How does the payment process work?
When you make a sale, the payment happens in two steps:
- Your customer pays through your sales channel (Shopify, Etsy, etc.). After your sales channel processes the payment and any applicable fees, it pays your earnings to you according to its payout schedule.
- You pay Printify for the cost of making and shipping the item.
The difference is your profit. Printify doesn't receive your store’s sales money; you must link a payment method (card or PayPal, etc.) so Printify can start production.
Example: Selling a mug
Let's look at how the math works in a real-world scenario: Imagine you want to sell a mug with your design and set the retail price at 8.98 USD.
| Step | Action | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Customer pays you | Retail price ($8.98) + shipping ($6.09) + tax ($1.67) | $16.74 (Sent to your store) |
| 2. You pay Printify | Production cost ($4.09) + shipping ($6.09) | $10.18 (Printify Balance or your linked payment method) |
| 3. Your profit | The money left over in your store account | $4.89 Profit (54%) |
Why doesn’t Printify take the production cost directly from my sales channel?
Each sales channel (Etsy, Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.) has its own payment system and controls the payouts. Printify cannot withdraw funds directly from your store’s customer payments.
That’s why Printify must charge the order’s production and shipping costs separately from Printify Balance (if you’ve topped it up), or your linked card or PayPal account.
Waiting for a store to "payout" to your bank can take days. By charging your card directly, Printify can start making your order immediately.
Exception: Printify Pop-Up Store payouts
If you sell through the Printify Pop-Up Store, the payment process works differently:
- Printify collects the total payment from the customer.
- Printify pays for production and shipping automatically.
- Your profit is transferred to your bank account via Stripe.
How to track your spending
You can see exactly what you’ve been charged by going to Printify Dashboard → Orders → Billing and Transactions section.
Here’s what you’ll see:
- Product Cost/Total – The cost of making your order, including any extras like additional print areas or custom labels.
- Shipping Cost – The delivery fee for your order.
- Taxes – Any applicable taxes for production and shipping.
- Transactions – A detailed record of charges and payments. This includes your transaction history, payment method, transaction amount, currency, and any refund details.