Overview

Direct Buy Buttons and Direct Checkout Links provide a simple way to sell print-on-demand products without building a full online store or integrating an ecommerce platform.


With these tools, Lulu handles payment processing, tax collection, shipping, and order fulfillment on your behalf.


There are two purchasing options available:

  • Direct Buy Button – An embedded shopping experience that can be placed on a website, blog, landing page, or other supported platform.
  • Direct Checkout Link – A shareable checkout page for a single product that customers access through a URL.

Because Stripe securely processes customer payments and Lulu fulfills the order, no separate storefront, shopping cart software, or ecommerce integration is required.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Who this is for:

Buy Buttons and Direct Checkout Links are designed for:

  • Creators selling directly to an existing audience.
  • Businesses that do not currently have ecommerce infrastructure in place.
  • Sellers looking for a simple alternative to manual ordering workflows.
  • Authors, publishers, and organizations that want to sell print products without managing a storefront.

Seller Responsibilities

When using any Lulu Direct integration, you are the seller and the point of contact for your customers. Lulu Direct Customer Support is a business-to-business (B2B) service. We provide support directly to you, and you provide support to your customers.


Customer Contact Requirements

If one of your customers has a question about their order, experiences a production or shipping issue, or receives a defective product, they should contact you. As the seller, you are responsible for communicating with your customer and, when necessary, submitting a support request to Lulu Direct on their behalf. Our support team will work with you to investigate the issue and determine the appropriate resolution.

Important: The point above is a requirement for using Lulu Direct, as sellers are responsible for providing support to their own customers. Without a clear way for customers to contact the seller, they may believe something is wrong with their order or suspect fraudulent activity, which could lead to a chargeback.

If an end customer contacts Lulu Direct regarding an order placed through your store, or if they are directed to us by the seller, we will refer them back to your business for assistance.


Seller & Lulu Responsibilities

Seller

Lulu

Sell Products through your website using buy buttons.

Provide a platform to publish finalized book files to sell via buy buttons.


Set your own retail prices and collect payment from your customers through Stripe.

Produce orders after payment is received from you.

Ensure all book files provided to Lulu are reviewed, proofed, and corrected in advance of sale.

Print book as-is, using the files the user provides.

Provide customer service and respond to customer questions or issues about orders. Create support tickets on behalf of your customers and resolve them together with Lulu.

Provide customer service to the seller. Resolve seller order issues, provide guidance, and answer customer support related questions.

Communicate order updates, production and delivery estimates, and tracking information to your customers, when necessary.

Provide estimated ship dates and shipment tracking information to the seller once an order ships.

Handle customer requests such as refunds or returns according to your store policies.

Replace or refund orders that contain verified print or manufacturing defects caused by Lulu, according to Lulu's policies.

Maintain your own customer support channels (such as an email address or contact form).


Maintain the Lulu Direct Platform and fulfillment services.



Both options allow customers to purchase products through Lulu Direct, but they differ in how the checkout experience is presented. A Direct Checkout Link is a shareable URL that opens a hosted checkout page, while a buy button embeds the checkout experience directly into your website. 


A Direct Checkout Link creates a dedicated checkout page for a single product.

Key features include:

  • One product per link.
  • Shareable URL.
  • Customers can adjust quantities before purchase.
  • Customers proceed directly to checkout.

Direct Checkout Links work well for creators who want a simple purchase experience and are selling a single product at a time.


Direct Buy Button

A Direct Buy Button allows customers to add products to a shopping cart before checking out.

Key features include:

  • Supports multiple products in a single cart.
  • Can be embedded directly on websites and landing pages.
  • Customizable appearance.
  • Provides a traditional shopping-cart experience.

Buy Buttons are ideal for sellers offering multiple products so that customers can purchase several items in one transaction.

What You Can Sell

Buy buttons and Direct Checkout Links support most print-on-demand products available through Lulu.

Supported Products

  • Paperback books
  • Hardcover books
  • Coil-bound books
  • Calendars
  • Magazines
  • Other supported print-on-demand products available through Lulu

Not Supported

The following product types are not currently supported:

  • Bundles
  • Product variants
  • Ebooks


Adding a Sales Channel & Connecting to Stripe

Requirements

To create a buy button, you must:

  • Be located in the United States.
  • Your Lulu account must be set to USD currency.
  • Have a valid U.S.-based bank account.
  • Complete the required payment onboarding process with Stripe.

Additional eligibility requirements may apply.


Stripe Onboarding

Before creating Direct Buy Buttons or Direct Checkout Links, you must complete Stripe onboarding.

Stripe is used to process payouts and transfer earnings to your connected bank account.

During onboarding, you may be asked to provide:

  • Business information
  • Contact information
  • Tax information
  • Banking details
  • Identity verification documentation


Verification times vary depending on the information submitted and Stripe's review process.


Create a Sales Channel

As part of the Stripe onboarding process, you will need to create a sales channel. A sales channel organizes the products you sell, provides the HTML code or direct link for adding your Direct Buy Button or Checkout Link to your website, identifies where your sales originate, and connects your Stripe account to the channel.


