By SID Corp · · Fee rates checked 06 Nov 2026.
How does print on demand work on Amazon?
You sell through a Seller Central account and list the product yourself. When an order comes in, your print supplier makes and ships it, and you mark the order shipped with the tracking number. Amazon charges a referral fee on each sale.
Most print-on-demand sellers fulfil orders themselves (FBM, fulfilled by merchant) through their supplier, so no FBA storage or fulfilment fee applies. The Professional plan costs $39.99 a month; the Individual plan has no monthly fee but charges $0.99 per item sold, which costs more once you sell about 40 items a month.
What referral fee does Amazon charge on a shirt?
Clothing and accessories pay 5% when the price plus shipping is $15 or less, 10% up to $20 and 17% above $20, on the whole total. A $15.99 shirt with $4.99 shipping pays $3.57; the same shirt at $15.00 pays $2.00.
| Price + shipping | Buyer pays | Tier | Referral fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10.00 + $4.99 | $14.99 | 5% | $0.75 |
| $15.00 + $4.99 | $19.99 | 10% | $2.00 |
| $15.99 + $4.99 | $20.98 | 17% | $3.57 |
| $24.99 + $4.99 | $29.98 | 17% | $5.10 |
The tier is set by the total the buyer pays, not the item price alone, and the rate applies to all of it. That is why a price just above a tier can keep less money than a price just below it. Most other categories pay 15%, with a minimum of $0.30 per item. Try your own price in the Amazon fee calculator.
What does the main image need?
A pure white background (RGB 255, 255, 255), at least 1000 px on the longest side so zoom works, and the product filling about 85% of the frame. Mockups with props or coloured backgrounds belong in the other image slots.
Check yours before you upload with the main image checker; it runs in your browser and measures the background, size and fill.
How do you write the title, bullets and backend keywords?
Put the main keyword at the start of the title, one benefit per bullet, and the search terms that did not fit in the backend field, which is limited to 249 bytes. Repeating title words in the backend wastes space.
Bytes are not characters: accented letters count as two or more. The backend keywords checker counts bytes, removes repeats and words already in the title, and trims the list to fit.
How do you price a shirt for Amazon?
See what similar products sell for on Amazon in the price check, then find the price that keeps your margin after the referral fee. With a $9.49 cost (a Gildan 5000 printed and shipped) and $4.99 shipping, a 30% margin needs about $9.99.
Check the margin in the profit calculator with Amazon selected; it applies the clothing tiers for you. The price check shows Amazon prices for your keyword: the median of matching products (each priced at its 360-day average), or the closest niche's average when too few products match.
How do you keep Amazon Ads profitable?
Keep ACoS (ad spend divided by ad sales) under your margin before ads. If you keep 30% of each sale before ads, an ACoS above 30% loses money on every ad sale.
The ACoS calculator shows your break-even ACoS and a target that leaves the profit you want. Watch TACoS too, ad spend divided by all sales, to see how much of the business depends on ads.
Sources: Etsy · Amazon · TikTok Shop · Shopify