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[Guide] Selling Custom POD Mugs

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By CustomCat - July 10, 2021- in Guides Selling Guides

UPDATED: April 2023

Whether you’re starting your morning with a cup of coffee, serving hot cocoa to your kids who’ve just come in from building snow forts, or settling in with a relaxing cup of tea at the end of a long day, we bet you have a favorite mug for the occasion. The average American drinks 1.87 cups of coffee each morning — that means married couples are grabbing 14 mugs out of their cupboards each week! 

Mugs are one of the most popular low-cost gift options because they are so widely used & so easily customizable. They are the perfect gifts for sharing an inside joke, reminding a loved one they’re the “World’s Best,” or adding beauty to the daily act of drinking coffee or tea. Regardless of your niche, you won’t regret adding custom mugs to your ecommerce store. 

 

Product Details:

11oz White Mug (XP8434)

CC PRO Price: $3.75
CC Lite Price: $6.82
Shipping Cost: $4.99 + $3.00 per additional item
Shipping Rate: Lightweight Drinkware
MSRP: $14.99

  • High quality ceramic mug
  • Dishwasher safe
  • Microwave safe
  • White gloss 11 oz
  • Decorated with full wrap dye sublimation

15oz White Mug (21504)

CC PRO Price: $4.75
CC Lite Price: $7.42
Shipping Cost: $7.49 + $3.00 per additional item
Shipping Rate: Heavyweight Drinkware
MSRP: $17.99

  • High quality ceramic mug
  • Dishwasher safe
  • Microwave safe
  • White gloss 15 oz
  • Decorated with full wrap dye sublimation

11oz Black Mug (BM11OZ)

Base Price: $6.17
CCLite Price: $9.26
Shipping Cost: $4.99 + $3.00 per additional item
Shipping Rate: Lightweight Drinkware
MSRP: $15.99

  • High quality ceramic mug
  • Dishwasher safe
  • Microwave safe
  • Black gloss 11 oz.
  • Decorated with full wrap dye sublimation

15oz Black Mug (BM15OZ)

Base Price: $6.59
CCLite Price: $9.89
Shipping Cost: $7.49 + $3.00 per additional item
Shipping Rate: Heavyweight Drinkware
MSRP: $18.99

  • High quality ceramic mug
  • Dishwasher safe
  • Microwave safe
  • Black gloss 15 oz.
  • Decorated with full wrap dye sublimation

11oz Color Changing Mug (21150)

Base Price: $8.25
CCLite Price: $12.38
Shipping Cost: $4.99 + $3.00 per additional item
Shipping Rate: Lightweight Drinkware
MSRP: $17.99

  • Ceramic mug decorated with full wrap
  • Graphic is revealed when hot water is added
  • Black mugs are a slightly softer black than it appears where the design is printed
  • Not dishwasher safe; Microwave safe
  • Decoration Type: Sublimation

15oz Color Changing Mug (21550)

Base Price: $8.75
CCLite Price: $13.13
Shipping Cost: $7.50 + $3.00 per additional item
Shipping Rate: Heavyweight Drinkware
MSRP: $19.99

  • Ceramic mug decorated with full wrap
  • Graphic is revealed when hot water is added
  • Black mugs are a slightly softer black than it appears where the design is printed
  • Not dishwasher safe; Microwave safe
  • Sublimation

11oz Accent Mug (AM11OZ)

Base Price: $5.80
CCLite Price: $8.70
Shipping Cost: $4.99 + $3.00 per additional item
Shipping Rate: Lightweight Drinkware
Available in 7 Accent Colors: Red, Light Blue, Green, Pink, Orange, Black, & Midnight Blue
MSRP: $15.99

  • High quality ceramic mug with two-tone rim, interior, & handle
  • Full wrap decoration
  • Dishwasher & Microwave Safe
  • ORCA Coating™ for maximum print vibrancy
  • Decoration Type: Sublimation

15oz Accent Mug (AM15OZ)

Base Price: $6.80
CCLite Price: $10.20
Shipping Cost: $7.49 + $3.00 per additional item
Shipping Rate: Heavyweight Drinkware
Available in 7 Accent Colors: Red, Light Blue, Green, Pink, Orange, Black, & Midnight Blue
MSRP: $22.99

  • High quality ceramic mug with two-tone rim, interior, & handle
  • Full wrap decoration
  • Dishwasher & Microwave Safe
  • ORCA Coating™ for maximum print vibrancy
  • Decoration Type: Sublimation


Enamel Camping Mug (21271)

CC PRO Price: $7.50
CC Lite Price: $10.00
Shipping Cost: $4.99 + $3.00 per additional item
Shipping Rate: Lightweight Drinkware
MSRP: $20.99

  • Stainless Steel mug with Enamel Coating and Rounded Stainless Steel rim
  • 12 fl oz capacity
  • Hand Wash Only; Not Microwave Safe
  • 3.07″ (Height from top to bottom) x 3.58″ (Diameter of cup from outer rim to outer rim) x 4.58″ (Width with handle)
  • ORCA Coating™ for maximum print vibrancy
  • Decoration Type: Sublimation

Silver Stainless Steel Travel Mug (XP8400S)

Base Price: $11.50
CCLite Price: $17.25
Shipping Cost: $4.99 + $3.00 per additional item
Shipping Rate: Lightweight Drinkware
MSRP: $21.99

