Everything Sucks Club: A lesson on find a good supplier.
Plus a f*cking sh*it ton of recommendations for stickers, pins, magnets, and more.
Dear Fellow Creators & Creatives -
Sorry to break it to you - but you haven’t been paying attention if you’re just *now* finding out about Sticker Mule. I discovered their founder’s alignment back in 2021 after my second batch of my pins centered around pro-covid vaccines and masking came in HORRIFFICALLY damaged. Like they had been thrown into a wood chipper before shipping - the acrylic was damaged all the way down through the protective layer, the artwork was peeling, the edges were chipped. And I was already late to the game discovering this information.
When I shared with on Twitter, I was immediately informed of the political ties to the right. This left me without any vendor on my fastest growing line as I could not support a vendor who doesn’t support my own existence as a queer person.
When I started looking into it - I found that there was evidence of people posting about it for years before I even found out - like this tweet from 2019:
And sure - okay, that’s the personal politics of the CEO - but about the lawsuit for failure to pay overtime wages at the correct rate, the alleged labor law violations by former employees - which is seeking to become a class action lawsuit, numerous quality problems reported to the BBB by customers - not to mention that Sticker Mule’s terms and conditions grants them broad rights and usage of your intellectual property (to both modify and distribute it).
PS - while we’re at it - maybe also stop using Wizard Pins too, okay? They have been using questionable content in their marketing for a while now with reports of folks having their designs turned down.
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I’ve spent the equivalent of probably weeks finding sources for things over the last 4 years. Places that don’t compromise on my values or quality - which is not always easy. When in doubt, my favorite place to check is their Instagram account, and then look to see what photos THEY have been tagged in recently - are their customers sharing content that you like? Is it all hatefully imagery?
Okay… So, who should you use instead?
I don’t typically talk about my vendors publicly. However, fuck Sticker Mule (and fuck Trump).
Are all of these perfect, probably not… because of the corporate hellscape we live in -however - none of them have had a public, double-down meltdowns on the internet several times over the last several years over topics like covid numbers, vaccines, politics, and LGBTQ+ rights:
StickerApp.com - Stickers (lots of material options)
Pros: Extremely fast production, I’ve heard some people say they don’t like the prices but I’ve always found them fair because the quality is very high (you get what you pay for), low minimums (like 10 pieces I think).
Manufacturing & Shipping: Price includes free shipping, you can pay to upgrade to express shipping. With the standard shipping, from the time you submit the order, you can expect to have it delivered in about a week - I’ve found it usually takes 6-7 business days for me.
StickerGiant.com - Stickers (of all types), also temporary tattoos
Pros: When the founder, John Fischer, stepped down in 2021, Beth Smith (who uses they/them pronouns) was promoted from their position as CFO.
The about us page clearly states their artwork policy: “We value freedom of speech and self expression; however, there is no place for hate speech in the world. Hate can be subtle, but we do our best to not print anything that promotes violence or hatred against any individuals or groups.” The business also has an entire section on their website dedicated to highlighting queer customer’s: https://www.stickergiant.com/customer-storiesManufacturing & Shipping: 3-4 days of production plus shipping time from Colorado.
StickerNinja.com - Stickers (of all types) with different finishes available
Pros: You can get samples of custom stickers before a bulk order, highly recommended online overall
Manufacturing & Shipping: 7-10 business days (or about two weeks), Local PDX pick-up available
StickerYou.com - Stickers, Patches, Magnets, and more (including magnetic name badges)
Pros: You can go BIG - up to 8.5x11 with a sticker, based in Canada, clear list about quality on their website by product type
Manufacturing & Shipping: Varies by product type, but around a 7-10 business days.
ZapCreatives.com - Stickers, Pins, Keychains, Charms, Magnets, and more.
Pros: Small, UK-Based team (which is also partly a negative), Pays fair wages, you can mix designs in a production run for a better price, fun material colors on the acrylic (not just clear)
Manufacturing & Shipping: Manufactured and Shipped from the UK (which is not that bad - they give you the option to upgrade you shipping to express and honestly just do it), production time varies but it is about 3-4 weeks usually.
AlchemyMerch.com - Stickers, Pins, Keychains, plus other categories like Apparel, expanded stationery, accessories, and home goods.
Pro: They have an Anti-Discrimination/Hate Policy on their website which states that they will not “make any merchandise that promotes hate, discrimination or violence or knowingly work with any organization that does so”
Manufacturing & Shipping: About a month before things ship, but they receive everything first and check your items before they ship them out to you so I like the added level of quality control (that’s a plus).
GalaxyDesignSquad.com - All things Pin/Pin Adjunct (like enamel keychains and metal coins), plus lanyards
Pros: Small, US-Based team, many different types of pins
Manufacturing & Shipping: 3-4 weeks shipping time, ships from China - but there is a USA manufacturing option (at a higher price)
For my locals: Chicago-based:
*Both of these small businesses sell online but please be patient when you contact them - they are not “bigger” online companies like the ones above*
Snail Catalog - Print and Fabrication studio with a focus on being eco-friendly and specifically catering towards artists, musicians, small businesses and non-profits. They do signage, design services, stickers, art prints, screen-printing, and more.
Busy Beavery Button Co - Pinback Buttons, but also stickers, magnets, and a few other things. They ship orders and do local pick up for Chicago orders. Standard orders: 5 business days for production + 5 days for shipping (local orders available for pickup in 3-5 business days).
Specialty Option:
The Original Sticker Guy - Screen-printed vinyl stickers, yes the colors are limited to black/white or black red but that’s SO COOL. Ships in 15-25 business days and is super unique. They also offer full color digital printing. (Note - they also do monthly specials, for example in July 2024 the color combo special is Pink ink on gold foil vinyl so if the standard colors aren’t you vibe…)
Happy creating everyone! <3
Drop your favorite vendors in the comments.
