With print on demand, it is easy to sell a lot and still make very little. The fix is to price from your costs upward, not from your competitors downward.
Step 1: List every cost per order
- Base product cost from your provider
- Shipping you pay the provider
- Marketplace fees (listing, transaction, payment processing)
- Currency conversion if you are billed in USD
- Ad costs, if you run ads
- A small allowance for reprints and refunds
Step 2: Decide your target profit
Pick a dollar amount you want to keep per item, not just a percentage. A low margin on a low price leaves almost nothing.
Step 3: Work out the price
Price = (all costs + target profit), adjusted upward so that the percentage fees are covered too. A spreadsheet handles this easily: put the percentage fees in their own cells and let the formula solve for the price.
Step 4: Sanity check against the market
Now look at similar listings. If you are far above them, you need a stronger design, better photos, or a cheaper blank. Don’t cut your profit to match.
Free shipping or not?
Many buyers prefer free shipping. If you offer it, put the shipping cost into the item price and recheck your margin.
TREVOR: add one worked example from your shop with real numbers, and consider sharing the spreadsheet as a free download.