When creating a sales channel, you will provide information such as:

  • A name for your sales channel
  • Your website or store URL

To complete the creation of a sales channel and the Stripe account onboarding process, please see the article below:


How to Create and Manage a Stripe Account

Once the Stripe onboarding requirement mentioned above is complete, you now have an active sales channel.


Next, to create a buy button you must add a product to your sales channel.


To get started, do the following:


1. Navigate to the Lulu Direct Dashboard.

2. Click your sales channel to open it.

3. On the Sales Channel Dashboard, click Add Product.




4. Select a Lulu book project from the drop-down menu, add a product name, product description, and price, then click Add Product.


Note: The product name you use is the name the buyer will see on your website.



5. The product will be added to your sales channel, and the buy button will be created.




Once the product is active, the buy button is ready to be shared or embedded.


Sharing and Embedding

Direct Checkout Links can be shared anywhere a URL can be placed. When customers click the link, they are taken directly to a checkout page to purchase that product.


To retrieve the Direct Checkout Link, navigate to the Lulu Direct Dashboard:


1. On the Lulu Direct Dashboard, click your sales channel to open it. 



2. Next, click the product to open it.




3. Scroll down to the Direct Checkout Link Section, then click the Copy Link button to copy the URL. 




You can now paste the URL anywhere a standard URL can be used. When the link is clicked, the customer will be taken directly to a checkout page for the product. 



Direct Buy Buttons

Buy buttons can be embedded on any site where you can add HTML:

  • Personal websites
  • Blogs
  • Landing pages
  • Supported content platforms

Once embedded, customers can add products to their cart and complete checkout.


To retrieve the buy button embed code, navigate to the Lulu Direct Dashboard, then click your sales channel to open it. 



On the Sales Channel Dashboard, click your product to open it.



On the product details page, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Copy Code button to copy the buy button embed code.



Customizing Your Direct Buy Button

Buy buttons can be customized to better match your branding and website design.


To customize a buy button, navigate to the Lulu Direct Dashboard:

1. On the Lulu Direct Dashboard, click the Sales Channel to open it.

2. On the Sales Channel Details Page, click the product that needs to be edited.

3. On the Product Details Screen, scroll down and click Customize Appearance.



Button Customization Options

Changes you make are displayed in real time in the Preview Panel, allowing you to see exactly how your buy button will appear before publishing it to your website.



Customization options currently include:


Color Theme

Select a predefined color theme for the overall appearance of the Direct Buy Button widget.



Button Style

Choose the shape of the button:



Button Size

Adjust the size of the button:



Font Selection

Select a font for your button. 


Note: You can choose whichever font you like for the button, however, you can also inherit the font family from your website by selecting Inherit font family from the top selection of the drop-down menu. This is the best way to match the font style with your site.




Text Size

Adjust the size of text displayed throughout the widget:



Text Colors

Customize the colors used for text elements within the widget.

Available text color settings include:

  • Primary Text color – Controls the color of product titles, descriptions, and other informational text.

Button Colors

Customize the appearance of the buy button itself.

Available options include:

  • Button Text color – Controls the color of the text displayed inside the buy button.
  • Background color – Controls the color of the buy button background.

Surface Colors

Customize the colors used throughout the widget container.

Available options include:

  • Widget Background color – Controls the background color of the overall product display area.
  • Border color – Controls the frame color displayed around the product cover image and around the whole widget.


Direct Buy Button Display Options

Buy buttons can be displayed in several formats depending on how much product information you want to show customers.


Button Only

Displays a simple call-to-action button:



Product Preview

This option displays the product title, product name, thumbnail image, price, and purchase button:



Product Showcase

This option displays a product title, product type, thumbnail image, product description, and purchase button.




After customizing your buy button, the embed code for the display option of your choice can be copied from the product details page.



Payments, Shipping, and Fulfillment

All transactions completed through Direct Buy Buttons and Direct Checkout links are processed by Stripe. Your customer will see Lulu listed as the merchant on their card statement.

This means Lulu handles:

  • Payment processing

  • Sales tax and VAT collection where applicable

  • Shipping calculations

  • Order fulfillment

  • Customer checkout experience

Once an order is placed, Lulu prints, fulfills, and ships the order to the customer.

For more information on order payments, shipping, and fulfillment, please see the following articles:

Shipping FAQ 

How Do Direct Buy Button Payouts Work?


Customer Data and Order Management

Orders placed through Direct Buy Buttons and Direct Checkout Links can be viewed from your Lulu Direct Channel Orders dashboard.

From the dashboard, you can:

  • View orders
  • Monitor order status
  • Track fulfillment progress
  • Access shipment tracking information when available


You will have access to customer information needed for order management and reporting.


If a trackable shipping option was used for the order, that information is available in your Lulu Direct dashboard. Your customer will receive an automated shipping notification with tracking.