Phone cases are LIVE!
Not gonna lie, we are beyond excited to announce that support for phone cases is now officially available to all sellers. These cases are absolutely phenomenal. From the tough cases with built-in magnets for charging to the slim and clear cases, we think there’s something for everyone. We can’t wait to see your designs on the site, and we’re even more pumped to see them in the real world. If that’s the only reason you are reading this email, go nuts.
And now for some updates. The last month has been busy as we continued to test both the website and our manufacturing integration. We’ve made a few improvements that merit a quick mention.
New Size and Placement Options
Early returns suggest the most popular style is full coverage. We agree, that’s a great choice. Because the print wraps the entire way around the cases (except clear), designs that extend beyond the back plate look fantastic. Until recently, that meant when you uploaded your design file, the artwork was scaled to cover the case (including the sides, bottoms, and tops that you can’t see). We’re keeping that option around, but we are also adding a new option that keeps your artwork at the exact scale you chose when you uploaded. This — combined with the ability to keep transparency instead of auto-trimming — gives you full control over the size and placement of your artwork.
We’re also making a slight change to the XS, S, M, and L sizes. Each one is getting bumped up slightly as well as being tweaked from a static size specified in inches to a size relative to each phone case (just like Max). All existing products have been converted to match the closest new size, but please check your catalog to make sure everything looks correct.
Product Migration
Have an existing t-shirt that you think would make a lovely phone case? Hop in to your accountand click the button to start a brand new product using the same artwork and meta information. The whole process takes 60 seconds, couldn’t be easier.
3 > 1
If you created a product in the last month, you probably noticed the single background color limit. You can now choose up to three different color options for your design. For example, red, white, and blue 🇺🇸. Or red, yellow, and green 🚥. Or (R)ed 🔴, (G)reen 🟢, and (B)lue 🔵 . Or cherry 🍒, peach 🍑, and blueberry 🫐. Really, you get the point.
Sample Orders
Sneaking in lowkey while we were adding phone case support is one of our most requested features, the ability to preview a product (on demand shirt or phone case) before it is live and/or order a sample. When you create a new product, you now have the option to keep it hidden until you are ready to publish it. You can also navigate to that product as long as you are logged in and place an order.
Updated Home Page
With phone cases joining shirts as a first class product category for us, we thought it was time to expand the featured home page products gallery. You will now see phone cases side-by-side with t-shirts and sweatshirts. The king is dead, long live the king.
And the one* question we know is on everyone’s mind…
When will iPhone 14 cases be ready? Will I need to do anything?
Last question first, no, you will not need to do anything. All phone case products will be updated automatically to include support for the latest generation. (For the record, older generations of phone cases will also be culled as they approach end of life. We’ll sound the klaxon before that happens, however.)
As everyone no doubt knows, Apple is hosting an event Wednesday, September 7. New phones typically start shipping the following week. We’ll all know more on Wednesday, but our expectation is that next generation phone cases will be added to the site within a few days of iPhones 14 hitting stores and homes. Let’s say roughly Sept 21 (🎶) as a preliminary estimate.