Marketplaces desk · Print on Demand
Printful and Printify's $0.40 holiday surcharge: who pays it, and how to cover it
Both print-on-demand suppliers charge sellers a $0.40 holiday shipping surcharge on each order to a US address, from October 15, 2026, to January 17, 2027. It isn't added to your storefront prices automatically, so unless your prices already cover it, it comes out of your margin. Here's what it costs, and how to pass it on.
The short version: If you sell through Printful or Printify, each order you ship to a US address costs you an extra $0.40 until January 17, 2027. Both suppliers charge it to you, the seller, and neither adds it to your storefront prices automatically. Unless you've raised your prices, it's coming out of your margin on every US order right now. The one exception: Printify orders that use TikTok Shipping.
Forty cents sounds small. Across a busy holiday season, it isn't.
Which orders it applies to
Both suppliers charge the surcharge from October 15, 2026, to January 17, 2027, on orders shipped to US addresses, whatever the shipping method. It's charged once per order. Printful says that holds even when an order ships in more than one parcel, and Printify says the same when several print providers fulfil one order.
Both say they add it every holiday season, in line with the peak-season surcharges US carriers charge.
What it costs a small shop
The surcharge is flat, so it adds up with your order count, not your order size.
- 100 orders in the season: $40.
- 500 orders: $200.
- 1,000 orders: $400.
It hurts most on low-profit orders. On an order that makes you $2, 40 cents is a fifth of your profit.
How to pass it on
Printful. If you use Shopify flat rates or Printful's live shipping rates (on Shopify, WooCommerce, Ecwid or a custom store), go to Dashboard, then Settings, then Store settings, then Shipping. Under "Temporary shipping surcharges", tick "Add surcharges to shipping prices on my storefront."
Etsy with Printful. Create a new shipping profile, or duplicate a Printful-generated one, add $0.40 to your US rates, and move your listings onto it. Printful says its own generated profiles get overwritten when products update, so changes made there won't last.
Printify. Raise your product prices in Printify, then republish the products so the change reaches your store.
Two more details. Printful says sales tax applies to the surcharge in states where shipping is taxable, and coupons and shipping discounts don't cover it. Printify refunds the surcharge if an order is fully cancelled, but keeps it on a partial cancellation.
What to do this week
- Check a recent US order for the surcharge in its shipping cost.
- Decide which products need it passed on, starting with your lowest-profit ones. Remember marketplace fees take a cut of anything you add.
- Make the change using the steps above for your platform.
- Re-run your prices with our free print-on-demand profit calculator.
- Set a reminder for January 18 to take the $0.40 back out of your prices.
What's still unknown: the help pages don't say what next season's surcharge will be. We'll update this story if either supplier changes it before January 17.
What we checked: Printful's and Printify's help pages on the 2026 holiday shipping surcharge, read on November 4, 2026. Both are listed below.
Sources, checked 4 Nov 2026
- Printful Help Center, 'What is the holiday shipping surcharge and does it affect my orders?', read 4 Nov 2026. help.printful.com
- Printify Help Center, 'Holiday Shipping Surcharge 2026', read 4 Nov 2026. help.printify.com
Applies to: Sellers using Printful or Printify who ship orders to US addresses.
How this was made: researched from the sources below, checked claim by claim and edited by Drew Halden. Editorial responsibility: ePORTS LLC. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice. Spotted an error? Tell us and we'll correct it on this page.