Door cost page · fees checked October 2026
Print on demand (POD) promises no inventory: a provider like Printful or Printify prints your design on a shirt, mug, or poster only when someone orders, and ships it for you. The promise is true — and the cost it hides is not a fee. It is the base cost of every item, which quietly eats the margin, and the sample orders you must buy to know what you are actually selling.
This door fits design-people who hate shipping. It does not fit anyone who cannot afford to proof their own products.
The fees, dated
| Fee | Amount | What it actually is |
|---|---|---|
| Shop set-up fee | $15–$29, one time | Charged at signup since 2024; the exact amount is shown when you open the shop. |
| Listing fee | $0.20 per listing | Each listing lasts 4 months, then renews at another $0.20 if it has not sold. |
| Transaction fee | 6.5% | On the total the buyer pays, including the shipping you charge. |
| Payment processing (US) | 3% + $0.25 | Etsy Payments. Other countries differ slightly. |
| Regulatory operating fee (US) | Under 1% | A small country fee Etsy adds on top; it varies by country. |
| Offsite Ads | 12% or 15% | Only when a sale comes through Etsy's ads. Optional under $10,000/year in sales; required above it. Not a cost to open. |
| Print provider base cost | Per order, not a fee to open | A typical shirt (blank + print) runs about $12–$15 before shipping on the big providers; mugs and posters differ. This is your biggest per-sale line. |
| Sample orders | About $24 each | Your own products, bought at your own shop's cost, to check print quality, colors, and shipping time before a stranger does. |
Worked example, checked October 2026: on a $25 sale, the always-on Etsy fees (listing share, transaction, processing, regulatory) come to about $2.97. Fees recorded from Etsy's published Fees & Payments policy.
| Shop set-up fee | $15–$29 |
| First 10 listings | $2.00 |
| Two sample orders | About $48 |
| Total cash before your first sale | $55–$95 (range allows for dearer samples) |
Worked basket at October 2026 prices. Your basket moves with your listings and materials — the calculator below uses your numbers.
Base costs eat the margin quietly. A $25 shirt with a $13.50 base cost, $4.50 shipping, and about $3 of Etsy fees leaves roughly $4 — before the ad or discount that got the click. The door works when the design is specific enough to price at $30–$40, not when it races to $19.99.
Don't start with this door if your budget cannot cover two sample orders — selling a print you have never held is how a shop starts with angry first reviews.
3–12 weeks is a normal planning range for a first sale. Niche-specific designs on searched-for occasions (professions, hobbies, family roles) land faster than general jokes and quotes.
See every door's fees in one dated dataset · Compare doors with the finder
The verdict is step one. The First Door Kit carries the launch checklist for this door, the first-10-listings worksheet, and the budget sheet that keeps the basket above honest when your real numbers replace ours.
Included in the $39 First Door Kit
Go deeper · Sister site
The full Etsy pre-flight — the specificity rubric and the guided demand check — lives at ShopPreFlight.
Printify is usually cheaper per item because it routes to competing print shops; Printful is usually more consistent because it prints in its own facilities. Beginners should order the same design from both before choosing — that is what the sample budget is for.
You do, first — it is your shop. The providers replace or reprint misprints under their own policies, which is another reason your samples matter: you learn the policy before a customer tests it.
Close cousins, different shelves. Print on demand prints your design after the order; dropshipping ships an existing product someone else stocked. They have different traps — the dropshipping version gets its own reality check on this site.