Wood Sign Pricing Calculator — Materials, Hours & Etsy Profit
Price custom wood signs: board, paint and sealant, hardware, tool wear and your time give a cost per sign, then Etsy fees, oversized shipping and profit.
By Marginory teamContent reviewed
Production cost
Cost per sellable sign: $27.89
Order
This order
Price per sign for a target margin
US Etsy fees: 6.5% transaction and 3% + $0.25 processing on item + shipping, $0.20 listing fee per sign sold. Target-margin prices assume a one-sign order without Offsite Ads.
Count the time per sign, not per batch
Cutting and sanding several boards at once is efficient, but painting letters is done one sign at a time. Time a full batch, divide by the signs it produced and enter that per-sign figure.
Worked example with the default inputs
| Line | Normal sale | Offsite Ads sale (15%) |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer pays ($45.00 + $0.00 shipping) | $45.00 | $45.00 |
| Etsy fees | −$4.73 | −$11.48 |
| Cost per sign | −$27.89 | −$27.89 |
| Postage + packaging | −$14.00 | −$14.00 |
| Profit (margin) | -$1.62 (-3.6%) | -$8.37 (-18.6%) |
For a 40% margin on a one-sign order with these costs, the price would need to be about $83.85. The defaults are illustrative; replace them with your own supplier prices and timed production.
Shipping is the hidden cost
Carriers price large flat boxes by size, not just weight. Measure the packed sign, get a label quote and enter it as postage. The shipping profit calculator shows whether free shipping still leaves a profit. For engraved or cut signs, compare with the laser cut calculator.
Sources and assumptions
US Etsy fees from Etsy's fee policy. Sales tax, currency conversion and Etsy Ads you buy yourself are not modeled. Default material prices are illustrative, not market quotes. How these estimates work.
Etsy SEO and keyword research, built for sellers
Free plan available. Keyword tool, listing audits, competitor tracking, and rank checks made for Etsy shops.
Review the market, fee bases and exclusions shown with this tool. Published rates and illustrative cost inputs have different certainty. Compare your breakdown with an actual order statement. Sources and methodology.