Print-on-demand margins: base cost, fees, and what is left per sale

A 5-beat faceless video outline for “Print-on-demand margins: base cost, fees, and what is left per sale” in the Side hustle breakdowns niche, derived from caption timing of 2 reference videos.

Angles

• Cold-open on the hype number, then cut to a real 7-day ledger: 11 sales, about $550 gross — but not all profit
• Itemize the stack on screen: design costs (Fiverr), marketplace cut (Etsy 6.5% + fees), base product and shipping
• Treat time as a cost line — the long guide closes with "don't forget about your time, it isn't free"
• Close on a margin-per-sale card and the levers that move it (niche, product choice, pricing), not a passive-income promise

Beat-by-beat structure

1. Hook (0:00–0:30): screenshot-style revenue claim vs one honest week of orders.
2. Setup (0:30–2:00): POD partner + storefront; why one design across every product is a weak start.
3. Cost stack (2:00–4:30): base cost, shipping, marketplace fees, listing fees, design spend — dollars on screen.
4. Margin per sale (4:30–6:00): what is left from one T-shirt order; break-even number of sales.
5. Recap card: three levers and a kill-criterion. No income guarantees; original narration only.

Reference videos

• I Tried Print On Demand For 7 Days, This Is How Much I Made xxN5vSy0d8k
• The Only Print On Demand Guide You Need in 2026 (With AI) 9tKeNT-k4kk

Method

yt-dlp VTT captions (manual/uploader only) → timed beat heuristics → editorial topic synthesis (no ASR). Structure only; write original narration.