From floor price to payout

01Find your floor price

Your floor is the lowest price at which a sale is still worth your time. It is not the price you list. It is the line you do not go under, and every other number in this guide sits on top of it.

You need three inputs, and all three are yours:

• Minutes. The real time one item takes: setting up, shooting, picking, editing, uploading and answering messages.
• Hourly rate. What an hour of your time has to pay before you would rather do something else.
• Fee. The percentage your platform keeps from each sale.

floor = (minutes ÷ 60) × hourly rate ÷ (1 − fee)

02Price each format

Singles, sets, customs and videos take different amounts of work and give the buyer different things. Give each one its own line on your price list.

Single photos

A single is a sample. Its job is to turn a stranger into a first-time buyer. Keep one flat price for standard singles so nobody has to ask, and check that the fee leaves something meaningful on a sale that small.

Photo sets

A set should be the obvious better deal. Compare the price per photo with your single price: it should be lower, while the total is higher. Fixed sizes, such as 5 and 10 photos, keep the list short and make sets easy to compare.

Custom requests

A custom is made once, for one person, and usually cannot be resold. Its floor has no repeat sales to lean on, so it starts well above a ready-made set of the same size. List add-ons with fixed prices: a specific prop, an outfit change, a short deadline. Agree the full price before you shoot and take payment through the platform first.

Videos

Price video by length. Set a base price for a short clip and a clear step for each extra minute. Filming, checking and uploading video takes longer than stills, so run the floor formula with honest minutes.

03Work back from a target

If you have a monthly amount in mind, turn it into a number of sales before you decide whether it is realistic. The formula does not tell you the sales will happen. It tells you how many would have to.

sales needed = (target + membership) ÷ (price × (1 − fee))

04Read the fee page

Every platform publishes how it charges sellers, and the rules change over time. Read the current page yourself instead of trusting a number in a forum post. Look for these:

• Commission. A percentage of each sale. It scales with you, so it matters more the more you sell.
• Membership. A fixed monthly or yearly cost. It matters most when sales are low, because it is owed either way.
• Payment processing. Sometimes included in the commission, sometimes charged on top.
• Payout and currency charges. Costs for moving the money to you, or for converting it.

A simple way to compare two fee models: put the same price and the same sales into the calculator twice, once for each model. The better one for you depends on your volume, which is why no model is best for everyone.

05Plan around payouts

A balance on a dashboard is not money in your bank. Before you rely on it, find out four things: the minimum balance you need before you can withdraw, how often payouts run, which payout methods are offered in your country, and how long a transfer takes once it is sent.

If the minimum is high and your sales are small, weeks can pass before your first payout. That is normal, but it is better to know in advance than to find out when you need the money.

06Refunds and chargebacks

A chargeback happens when a buyer asks their card company to reverse a payment. If it succeeds, the sale is taken back out of your balance, sometimes with an added charge. You cannot remove the risk, but you can keep it small:

• Keep payment and conversation on a platform that handles disputes. Deals moved to private payment apps leave you with no protection.
• Describe each item plainly, so a buyer gets what the listing says.
• Do not send content before the payment shows as complete.
• Never refund an "accidental overpayment" yourself. It is a common trick: the original payment is later reversed and your refund is gone.
• Read the platform's refund rules once, so you know who decides.

07Raise prices on purpose

Prices should move because of what you see, not because of a mood. Three signs that a price can go up: an item sells as fast as you can list it, customs are booked further ahead than you like, or buyers accept quotes without any questions.

When you raise, change one item at a time by a small step and leave it for a few weeks. If sales hold, the new price stays. If they stop, you have learned where the ceiling is, and you can step back. Changing everything at once tells you nothing.

08Discounts and bundles

A discount is a price cut you choose to give. Give it for a reason that helps you: a bigger order, a returning buyer, older sets that have stopped selling. A bundle of two older sets at a combined price earns from work that is already finished.

Whatever the offer, run it through the floor formula first. A discounted price that lands under your floor is not a deal. It is you paying to make a sale. And when a buyer asks for less, a smaller set at a lower price protects your rate better than the same set for less.

09Records and tax

Keep a log from the first sale. Five columns are enough: date, item, price, fee, amount kept. Add any costs you pay to do this work, such as memberships or props. Ten minutes a month keeps it current.

Money from selling content is income, and in most countries it has to be reported even when it is small. Rules and thresholds differ by country and by person, so this guide cannot tell you what you owe. Two habits work everywhere: move a share of every payout into a separate pot for tax, and ask a qualified tax professional how the rules apply to you.

10One-page checklist

1. Work out a floor price for each format.
2. Write a price list with one line each for singles, sets, customs and videos.
3. Add fixed prices for add-ons and rush work.
4. Read your platform's current fee and payout pages.
5. Check each price in the calculator to see what it leaves you.
6. Keep payment and messages on the platform.
7. Log every sale and set a share aside for tax.
8. Review once a month and change one price at a time.

This guide is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. The examples are arithmetic with made-up numbers and do not describe typical results. Read the disclaimer.