Hi, all. I’m looking at starting a puzzle store with Shopify, but production costs are too high on Printify. I did a bit of market research of top puzzle companies vs Printify vendors and the numbers don’t allow for any profit margins (even if I pay for Premium). They recommend my price set at $45, which is wildly over market.
These are all prices for 1,000 piece puzzles.
Ravensburger $25 - $30
Springbok $10 - $20
Buffalo Games $10 - $16 (a few listed at $36)
New York Puzzle Co. $20 - $25
White Mountain $20
Printify vendors:
District Photo $25.37 (low quality)
M.i.A Merchandise $34.04 (slow production)
Imagine Your Photos $26.58 (low quality)
Has anyone had success selling puzzles with Printify and can offer advice? Or does anyone know of a good alternative to Printify specifically for puzzles?
Appreciate any help with this. Thank you!
- David
I totally get the struggle with Printify’s pricing for puzzles. those costs do seem tough to work with for a competitive market. I’ve done some print-on-demand myself, and I agree that $45 for a 1,000-piece puzzle is way above what customers expect when brands like Ravensburger and Buffalo Games are $25 or less. I haven’t had success with Printify for puzzles specifically, but I can share a couple of alternatives with better margins.
Have you looked into Gooten or Prodigi? Gooten offers puzzles with sizes from 110 to 1,014 pieces, and their pricing is generally more competitive than Printify, often closer to $20 for a 1,000-piece puzzle, which could keep price around $30 and still make a profit. Prodigi is another good option, especially if you’re targeting the UK market, with wholesale prices starting around £10 for a 1,000-piece puzzle, shipped in a tin box. Both integrate with Shopify, so it’s easy to set up! You might also consider PrintKK, which focuses on custom puzzles with sharp printing and affordable pricing—I’ve seen their costs leave better profit margins than Printify, though shipping times can vary.
Another idea to boost your store: since you’re focusing on puzzles, you could add digital word puzzles as a complementary product. They’re super low-cost to offer (no production fees!) and can attract customers who love brain teasers.
Totally feel you on the pricing frustration, David. It’s tough when production costs eat so much of the margin, especially when big names like Ravensburger and Buffalo Games set customer expectations around $20-$30. I’ve been looking into puzzle trends too lately (different angle though—more on the gaming and brain teaser side). For what it’s worth, while researching, I stumbled across some pretty cool puzzle-solving communities like www.letterboxedanswer.net where word-based puzzles are getting a lot of love too. Different niche, but it gave me some ideas about offering digital puzzles or limited edition releases as a side strategy to offset higher physical production costs. Might be something to think about if you’re trying to balance quality and margins.