock. The risk is a wrong spelling on a sheet that cannot be reprinted for free.

• Ask for the name in English letters, and in Urdu too if the parent wants it, written the way it should print.
• Offer a few fixed designs and colours. Free choice turns every order into a long chat.
• Send a proof, a picture of the label sheet with the name on it, and print only after the buyer says yes in writing.
• Tell the buyer how many days printing takes before they order, and send them before school starts, not after.

Because the name makes the sheet useless to anyone else, a refused parcel is a full loss. Call or message to confirm every custom order before printing.

Pricing a sticker

Price per order, not per sticker. Add up what one order costs you: the printed stickers, the envelope and card, your share of the delivery if you offer free delivery, and the cost of the parcels that come back. Then set the pack price so that each order leaves a profit.

Put your costs into the free profit margin calculator to see what you keep at each price. For packaging stickers sold to other brands, quote by quantity, and make sure the smallest quantity you accept still pays for the setup time with the printer.

A name for your sticker brand

A sticker brand name should be short, easy to spell in English and Urdu, and say something about the style: playful, desi, minimal. Check that the name is free on Instagram and that no one else sells stickers under it. Our list of online store name ideas shows how to find one, and the free shop name generator gives you a start.

If you also sell notebooks, pens and school supplies, stickers sit well next to them. Our guide to the stationery business (in Urdu) covers that side.

Questions sellers ask

Is a sticker business profitable in Pakistan?

It can be, but only if each order is big enough. One sticker costs little to print, and the courier charges the same to carry an envelope with one sticker or twenty. Sell packs and bundles, set a free delivery amount that needs a full pack, and work out your profit per order, not per sticker.

What is the difference between vinyl and paper stickers?

Paper stickers are cheaper and fine for indoor use like labels on boxes, notebooks and packaging. Vinyl is a plastic film that takes water and handling better, so it suits laptops, phones, bottles and anything that gets touched or washed. A clear laminate on top protects the print from scratches and fading.

What is die-cut and kiss-cut?

Die-cut means the sticker is cut right through, backing and all, to the shape of the design, so each one comes loose. Kiss-cut means only the sticker layer is cut and the backing stays whole, so you can put several stickers on one sheet or leave a border of backing around one sticker.

Can I sell stickers of anime characters or football club logos?

Not without permission. Characters, club crests and brand logos belong to their owners, and so does art you found online. Sell your own designs, designs you paid for with written rights, or text and poetry that is not under someone’s copyright.

Do I need a machine to start a sticker business?

No. A local printer can print and cut your first designs. Buy a printer or a cutting machine only once you know which designs sell and you are paying the printer enough every month to make the machine worth it.

Storelala is the Shopify alternative in Pakistan: your own sticker store at yourbrand.storelala.com, cash on delivery built in, the courier and tracking number on every order, and no marketplace commission. It runs from your phone and is free to start with no card needed. Start your store.