Every Printful order involves two separate transactions. Understanding this is crucial for managing your business finances and customer service.
- Your customer pays you: When a customer places an order on your online store (e.g., Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce) or marketplace, they pay the retail price (plus shipping and tax) directly to you.
- Printful charges you: Once the order is imported to Printful, we charge your Printful Wallet or saved billing method for the fulfillment costs (product price + shipping + tax).
The difference between what your customer pays you and what Printful charges you is your profit. The way funds are transferred to you depends on your payout configuration. For specific details, please refer to the documentation or support channels of the payment processor or marketplace you are using.
Setting up payment processing
To accept payments from customers on your store, you must set up a third-party payment processor. Printful cannot collect these payments for you. Common industry-standard options include:
- PayPal: A widely accepted global payment method.
- Stripe: A powerful processor used by many platforms.
- Authorize.net: A gateway for accepting credit cards directly.
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Platform-native solutions:
- Shopify Payments: Integrated directly into Shopify.
- Etsy Payments: The standard for Etsy sellers.
- Squarespace Payments: Built-in solution for Squarespace users.
Managing refunds
Because Printful does not handle the initial transaction with your buyer, we cannot issue refunds to them.
Refunds to you (the merchant)
If an order is lost, damaged, or defective, you can submit a problem report to Printful. If approved:
- Printful will refund the fulfillment cost to your Printful Wallet.
- You can use these funds for future orders or withdraw them to your original payment method.
Refunds to your customer
Since your customer paid you directly, you are responsible for issuing refunds to them.
- You must initiate the refund through your ecommerce platform (e.g., Shopify, Etsy) or payment processor (e.g., PayPal, Stripe).
- Even if Printful refunds you for a defective item, the refund to your customer is a separate action you must take on your store's dashboard.
Still need help? Our Support Team is here for you—reach out anytime through our contact form or start a chat with us.