How to Price Print-on-Demand Products on Etsy (With the Math)
Emre BalcıOctober 6, 20263 min read
Start with the cost stack
Before you look at competitors, write down what one sale costs you. For a print-on-demand item that is:
- Production: the blank garment, the print and the supplier's handling, per item
- Shipping: what you actually pay the carrier, per order
- Packaging and extras: mailer, insert, thank-you card, per order
Use real numbers from your supplier's price list, not the cheapest blank you have ever seen. If your supplier's price changes with size, price the most expensive size you offer or set size-based prices.
Add Etsy's two kinds of fees
Etsy's fees come in two shapes:
- Percentage fees on what the buyer pays: 6.5% transaction fee, plus payment processing (3% in the US). Together that is 9.5% of item price plus shipping for a US shop.
- Fixed fees per sale: $0.20 listing fee and $0.25 payment processing fee for a US shop, so $0.45.
See the full fee breakdown for other countries and the fees that apply only sometimes.
The break-even formula
For a US shop with no Offsite Ads, every dollar the buyer pays leaves you about 90.5 cents after percentage fees. So:
- Add your costs and the fixed fees: production + shipping + packaging + $0.45
- Divide by 0.905 to get the order total you need
- Subtract the shipping you charge to get the item price
Example: production $11.50, shipping cost $4.95, packaging $0.40, and you charge the buyer $5.99 for shipping.
- $11.50 + $4.95 + $0.40 + $0.45 = $17.30
- $17.30 / 0.905 = $19.12
- $19.12 - $5.99 = $13.13 break-even item price
Pricing for a target margin
Margin here means the share of what the buyer pays that stays with you. To aim for a margin, subtract it from 0.905 before dividing:
- 20% margin: $17.30 / 0.705 = $24.54, minus $5.99 shipping = about $18.55
- 30% margin: $17.30 / 0.605 = $28.60, minus shipping = about $22.61
- 40% margin: $17.30 / 0.505 = $34.26, minus shipping = about $28.27
If your market will not pay the 30% price, that is useful information: either the product, the blank or the shipping cost has to change.
Leave room for Offsite Ads
If you are in Etsy's Offsite Ads program, some orders will cost an extra 15% (12% for larger shops). With 15%, only 75.5 cents of each dollar stays after percentage fees, so the same break-even becomes $17.30 / 0.755 = $22.91, or about $16.93 for the item. A $15.99 shirt that looks fine on a normal order loses money on an Offsite Ads order.
You do not have to price every product as if every order were an ad order, but your margin should be able to absorb them.
Free shipping without the guesswork
Because Etsy charges its percentages on item price plus shipping, moving shipping into the item price does not change the fees. If you switch to free shipping, add your real shipping cost to the price and recheck your margin. Buyers often find one all-in price easier to compare.
Bundles and multiple quantities
When a buyer orders several of the same listing, you pay $0.20 for each extra unit sold, and your shipping cost usually grows less than linearly. That is why "buy 2" pricing can work: compute the margin for an order of two or three, not just one.
Check, then set the price
Our free Etsy profit calculator does this math for you: enter your price and costs, choose your payment account country and Offsite Ads, and it shows your net profit, margin, break-even and the 20%, 30% and 40% margin prices. It runs in your browser and needs no account.
