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How to price custom tumblers

Custom tumblers range from a quick vinyl name on a stainless blank to a glitter epoxy piece that spends hours on a turner. Price each method separately, not with one flat price.

1. Blank and materials

Start with the blank tumbler (with lid and straw). Then add your decoration materials: permanent vinyl and transfer tape, sublimation paper, ink and shrink wrap, or for epoxy work, primer, glitter, epoxy and topcoat. Count blanks that come out wrong. A misaligned sublimation print or an epoxy drip usually means a lost blank.

2. Labor

Time design and proof (custom names need approval), weeding and applying vinyl, pressing, or for epoxy every coat and the sanding between coats. Turner time isn't hands-on, but it keeps your equipment busy, so account for how many tumblers you can finish per day.

3. Overhead

Heat press or tumbler press, oven or turners, cutting machine, software, and any design licenses. Don't use team logos, characters or brand names without a license. That can get listings taken down and lead to legal claims.

Platform and payment fees

Marketplaces usually take a percentage of each sale plus fixed per-order or per-listing charges, and payment processing is often separate. Fee schedules change, so read your platform's current fee page rather than trusting a number you saw once. Remember that fees are charged on the price the customer pays, so they grow as your price grows. Calculate them on your final price, not on your cost.

Choosing a markup

Once you know your true cost (materials + labor + overhead), multiply it to get a price. A common maker rule of thumb is wholesale at about 2× true cost and retail at about 2× wholesale, but that is a starting point, not a law. Check the result against what comparable products actually sell for, then decide whether your quality, story or speed justifies sitting above or below that range. If the price you need is far above what buyers pay, the fix is usually cost or time, not a smaller margin.

Tumblers are bulky to ship. Measure your packed box and check your carrier's rates, including dimensional weight, before you set your shipping price.

Worked example

Notice that the profit line comes after you've paid yourself for your time. That's the number that tells you whether this product is a business or a hobby.

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