MrBeast's Shopify store doesn't discount upsells on the product page. Looked at what they do instead and I think most POD stores are losing money to this.
Quick context. MrBeast's store is essentially a POD-adjacent merch operation. Tees, hoodies, jackets, caps. Same product categories most people here are selling. So the patterns on his product pages are directly applicable to a POD storefront, not just DTC brands with custom manufacturing.
What caught my attention
On a tee product page, there's a "Pairs well with" block at the bottom. Three addons. A jacket at $89.99, a tee at $29.99, a hoodie at $49.99. Every single one has a "LIMITED RELEASE" badge on it.
No discount. No "10% off when bought together." No bundle price. Just a badge.
For POD specifically this matters because our margins are already thinner than custom manufacturing. Every point of discount on a $29 tee from Printful or Printify is a meaningful chunk of profit gone. A badge costs zero margin.
Why most POD stores are doing this backwards
The default upsell block for a POD store on Shopify is "save 10% when you add this." Two problems with that:
- You've trained the buyer to expect a discount on every future addon. Next time they see an upsell without one, they feel like they're losing something and skip.
- You've told them the addon isn't worth full price on its own. On POD products where perceived value is already harder to build than on premium manufactured goods, this is the opposite of what you want.
For a POD store running on tight Printful or Printify margins, this is a double hit. You're paying for the conversion in price today and in future expectation forever.
What badges do instead
A badge doesn't touch the price. It changes how the buyer reads the price.
The five that actually work on a POD product page upsell:
- Most popular. Social proof. Buyers pick the addon other buyers already picked. Works especially well when the main product is a design and the addon is a different product with the same design.
- Limited release. Scarcity without a countdown timer (which POD stores shouldn't use anyway because nothing is actually limited).
- Staff pick. Works well for design-led POD stores. Signals taste over algorithm.
- Best value. Reframes a higher-priced addon like a hoodie as the smart pick versus a second tee.
- Fan favorite. POD-specific. Community-led stores use this effectively because your buyers identify as fans first.
Same addon. Same price. Different read. Margin stays intact.
What I'm testing on our own test store
Swapping a "10% off when bought together" block for a "Most Popular" badge on the highest-margin addon. Rest of the block identical. Running two weeks. My hypothesis is AOV holds and margin per upsell click goes up meaningfully.
Full disclosure on the app side
I build Libautech Bundles & Upsell, a Shopify app. Badges on addon cards is something we added directly into the app, so you can set up that exact "Pairs well with" style block with any badge you want on each addon without touching theme code. If anyone wants to see it, it's on the Shopify app store as Libautech Bundles & Upsell. Not gating anything behind a DM.
Question for the sub
For POD operators specifically: are you still running discount-based upsells, or has anyone here tested a pure badge/framing play? And if you've done both, which carried more of the lift. Curious whether the POD category responds differently than general DTC, because margin dynamics are so different.