A discount can look small on the selling price and take a large share of what the order leaves behind. Before promoting a print-on-demand (POD) bundle, calculate its contribution after products, shipping, packaging, fees and other order-linked costs.

Use a contribution calculation before choosing a promotion. The example below is hypothetical, in US dollars, and is not Brilliantor pricing or a forecast of results.

Define exactly what the buyer receives

Write down the products, selected variants, packaging and delivery arrangement. Check whether the items can ship together or incur separate shipping charges. A curated gift set and a discounted multi-item basket may create different packing and support work.

Shopify’s bundle documentation describes related products sold together and notes that its bundle setup requires an app. Check current platform eligibility and behavior before promising a particular bundle experience. This guide does not assume an app, integration or supplier arrangement is already available.

List costs that change with the order

Include the cost of every item, decoration, packaging, shipping paid by the business, payment and marketplace fees, and other directly attributable work. Model expected replacements or refunds using your own evidence; do not borrow an industry percentage and present it as your store’s rate.

Keep fixed overhead separate for the first calculation. That makes it easier to see what contribution means and what still needs to be covered.

Contribution per bundle = net order revenue − variable order costs.

For this worksheet, net order revenue excludes sales tax collected on behalf of authorities and includes any shipping revenue retained by the business. Use consistent treatment of taxes and fees in your own records.

Work through a hypothetical bundle

Assume a customer pays $42 after discounts, excluding sales tax, with no separate shipping charge:

Component Hypothetical amount
Net order revenue $42.00
Two products and decoration $19.00
Shipping paid by seller $7.00
Packaging $1.50
Payment/platform fees $2.00
Variable packing or service work $2.50
Total variable cost $32.00
Contribution before overhead $10.00

The contribution margin is $10 ÷ $42, or approximately 23.8%. This is not net profit: fixed overhead, acquisition costs not yet included and other business expenses still matter.

If a promotion cuts net revenue to $37 while these costs remain unchanged, contribution falls to $5. The $5 discount has halved the original contribution in this simplified example. Recalculate percentage-based fees for a real promotion rather than assuming every cost stays fixed.

Stress-test the costs that can move

Run a few cases before launch: a more expensive shipping destination, a second parcel, a replacement or a different product variant. Give each case its own assumptions instead of hiding them in one average.

If a split shipment adds a hypothetical $4 to the discounted example, the remaining contribution becomes $1. That does not automatically mean the bundle should be rejected, but it reveals how little room remains for uncounted work.

Use actual costs when available. Mark estimates with a review date and replace them after observing real orders.

Calculate a floor when fees depend on revenue

For a simplified model, let R be net order revenue, C the variable costs that do not change with that revenue, F a fixed per-order fee, r the fee rate expressed as a decimal and K your target contribution.

Required revenue = (C + F + K) ÷ (1 − r).

For an invented example, C = $30, F = $0.30, r = 0.03 and K = $8. Required revenue is $38.30 ÷ 0.97, or about $39.4845. Round up to $39.49 if the order must retain at least $8 after the modeled fees. That is the revenue needed to retain the target contribution under these assumptions, not a recommended retail price or a statement of actual platform fees.

Check the real fee basis before using the formula: some charges may apply to shipping, taxes or a different amount. Add each applicable fee accurately rather than assuming one percentage covers everything. The target contribution also needs to support overhead and other expenses; it is not take-home profit.

Choose a discount that the numbers support

Start with your required contribution and work toward an offer, rather than selecting a familiar discount percentage first. You might find that a smaller discount, a different combination or clearer curation creates a more sustainable offer.

Do not describe a bundle as saving a particular amount unless the comparison prices are genuine and the offer presentation is accurate. Keep the scope clear: what is included, what can be personalized and whether items arrive separately.

Review after the first orders

Compare estimated and actual shipping, fees, service time and replacement costs. Revise the offer if the gap is material. For costs beyond the unit price, use the merchandise budget guide.

A useful bundle calculation makes the tradeoff visible before a promotion scales the problem.