Quick answer
Etsy allows print on demand when you print your own original designs: Etsy treats the print service as a production partner, and using production partners, including print-on-demand services, to fulfill and ship orders is allowed only if the items must be the seller's original design or the buyer's customization. You add the partner in Shop Manager, then Settings, then Partners you work with, link it to each listing, and set the ship-from location to the partner's. On a $30 card sale with free shipping, Etsy's fees come to $3.30, before the print service's own charge.
Nation, an AI store builder, publishes this page. It is pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai, so it is not in the fee comparison. See where Nation fits.
How print on demand works on Etsy
Print on demand on Etsy means you create the artwork, and a print service puts it on a t-shirt, mug, poster or other base item after a buyer orders. Etsy's word for that print service is a production partner: a company or individual outside your shop that physically produces items based on your own, original designs. Etsy's own list of partner types includes print-on-demand services, companies that print and ship individual items only when ordered.
The rule that decides whether a print-on-demand shop is allowed is about the design. Etsy's Help Center says using production partners, including print-on-demand services, to fulfill and ship orders is allowed, as long as the items must be the seller's original design or the buyer's customization. It also says that using a partner to sell products the seller did not design and buyers did not personalize breaks Etsy's policies.
In practice a print-on-demand listing on Etsy has four parts: your own design, a disclosed production partner, a shipping profile that ships from the partner's location, and a processing time that covers printing. The rest of this page goes through each one, then works out the fees on one sale.
The designed by a seller standard
Etsy's Creativity Standards say all items must incorporate a human touch, and they group items by how the seller is involved. Print on demand falls under designed by a seller, which Etsy defines as sellers’ original designs that are produced or printed by a third party or offered as a digital download. One of Etsy's own examples is a graphic logo created by a seller and printed onto a phone case by a third-party printer.
A second route exists for personalized products. Under sourced by a seller, Etsy allows items created using a buyer’s unique text or image, produced by a production partner, such as a shirt printed with a buyer's name. Here the buyer supplies the custom part, and the partner still has to be disclosed.
Some businesses do not count as production partners. Etsy's list includes white label manufacturers and commercial retailers and wholesalers, and it says sourcing products from businesses that do not qualify penalties up to and including account suspension.
- Allowed: your own illustration printed on a mug by a print service.
- Allowed: a shirt printed with the buyer's own text through a production partner.
- Not allowed: a ready-made design from a supplier's catalog that you did not create.
- Not allowed: someone else's artwork, which is not your original design.
How to add an Etsy production partner to your listings
Etsy requires sellers who use a production partner to disclose it, in Etsy's words to transparently share this information on the applicable listings. You set up the partner once, then link it to each listing it makes. you can’t add new production partners in the Etsy Seller app, so start on Etsy.com.
Open the partner settings
Go to Shop Manager, then Settings, then Partners you work with, and select Add a new production partner.
Name the partner or describe it
Enter the partner's details. You choose whether buyers see the partner's name: you can show the partner's name or a public descriptive title such as “Apparel printer”.
Add the location and the public description
Enter the city or region where the partner works, and describe in plain words what it does for you, for example printing and packing your designs.
Answer the internal questions
Etsy asks a few questions about the partnership. The answers in More about your partnership are for Etsy’s internal use and are not shown to buyers.
Link the partner to listings
Add the partner in the Production partners section of a listing, or select several listings in Shop Manager and choose Editing options, then Change production partners.
Update the shipping location
Etsy asks that listings’ shipping locations must reflect if they ship from a production partner’s location. Use a shipping profile with the partner's ship-from country and postal code.
What buyers see about your production partner
Buyers see your production partners in your shop’s About section. That is where the partner's name, or the descriptive title you chose, appears along with your public description of how you work together. Your answers to Etsy's internal questions stay private.
Listing photos are the other place buyers judge a print-on-demand item. Etsy's image rules say that for an original design printed onto a base item, a stock photo mockup may illustrate an original design printed onto a base item. If the partner manufactures an item you designed from scratch, such as a garment, use a real photo of the physical end product. For personalized items, the first image must show a finished, customized item similar to what buyers will receive.
Partners cannot be added to every kind of listing. Etsy does not allow production partners on supplies and vintage items.
Connecting a print-on-demand provider to your shop
If your print service offers an Etsy app, you connect it from Shop Manager, then Apps. To connect one, you create an account on the developer’s website and follow its steps to connect the app.
Read the provider's terms before you connect: Etsy notes that apps may require agreeing to the developer’s terms and may be subject to fees, and asks you to review the developer's information about the app, including pricing, feature details, and data use. Etsy's fees do not include the print service's charge for making and shipping each item, so check its price list for the products you plan to sell.
To disconnect a provider later, go to Account settings, then Apps, then Connected apps, then Revoke. Etsy notes that a disconnected app may retain data it previously received. Add the print service as a production partner in Shop Manager, then Settings, then Partners you work with as well; connecting the app is a separate step.
