Guide

How to Price Print-on-Demand Products

Most new POD sellers price by copying competitors, then discover their “competitive” price loses money once fees land. Price from your costs up instead — it takes three steps.

Step 1: Know your true cost per sale

True cost is the provider base cost, plus the provider's shipping charge to you, plus every channel fee. On Etsy that's three separate fees totaling roughly 11–12% of the order; on Amazon it's a flat 15% referral fee. Because percentage fees scale with your price, you can't compute cost once — it changes as the price changes, which is why a calculator beats a spreadsheet here.

Step 2: Target at least a 30% margin

A common floor for POD is 30% of revenue as profit. Below that, one discount, one Offsite Ads fee, or one reprint for a misprinted order wipes out the sale. On a shirt that costs you ~$14 all-in, a 30% margin means pricing around $22–25, not $17.

Step 3: Sanity-check against the market

If your break-even-plus-margin price is far above what your niche pays, the answer usually isn't a lower price — it's a cheaper provider (compare in Printful vs Printify), a different product, or a design worth a premium. Competing on price in POD is a race you can't win against sellers who don't know their numbers.

Free shipping or not?

Marketplace fees apply to price plus shipping, so “free shipping” with the cost baked into the item price pays the same fees as itemized shipping — but converts better and ranks better on Etsy. Try both in the calculator; the shipping field exists precisely so you can compare.