How does the payment process work?

Printful’s billing system depends on how you place your orders—manually or through a connected store.

If you’re placing a manual order, you’ll pay at checkout, and the order will go into production right away.

If you’ve connected a store, here’s how the payment process works:

Your customer pays you through your sales channel (Shopify or Etsy). This is where your profit is deposited.
You pay Printful for the product production cost and shipping, using either your linked card, PayPal, Apple Pay, or your Printful Wallet.

You keep the profit from the price difference between what your customer paid and what Printful charges you.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you want to sell a mug with your design and set the retail price at USD 8.98.

Production cost = USD 4.09
Your profit = USD 4.89 (54%)

When a customer adds the product to their cart and enters their shipping information, the total cost will be USD 16.74.

Retail price = USD 8.98
Shipping = USD 6.09
Total = USD 16.74, which goes to your sales channel account (Shopify or Etsy).

Printful then charges you for production + shipping:

USD 4.09 + USD 6.09 = USD 10.18
This comes from your Printful Wallet or your linked payment method.

You keep your profit (USD 4.89) in your sales channel payout, and Printful receives the production and shipping cost.

Why don’t my customers pay Printful directly?

Printful is a white-label printing partner, meaning we fulfill orders under your brand. Your customers don’t see Printful—they buy directly from your store.

Since your store handles the sale, you collect the payment. Then, Printful charges you for fulfilling that order.