Thinking about starting a smartphone case business? Do you want to sell phone cases online or offline to make major money?
Consider this: Smartphone use is at an all-time high. In fact, over 3 billion people now own a smartphone.
As high as that number is, that is still only 40% of the world's population. In other words, there is room to grow. There is certainly enough room for you to carve out your own piece of the pie.
Starting a business is challenging, but once you overcome your fears you will find the process very gratifying.
So how do you start a phone case business? Keep reading as we outline the steps you need to take to start your own successful case business now.
5 Steps To Start A Smartphone Case Businesses
1. Choose Your Niche
How will you stand out from the competition with your brand? You are going to need to find your own niche. The best way to do that is by telling your own unique story.
In other words, what do you care about? Make your cases an extension of yourself.
So if your primary passion is your dog, create a line of cases showcasing your dogs and your other favorite canines. Include videos of you and your dog on your website and social media to tell your story.
Maybe you are an artist at heart? You can create your own unique designs with videos of you at work to share to the world.
1. Choose Your Niche
How will you stand out from the competition with your brand? You are going to need to find your own niche. The best way to do that is by telling your own unique story.
In other words, what do you care about? Make your cases an extension of yourself.
So if your primary passion is your dog, create a line of cases showcasing your dogs and your other favorite canines. Include videos of you and your dog on your website and social media to tell your story.
Maybe you are an artist at heart? You can create your own unique designs with videos of you at work to share to the world.
And of course you must determine if you will focus on iPhone cases or Android cases (or both). Does your target customer prefer iPhones or Samsung Androids? Which case product will cost less and sell for more?
Your success in the phone case business will largely depend on your story and your ability to tell it. That's how people will remember you and get on board. If your customers relate to your story, they will share it with their friends and social network.
2. Create Your Designs
Now that you have chosen a niche, it is time to incorporate it into your case designs.
You can design the cases yourself or hire a designer to create them for you.
If you are artistically inclined and excited about creating your own designs, that's great news. You will save on production costs and have the satisfaction of seeing your work translated into beautiful cases for your customers. Learn more about custom cases to get started creating your own product.
But if you're not ready to create your own case art, just enlist a talented designer who can bring your vision to life. Dribbble and Behance are great places to find top designers ready to work with you.
Contact designers and let them know your vision. You can hire a designer on these platforms. Most designers already know how to collaborate with a client and deliver a design you can be proud to put on your cases. Some designers may already have designs that fit your brand as well.
3. Validate Your Business
Once your designing work is complete, order a sample pack of cases from sites like Art of Where.
Then show your creations to your most trusted friends and family, and tell them to be objective and constructive. You need honest feedback, even if it's negative.
The whole point is to determine if your designs are strong enough that customers will buy them. To that end, you could set up a table at a local event to sell your cases.
If your smartphones protective casing idea receives a lot of criticism, listen to the comments and go back to the designing board. But if you receive mostly positive feedback and sales, congratulations, you are ready for the next step.
4. Choose Your Business Model
Now that you have phone case designs you are ready to roll out, it is time to decide how you are going to create them and sell them to your customers.
There are three business models you can choose from.
Print on Demand
Many services, such as Printify and Printful, allow you to print phone cases for you as needed. No need to place bulk orders here. No need to store inventory.
The biggest advantage of selling in this manner is that your shipping and fulfillment are done for you albeit at a higher cost.
Many of these services can seamlessly integrate with online storefronts such as Shopify or Etsy. Printing on demand provides an inexpensive option to test your products with very little risk.
Work With a Manufacturer
For the biggest profit margins, you should work with a manufacturer directly. Alibaba is a massive directory of Chinese manufacturers who make every type of phone case you can imagine.
These manufacturers will require you to order in bulk, typically with a minimum order of 200 or more. But ordering in bulk is cheaper than printing on demand which means you can offer better prices and enjoy larger profit margins. In fact, you may be able to get cases for $1 each or less.
It's a good idea to order a sample first to test the quality of the product before you purchase larger amounts.
If you want to order cases from your own country, just search for "phone case manufacturers + your country." This may cost you more in production costs but it's worth it for those who wish to support their own country.
Dropship Existing Phone Cases
The dropshipping model is ideal for those who don't want to make their own cases. A dropshipping company like Magento or Oberlo will take care of the product, shipping, and fulfillment duties.
Take note, you won't have any control of the product and the cost is higher than it would be working with a manufacturer.
With this model, all you need to do is create a website and start selling.
5. Sell Your Custom Phone Cases
Now for the fun part - selling your phone cases for profit. The good news is there are plenty of places to sell your products.
Etsy and Amazon are great places to get started. Each has a customer base in the millions. People are constantly searching for phone cases on these popular marketplaces. You can also open a kiosk and sell your phone cases offline.
