Start a Print on Demand Business

Unit Economics Worksheet

Companion to "What the money looks like."

1. One shirt, taken apart (per-listing profit calculator)

Worked example from the course (assumptions: $21.99 Etsy tee, budget production partner, before offsite ads). Fee stack: Etsy transaction 6.5% (price incl. shipping), payment processing 3% + $0.25, listing fee $0.20 (renews every 4 months).

Line	Worked example	Your listing
Retail price	$21.99	$
Base shirt cost (budget partner ~$6-8; premium ~$12.95 at Printful, ~$9 on its paid Growth plan)	~$7.00	$
Shipping you cover (~$4-5 band)	~$4.50	$
Etsy transaction fee (6.5%)	~$1.43	$
Payment processing (3% + $0.25)	~$0.91	$
Listing fee	$0.20	$0.20
You keep, before offsite ads	~$7.95	$

2. Offsite ads case (price with it in the room)

Offsite Ads charge 15% of a sale when Etsy advertises your listing and it converts. Under $10,000 trailing 365-day revenue you pay the 15% only while enrolled, and you can opt out in settings. At/above $10,000 the rate drops to 12% but participation is mandatory for the lifetime of the shop. Worked example: 15% of $21.99 = $3.30 off $7.95 leaves about $4.65.

Scenario	Worked example	Your listing
Offsite-ads order, under $10k, enrolled	~$4.65	$
Offsite-ads order, at/above $10k (12%, mandatory)	$7.95 − 12% of $21.99 (≈$2.64) = ~$5.31	$

3. Margin floor decision (work the math in reverse before you list)

Step	Your numbers
Lowest margin you will accept per sale	$
Base cost + shipping + fee stack at your intended price	$
Retail price needed to clear the floor	$
Decision: raise the price / pick a cheaper partner / do not list the design

Operator rule of thumb: 20 to 40% net margin on print on demand items. The lever is retail price, not base cost: every dollar of price increase drops almost straight to your margin. High-ticket items (blankets, jewelry, sweatshirts) carry bigger absolute profit because the fee percentages hurt less as prices climb. Marketplaces disburse on their own schedule, days to weeks after the sale.

4. Monthly roll-up

Month	Revenue	Fees + base + shipping	Profit	Notes
1	$	$	$
2	$	$	$
3	$	$	$
6	$	$	$	kill-criteria read here

Reality anchor: median Etsy sellers make a few hundred dollars a month in revenue before costs; sellers clearing $1,000+ a month are roughly the top ten percent, usually after a year or more of catalog building. Revenue screenshots are marketing; profit is the business.