Processing times and shipping profiles for printed items
Etsy defines processing time as how much time you need to get an order ready before handing off to a mail carrier. For a print-on-demand item, that is the time the partner needs to print and pack the order, and it should match what the partner states for that product. In Etsy's count, processing starts the day after your item is purchased.
Processing time matters beyond the delivery estimate: it also affects when the buyer can open a case and when they can leave a review. You must mark the item as shipped by 11:59pm on the ship date. If no processing time is set, the buyer won’t see a ship-by date during checkout. If you have a history of shipping faster than stated, buyers may see delivery estimates based on your actual processing time, worked out over the past 120 days, with at least 5 orders shipped.
A shipping profile holds the rates and the origin for a group of listings. Etsy allows one shipping profile per listing, and edits update every listing the profile is applied to. If you use more than one partner, or one partner with several print locations, make a separate profile for each origin so that buyers see the right delivery dates.
Etsy fees on one print-on-demand sale
Example: one $30 printed t-shirt, paid by card in US dollars, with free shipping, no sales tax and no ad involved. The print service's own charge for making and shipping the shirt is not included, because it depends on the provider and the product. The same sale on your own Shopify store is shown for comparison.
- Shopify $1.17 plus $39 a month Card 2.9% + 30¢ $1.17
- Etsy baseline $3.30 no monthly plan Listing $0.20, Transaction 6.5% $1.95, Processing 3% + $0.25 $1.15
Assumes a $30 item, free shipping, no tax, a standard US card, no Etsy ads and no currency conversion.
Etsy fees that apply to print-on-demand listings
On Etsy the $3.30 total is three fees: $0.20 per listing for the listing, a 6.5% transaction fee on the item price plus shipping and gift wrapping, and 3% + $0.25 for payment processing on the total sale, including tax and shipping. Your margin is the sale price minus those fees minus the print service's charge.
Two fee rules add up when you list many designs. Each listing costs $0.20 per listing, and a listing expires after 4 months, so renew designs that sell. The Offsite Ads fee is 15% of an attributed order for shops under the sales threshold, capped at $100 per order, and shops under $10,000 in sales over the past 365 days can opt out.
How to start a print on demand business on Etsy
The order below follows Etsy's rules from the sections above.
Make designs you own
Create original artwork. Etsy accepts items that are sellers’ original designs that are produced or printed by a third party or offered as a digital download, so templates or catalog designs you did not create do not qualify.
Pick a provider and order a sample
Choose a print service that connects through Shop Manager, then Apps. A sample shows you print quality and real production time.
Open the shop and add the partner
Open your Etsy shop, then add the provider in Shop Manager, then Settings, then Partners you work with before you publish listings.
Set processing and shipping
Create a processing profile that covers printing, and a shipping profile with the partner's origin.
Price for fees and base cost
Add the print service's charge to Etsy's fees, which come to $3.30 on a $30 sale, and set a price that leaves a margin.
Where Nation fits
Nation
Category: an AI store builder
Nation says one description of what you make builds the store, then agents handle orders, customers and delivery and run ads, content and social posts, with you approving the work. Because pricing is not announced yet, it is not in the fee comparison.
Limits today
- Status: pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai.
- Pricing and fees: not announced yet.
- Shopper marketplace: no shopper marketplace has been announced.
- Track record: no independent reviews or public stores yet.
Nation publishes this page. Nation is not in the fee comparison until signup is public and pricing is published.
Describe what you makeQuestions about print on demand on Etsy
Is print on demand allowed on Etsy?
Print on demand is allowed on Etsy when you sell your own designs. Etsy's Help Center says using production partners, including print-on-demand services, to fulfill and ship orders is allowed, as long as the items must be the seller's original design or the buyer's customization. You must disclose the print service as a production partner and ship from its location.
What is an Etsy production partner?
An Etsy production partner is a company or individual outside your shop that physically produces items based on your own, original designs, such as a printing service, apparel producer or engraver. Etsy lists print-on-demand services as one partner type. Sellers must disclose each partner on the listings it makes, and buyers see partners in your shop’s About section.
Is there an Etsy production partners list?
Etsy keeps a production partners list for each shop, in Shop Manager, then Settings, then Partners you work with. Each partner you add there can be linked to listings, and edits apply to every linked listing. Etsy's Help Center describes partner types, such as print-on-demand services, companies that print and ship individual items only when ordered, rather than an approved list of companies.
Do I have to show my print provider's name to buyers on Etsy?
Etsy does not require you to show your print provider's name to buyers: you can show the partner's name or a public descriptive title such as “Apparel printer”. Buyers still see the name or descriptive title, plus your public description of how you work together, in your shop’s About section.
Can I use mockups for print-on-demand listings on Etsy?
Mockups are allowed for some print-on-demand listings on Etsy. For an original design printed onto a base item such as a t-shirt or mug, a stock photo mockup may illustrate an original design printed onto a base item. For a personalized item, the first image must show a finished, customized item similar to what buyers will receive.