The best way to build your brand name though is to create your own website and market it heavily online. Consider using paid Google Ads and Facebook Ads to get the word out and bring in initial sales.
Share your products on all your social media networks to show off your designs. Partnering with micro-influencers on Instagram and YouTube is an effective way to promote your products to their audiences as well.
The Bottom Line for Starting Your Own Phone Case Business
The challenges that come with a phone case business is the same as with most businesses. You will face competition and starting up is usually the hardest part.
But every successful company had to take the plunge and get started. Once you are in business, you can tweak your designs for maximum sales and discover new ways to reduce your costs.
You will discover where your smartphone casing brand excels and how to maximize it to beat the competition in 2023 and 2024.
Start your journey today of launching a phone casing biz and reap the benefits later. For inspiration, check out these successful e-commerce store case studies now.
Your success in the phone case business will largely depend on your story and your ability to tell it. That's how people will remember you and get on board. If your customers relate to your story, they will share it with their friends and social network.
2. Create Your Designs
Now that you have chosen a niche, it is time to incorporate it into your case designs.
You can design the cases yourself or hire a designer to create them for you.
If you are artistically inclined and excited about creating your own designs, that's great news. You will save on production costs and have the satisfaction of seeing your work translated into beautiful cases for your customers. Learn more about custom cases to get started creating your own product.
But if you're not ready to create your own case art, just enlist a talented designer who can bring your vision to life. Dribbble and Behance are great places to find top designers ready to work with you.
Contact designers and let them know your vision. You can hire a designer on these platforms. Most designers already know how to collaborate with a client and deliver a design you can be proud to put on your cases. Some designers may already have designs that fit your brand as well.
3. Validate Your Business
Once your designing work is complete, order a sample pack of cases from sites like Art of Where.
Then show your creations to your most trusted friends and family, and tell them to be objective and constructive. You need honest feedback, even if it's negative.
The whole point is to determine if your designs are strong enough that customers will buy them. To that end, you could set up a table at a local event to sell your cases.
If your smartphones protective casing idea receives a lot of criticism, listen to the comments and go back to the designing board. But if you receive mostly positive feedback and sales, congratulations, you are ready for the next step.
4. Choose Your Business Model
Now that you have phone case designs you are ready to roll out, it is time to decide how you are going to create them and sell them to your customers.
There are three business models you can choose from.
Print on Demand
Many services, such as Printify and Printful, allow you to print phone cases for you as needed. No need to place bulk orders here. No need to store inventory.
The biggest advantage of selling in this manner is that your shipping and fulfillment are done for you albeit at a higher cost.
Many of these services can seamlessly integrate with online storefronts such as Shopify or Etsy. Printing on demand provides an inexpensive option to test your products with very little risk.
Work With a Manufacturer
For the biggest profit margins, you should work with a manufacturer directly. Alibaba is a massive directory of Chinese manufacturers who make every type of phone case you can imagine.
These manufacturers will require you to order in bulk, typically with a minimum order of 200 or more. But ordering in bulk is cheaper than printing on demand which means you can offer better prices and enjoy larger profit margins. In fact, you may be able to get cases for $1 each or less.
It's a good idea to order a sample first to test the quality of the product before you purchase larger amounts.
If you want to order cases from your own country, just search for "phone case manufacturers + your country." This may cost you more in production costs but it's worth it for those who wish to support their own country.
Dropship Existing Phone Cases
The dropshipping model is ideal for those who don't want to make their own cases. A dropshipping company like Magento or Oberlo will take care of the product, shipping, and fulfillment duties.
Take note, you won't have any control of the product and the cost is higher than it would be working with a manufacturer.
With this model, all you need to do is create a website and start selling.
5. Sell Your Custom Phone Cases
Now for the fun part - selling your phone cases for profit. The good news is there are plenty of places to sell your products.
Etsy and Amazon are great places to get started. Each has a customer base in the millions. People are constantly searching for phone cases on these popular marketplaces. You can also open a kiosk and sell your phone cases offline.
The best way to build your brand name though is to create your own website and market it heavily online. Consider using paid Google Ads and Facebook Ads to get the word out and bring in initial sales.
Share your products on all your social media networks to show off your designs. Partnering with micro-influencers on Instagram and YouTube is an effective way to promote your products to their audiences as well.
The Bottom Line for Starting Your Own Phone Case Business
The challenges that come with a phone case business is the same as with most businesses. You will face competition and starting up is usually the hardest part.
But every successful company had to take the plunge and get started. Once you are in business, you can tweak your designs for maximum sales and discover new ways to reduce your costs.
You will discover where your smartphone casing brand excels and how to maximize it to beat the competition in 2023 and 2024.
Start your journey today of launching a phone casing biz and reap the benefits later. For inspiration, check out these successful e-commerce store case studies now.
