Choosing between Bear Grips Pro Shops and Merch by Amazon comes down to one question: does the seller want to list inside Amazon's marketplace, or run an independent branded shop. Merch by Amazon plugs a design into Amazon's existing search traffic and Prime shipping infrastructure, with Amazon controlling the price band and paying a royalty. Bear Grips Pro Shops is a standalone system where the vendor owns the shop, the price, and the customer relationship. Here is what a seller actually gets with each.
| Category | Merch by Amazon | Bear Grips Pro Shops |
|---|---|---|
| Storefront | No dedicated shop URL, listings appear in Amazon search and product pages | Branded shop URL included from day one |
| Getting started | Application required, approval not guaranteed | Free signup, no application |
| Product catalog | Apparel and select accessories, options vary by account tier | 63 apparel and headwear products from Bella+Canvas, Next Level, Champion, Gildan, Sport-Tek, and more |
| Pricing model | Amazon sets the allowed price band, seller earns a royalty on the sale | Vendor sets the retail price and keeps the margin |
| Shipping | Handled by Amazon, tied to Prime and standard Amazon shipping options | Free US shipping included in the base price |
On Merch by Amazon, the buyer is an Amazon customer first. Amazon owns the checkout, the account, the order history, and most of the post-purchase communication. The seller's connection to that buyer mostly ends at the sale. On Bear Grips Pro Shops, the vendor's branded shop is the checkout and the customer record. That distinction matters most for a business or creator trying to build a repeat-buyer list under its own name rather than inside a marketplace.
Bear Grips Pro Shops: Custom Apparel for Your Team. No Minimums. Free Shipping.Merch by Amazon pays sellers a royalty calculated after Amazon's own production and marketplace costs are factored in, within a price band Amazon allows for that product type. A seller does not set an independent retail price the way an owned shop allows. Bear Grips Pro Shops publishes one fixed base price across the catalog (tees from $19.88 VIP base, hoodies from $36.88) and the vendor decides the full retail price on top of it, keeping the difference as margin. See the full royalty teardown for how that payout works.
Merch by Amazon requires submitting an application and, historically, waiting through a review period before a single design can go live, with new accounts starting in an entry tier that limits how many designs can be listed until sales history grows. Bear Grips Pro Shops has no application process. A vendor signs up, uploads a design, and the shop is live the same day, with the Free plan open to 3 live products at no cost.
Bear Grips Pro Shops builds a referral program into every account, free or paid. Every vendor gets a unique affiliate code alongside their shop. Referring another vendor pays 10% of that vendor's subscription for as long as they stay subscribed, plus $1 for every unit the referred vendor sells, paid out bi-weekly. Merch by Amazon has no equivalent built-in referral layer for sellers.
Own the shop, the price, and the customer relationship. Free plan to start, no application required.
Start FreeNo. Bear Grips Pro Shops is an independent apparel platform with its own printing process and no relationship with Amazon or Merch by Amazon.
It depends on the design, price band, and category on Merch by Amazon's royalty schedule. Bear Grips Pro Shops publishes one fixed base price so the vendor can calculate exact margin before setting a retail price.
No. There is no exclusivity requirement. Running both while comparing results is common.
Bear Grips Pro Shops ships free within the US. Sellers with an international buyer base should factor that into the comparison.
Bear Grips Pro Shops