A buyer pays £24.99 for your t-shirt. What reaches your bank account is a much smaller number, and the deductions happen in two different places — Etsy's side and Printful's side — which is why so many sellers can't reconcile their statements. Here's the full journey of that £24.99.
First the listing fee — a small flat charge (around $0.20) each time an item is listed or renewed, which effectively applies per sale for auto-renewing listings. Then the transaction fee — 6.5% of the total the buyer pays, including any shipping and gift wrap you charged. Then payment processing — a percentage plus a flat amount that varies by country (UK sellers pay roughly 4% + £0.20). If the order came via Offsite Ads, add another 12–15% depending on your shop's revenue. None of these are optional except, sometimes, Offsite Ads.
Printful charges your card the base cost of the product plus fulfilment shipping the moment the order comes in — before Etsy has paid you out. This timing gap trips up new sellers: you need float to cover orders during the payout delay. If you sell with "free shipping", the shipping cost is entirely yours.
UK and EU sellers may see VAT on Printful's base costs and on Etsy's fees depending on registration status. This article isn't tax advice — but when comparing your numbers to a calculator, check whether the base cost you entered includes VAT, because a 20% difference on costs is often the entire "mystery" gap.
£24.99 tee, free buyer shipping, UK seller, no offsite ads: Etsy takes ≈£0.16 listing + £1.62 transaction + £1.20 processing = £2.98. Printful charges ≈£9.50 base + £3.99 shipping = £13.49. Your take: ≈£8.52 — about 34% margin. One offsite-ad order at 15% (£3.75) drops that to £4.77.
Fee rates change — always confirm against Etsy's and Printful's current fee pages.