Print on demand companies that work with Etsy (Printify and Printful are the two most searched) connect through Etsy's app marketplace and push listings live automatically. That setup means a seller is paying two fee schedules on every single order: what Etsy charges for the listing, the sale, and payment processing, and separately what the connected POD app charges for the blank, the print, and shipping. Neither fee schedule is hidden, but they are rarely added together in one place, which is why the true cost per item often surprises a new seller.
| Etsy fee | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Listing fee | $0.20 per item | When the listing goes live, and again every 4 months it stays active |
| Transaction fee | 6.5% | On the item price plus shipping and gift wrap |
| Payment processing fee | ~3% + $0.25 (US) | On every completed order |
| Offsite Ads fee | 12-15% | Mandatory over $10,000 trailing 12-month sales, optional under that |
The POD app connected to the Etsy shop bills the seller directly for the blank garment, the print run, and shipping to the buyer, at whatever base price that specific app and print provider set for the product. That charge does not appear on the Etsy fee statement. It shows up as a separate cost the seller pays to fulfill the order once Etsy has already taken its cut of the sale price the buyer paid.
Bear Grips Pro Shops: Custom Apparel for Your Team. No Minimums. Free Shipping.A seller lists a hoodie at $52. Etsy's cut: roughly $3.38 in transaction fee, about $1.81 in payment processing, and the $0.20 listing fee, for around $5.39 off the top. If the connected POD app then charges $28 to print and ship that hoodie, the seller nets about $18.61, before any ad spend used to get that sale in the first place. Both numbers are individually accurate and published; they are just rarely shown stacked together in one line.
Bear Grips Pro Shops folds the printing and free US shipping into one fixed catalog price with no separate marketplace fee stacked on top. The Comfort Soft Hoodie runs $36.88 VIP base. A vendor pricing that same hoodie at $52 retail keeps $15.12 with no listing fee, no transaction fee, and no ad fee taken out, because there is no second platform between the vendor's price and the buyer's payment. See the full Bear Grips vs Etsy comparison for how the two models compare beyond this one example.
The Etsy plus POD app stack still makes sense for a seller specifically trying to reach Etsy's built-in shopper search traffic, since that discovery is worth the fee layer for some product categories and audiences. It is a reasonable tradeoff for a seller starting with zero existing audience. It is a costlier tradeoff for a business, gym, or creator that already has somewhere to send buyers directly and does not need Etsy's search traffic to make the first sale.
One fixed price includes printing and free shipping. No listing fee, no transaction fee, no ad fee taken out.
Start FreeNo. Base pricing varies by app and by which print provider fulfills the specific product, so the same design can cost different amounts depending on which app is connected.
No. Etsy's listing, transaction, and payment processing fees apply the same way regardless of who fulfills the order.
Yes, for shops under $10,000 in trailing 12-month sales. Above that threshold, participation becomes mandatory on any sale that came through an Offsite Ad.
No. The vendor sets a retail price above the fixed catalog base and keeps the full difference, with no percentage-based fee taken out of the sale.
Bear Grips Pro Shops