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Have you been wondering where the best places to get free svg files are? And can you use these free svgs to make money? Usually the free svg files you find will have either a commercial use or personal use only license. If you plan on making items to sell with the svg then you want to make sure it has a commercial use license and also allows for your type of usage. For example, most commercial use licenses on svg files do allow for you to make physical end products such as t-shirts, vinyl decals or any other physical item that you are making yourself.
If you are outsourcing the work done on POD or Print on Demand sites such as Redbubble or Teespring then you would need to make sure the license covers that. Not all commercial licenses will cover that and you may need to buy an extended license if available. If you have more than one person using the design within your company then most likely you would need a corporate license.
If you are planning on making digital items then you need to be very careful and read a license thoroughly. Yes it is possible to make digital items to sell using free designs you get online but not many will allow for this usage. Most of the time you would need to change the original design and add other elements to make it non-competitive and therefore unrecognizable from the original design. The first thing that comes to mind for me on this would be someone who makes invitations from a mix of different elements, background graphics and fonts, then sells them as a flattened jpeg or png format which can’t be separated or broken apart. Here is where you should probably contact the designer if it isn’t clearly stated in the license.
No matter what you hear elsewhere there is no license that allows you to sell or even give away for free another designer’s original design. That would be copyright infringement and is just plainly stated – stealing. Most designers are parents and rely on their work to feed their kids. Most of us are just making it paycheck to paycheck like anyone else. If you would like to share that cute free design you found with friends then the right thing to do is link them to the free design so that they will also visit the site to get the design. The whole reason for offering a free design, understandably, is to get traffic to the site. And sharing the link to Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram is a great way to support your favorite designers without spending a dime.
Next you want make sure the free svgs you find are from a trusted site. Lots of places can offer you a commercial license to use a design but that won’t make it legal or honest. Make sure you are using designs from a trusted designer using their own creations. For example, if they are offering you a commercial license to sell items with a Disney design on it then I promise it won’t be legal and I personally wouldn’t want to risk losing everything I own to lawsuits. In this case the only way to get a legal license to sell would be from Disney itself and it’s very unlikely that a svg designer would be approved for that. The only one I know of would be Cricut and even then the license is between Cricut & Disney – not the end user – so no selling items made with these.
Now on to the list of my favorite places to get free svg cut files with a commercial license. A lot of places will offer at least one free design every week so be sure to bookmark these links so you can easily check them with 1 click.
Crunchy Pickle – Here on my website you will find free designs under the Freebies category. I try to have a new one every Friday and do allow commercial use for physical products you make with them. They are free for at least a week. If you miss a past freebie here chances are you may find it in the $1 bin . Freebie Friday – https://bit.ly/3eJPxF6
Design Bundles – This is a great place to check for free designs every Friday. There will usually be one – the first one listed and titled Free Design of the Week – that is free for one week only but then a few more that are free for even longer. You will find a variety of different designs here such as svg cut files, sublimation designs, graphic clipart and more. Free Designs – https://bit.ly/36mpK1I
So Fontsy – This has to be my most favorite place to get freebies. On Fridays you will find around 10 freebies every week. Then they have now started a new section of daily freebies that will change out every 24 hours. This site will keep you busy and visiting often for sure. These will usually be a mix of designs and fonts from different designers so you’re sure to always find something you love. Weekly freebies – https://bit.ly/2IogFgR – Daily freebies – https://bit.ly/32sXBVK
SVG & Font Market – SVG & Font Market can be such a fun place to get freebies. They will usually have a Freebie Friday and it is only free for the weekend so you don’t want to delay here. It will always be the first design on their $1 Dash section that starts on Fridays. But you’re not done for the week – they are also known for having flash freebies especially during holiday events. They will usually have a banner announcing the special event dates & times on the front page. Signing up for their newsletter will also keep you informed. Then they have a section of forever freebies that don’t expire. It’s a great way to sample the quality of their designers’ work. Be sure to look for some from Crunchy Pickle in there. Freebie Friday – https://bit.ly/2UavoOL – Forever Freebies – https://bit.ly/3n3GvW4
Font Bundles – Font Bundles and Design Bundles are the same – sorta. They are owned by same company but have a separate section just for fonts. They are similar in that there will usually be one – the first one listed and titled Free Font of the Week – that is free for one week only but then a few more that are free for even longer. The new Free Font of the Week is usually posted on Wednesday every week. Free Fonts – https://bit.ly/2InZX0F
Creative Fabrica – There is always something cute to find from the long list of freebies on Creative Fabrica. They offer a wide variety of things from cut files and graphics to fonts. They also have a Discount Deals section that I can’t resist where everything is only $1 and it changes out every week. Freebies – https://bit.ly/38zduxs
Thank you for reading my very first blog post. Been meaning to start one for quite a while. I hope to make many more and be able to share ideas, tips and tutorials. Be sure to share this post on Pinterest to help the Pickle grow.
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