Print-on-demand looks like easy money until you do the maths. A $25 t-shirt sounds great until you realise $16.64 goes to Printful, $2.19 goes to Etsy and IRS (sales tax on Etsy fees), leaving you $6.17. That’s about 25% margin — fine, but tighter than most beginners expect.
The calculator above models the full cost stack: Printful base cost + Printful shipping + sales platform fee + US sales tax on the platform fee (for sellers in states with sales tax). Plus quantity scaling and a breakeven price for any product/platform combination.
Why hoodies are hard
The base cost economics:
| Product | Base | Shipping (1st item) | POD cost | Typical sale | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic T-shirt | $8.95 | $4.69 | $13.64 | $20-$22 | 32-38% |
| Premium T-shirt | $11.95 | $4.69 | $16.64 | $24-$28 | 31-41% |
| Hoodie | $22.95 | $7.19 | $30.14 | $35-$40 | 14-25% |
| Mug 11oz | $7.95 | $4.99 | $12.94 | $16-$20 | 19-35% |
| Phone Case | $11.95 | $4.99 | $16.94 | $22-$28 | 23-40% |
| Sticker 3x4 (kiss-cut) | $2.49 | $4.29 | $6.78 | $8-$12 | 15-44% |
| Poster 18x24 | $10.95 | $5.99 | $16.94 | $20-$30 | 15-44% |
Stickers and basic t-shirts tend to produce the strongest per-unit margins relative to their sale price. Hoodies carry the highest shipping cost of the group, so they need a higher price point to hold a comparable margin. These are typical-sale-price estimates — run your own numbers above with your actual price and quantity.
The platform fee + sales tax trap
For sellers in states with sales tax (most under state sales tax nexus), Etsy’s fees attract US sales tax:
- 6.5% transaction fee → 7.8% effective (after sales tax)
- $0.20 listing fee → $0.24 effective
This catches people who price products against the headline 6.5% number and find their actual margin 1-2pp lower than expected. The calculator above includes this automatically.
Quantity matters
Printful’s first-item shipping is $4.50-$5.95. Additional items in the same order are $1.50-$2.95. A 2-item order has shipping cost $6 vs 2× single-item shipping at $9 — significant per-order improvement.
Practical implications: - Bundle deals (2 t-shirts, get 10% off): margins on bundled orders are often dramatically better than singles - “Add another for $X off” upsells: cheap to fulfil because of additional-item shipping discount - Set-style products (3-pack stickers): Printful effectively pre-bundles for you
When Shopify beats Etsy
| Channel | Per-sale fee | Monthly cost | Traffic source | When it wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etsy | 6.5% + $0.20 + sales tax | None | Etsy search + Offsite Ads | 0-100 sales/month, no marketing budget |
| Shopify | 1.5-2% (Shop Pay) | $25/month | Your own ads + SEO | 100+ sales/month, willing to do marketing |
| eBay | ~13% + $0.30 | None | eBay search | Heavily price-driven categories |
| Custom | 1.5-3% (payment) | Variable | Your audience | You have a list/social presence |
Most POD sellers start on Etsy (cheap to test, built-in traffic), then add Shopify when volume justifies the $25/month + own-marketing cost.
What the calculator doesn’t include
- Marketing/ad spend — typically 10-30% of revenue for active POD sellers using Etsy Ads or Facebook/Instagram ads
- Design time/cost — your hourly time creating designs (or licensed graphics costs)
- Etsy Offsite Ads — 12-15% commission on attributed sales for sellers who aren’t opted out (and below $10k/year can’t opt out)
- Income tax — see side hustle tax calculator for the post-tax view
- Returns and chargebacks — typically 1-3% loss rate on POD; build into your pricing
Putting it all together
For a sustainable POD business: aim for 30%+ gross margin per product, 25%+ after marketing costs, and prepare to pay 20-40% of net profit in tax (depending on your other income). That means: a $25 t-shirt with $16.64 Printful cost + $2.19 platform fees → $6.17 gross profit → $3.50-$4.50 after marketing → $2.50-$3.50 after tax. Sustainable, but you need volume to make it meaningful.
Aim for the right products (mugs, premium t-shirts), the right platform (Etsy initially, Shopify at scale), and the right pricing (15%+ above breakeven) for genuine economics.