  • 14 oz. stainless steel construction
  • Friction lid, swivel spout, and comfort handle
  • Hand wash is recommended
  • Do not microwave
  • Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 6.2 x 3.375 (h x w x d) / 10.6 (circ.) inches

White Stainless Steel Travel Mug (XP8400W)

Base Price: $11.50
CCLite Price: $17.25
Shipping Cost: $4.99 + $3.00 per additional item
Shipping Rate: Lightweight Drinkware
MSRP: $21.99

  • 14 oz. stainless steel construction
  • Friction lid, swivel spout, and comfort handle
  • Hand wash is recommended
  • Do not microwave
  • Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 6.2 x 3.375 (h x w x d) / 10.6 (circ.) inches

Product Packaging:

CustomCat mugs ship in highly protective single-item packaging that all but eliminates transit breakage to ensure your customers receive beautiful products regardless of how far they travel.

Packaging Dimensions:
11oz Mug: 6″ x 5″ x 3.8″
15oz Mug: 6.75″ x 5.75″ x 4.5″

Design Guidelines:

As with all of our sublimated products, you can design your mugs via two methods.

  1. Upload a transparent PNG file
    • If you’re uploading a transparent art file & want your design printed on both sides of your mug, select the “CC Preset” positioning. This will ensure your design is positioned on the center of the front & back of your mug. 
    • If you’d like to resize or reposition your artwork on your mug, selecting “Custom” positioning will allow you to do so. **Please keep in mind when selecting “Custom” positioning that your design will no longer be duplicated to print on both sides of your mug. Instead, your design will print exactly as you’ve positioned it within the printable area. 
  2. Upload product-specific artwork based on our Art Templates.
    • For design-savvy sellers, we have the option of uploading artwork that is specifically created for each product. This can be helpful for sellers who want to achieve a full-wrap look & fill the maximum printable area of each mug.
    • This option should also be used if you want to put different designs on the front & back of your mug.
    • If you’ve created your artwork based on the specifications of our art templates, selecting “Full Front” positioning will result in your design printing on the maximum printable area of your finished product. If your design doesn’t fill the “Full Bleed” area of our design template, you can use “Custom” positioning to stretch your design to fill the entire artboard. 

**Note: If your design includes excess transparent areas, be sure to upload them directly to the product as shown below. If your images are uploaded to the design library or the bulk uploaders, the design will be trimmed to remove excess transparent space. 

Art Template Downloads:

   
   
   
   

   

Preset Options:

CC Preset:

Select this design position if you’re using a transparent PNG file & want your design printed on both sides of your mug. Selecting a background color will fill all transparent areas of your design & the full printable surface of the mug. In the example below, we’ve uploaded a transparent PNG file & maintained the default white background color so only our image is printed.

Custom:

Using the “Custom” design position gives you full control over the placement of your artwork on your product. Use this setting if you would like to resize or reposition your design on your product. In the example below, we’ve uploaded a transparent PNG image, but resized & repositioned it lower on the mug. Your design will only print on one side of the mug since we selected “Custom” positioning.

Full:

Select this design position if you’ve used our art template to create a design specifically for this product. It may be that you’re looking for a full wrap effect — this option should also be used if you want to put different designs on the front & back of your mug. As you can see, the design wraps around the mug below as the design was created to the art template’s specifications. To check your design against the art template, select “Designer View.” If you’ve created your art properly, your design should extend beyond the red border of the art board behind your image. 

Please note: our current mug mockup does not display your design contoured around the curvature of the mug. Your design will be printed with a full wrap effect when selecting “Full” positioning.

 

Editable PSD Mockup Downloads:

Click the images above to download editable Photoshop documents you can use to display your products on your website!

 

To use our PSD Mockup Templates, use the following process:

  1. Open the template in Photoshop. Make sure the layers panel is visible (Windows > Layers).
  2. Double-click on the layer that’s named “[Double Click] Design” & a pop up will appear automatically which enables you to add your artwork onto the mockup.
  3. Add your design. Click ‘File’ > ‘Save’ and close the ‘Smart Object’.
  4. File > Export As > JPG.

 

Target Market Audiences:

Because mugs are so widely used, your target market audience is highly dependent on your niche. Custom mugs are purchased based on the appeal of the design itself — understanding the target market audience of your niche will be the best guide in identifying the target audience for your mugs. 

Marketing Tips

When creating your mug listings, it’s important that you highlight the most appealing aspects of the products. 
For instance, CustomCat’s mugs are made from high-quality ceramic with a high-gloss finish to ensure your design pops. Each mug is wrapped by hand & printed in Detroit, MI before being secured in our highly protective packaging for transit. 

Design:

Examples of design categories

  • Coffee Lovers
  • Geography (city/state/country)
  • Sports
  • Family Photos
  • “World’s Best” Grandma, Father, Son, Boss, etc.
  • Pet Photos
  • Abstract Designs
  • Jokes & Puns
  • Animal Designs
  • Holiday Themes
  • Milestone Designs
  • Personalized Mugs
  • Inspirational Phrases

Whether you’re a seasoned mug seller or this is your first year offering custom mugs to your customers, we’re here to help set you up for success. 
As always, if there are any tips you’d like to see added to this selling guide leave us a comment below or email [email protected].

Happy Selling!

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