Overview

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 acts as the merchant of record and handles payment processing, tax collection, shipping, and order fulfillment on your behalf.


There are two purchasing options available:

  • 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.|

Merchant Responsibilities

When using any Lulu Direct integration, you are the merchant, seller of record, and the primary point of contact for your customers. Lulu Direct Customer Support is a business-to-business (B2B) service. We provide support directly to merchants using Lulu Direct and do not 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 merchant, 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: This is a requirement for using Lulu Direct, as merchants are responsible for providing support to their own customers. Without a clear way for customers to contact the merchant, 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 merchant, we will refer them back to your business for assistance.


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 without a shopping cart.

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


Buy Button

A 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 and wanting customers to 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

Please note that Direct Checkout Links are limited to a single product per link, while Buy Buttons can support multiple products through a shopping cart.


Requirements and Availability

Requirements

To participate, you must:

  • Be located in the United States.
  • Have a valid U.S.-based bank account.
  • Complete the required payment onboarding process.

Additional eligibility requirements may apply.


Stripe Onboarding

Before creating 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.


To complete the Stripe Account onboarding process, please see the article below:


How to Create and Manage a Stripe Account

Once Stripe onboarding is complete, you will need to create a sales channel before you can create Buy Buttons and Embedded Checkout URLs to sell your products.


A sales channel is the platform or method through which you sell your products to customers, such as your website, an online marketplace, or a social media storefront.


To get started, navigate to the Lulu Direct Dashboard:


1. Log into your Lulu Account.

2. Click My Stores at the top.

3. On the Lulu Direct Dashboard, click Create a Buy Button.



4. In the pop-up, enter your business name and website URL (optional), then click the Create button.



5. After clicking Create, you will be routed to the Channel Details page. 


Note: Before you can create live buy buttons, you must complete the Stripe onboarding process. If this is your first Sales Channel and you have not done so by this point, review the following article to complete Stripe onboarding before proceeding with the creation of buy buttons.

How to Create and Manage a Lulu Direct Buy Button


6. On the Sales Channel Dashboard, a product will need to be added in order to create the buy button.


Click the Add Product button.



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



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


Note: Once the buy button is created, it may take a moment to process before it is activated. Wait a moment, then refresh the screen to check the updated status.




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 for the selected 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. 



Buy Buttons

Buy Buttons can be embedded on:

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

Once embedded, customers can add products to their cart and complete checkout directly through Lulu's hosted purchasing experience.


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 Buy Buttons

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.




Customization Options (Buy Buttons only)

Buy Buttons can be customized to better match your branding and website design. Any changes you make are displayed in real time in the Preview Panel on the right side of the customization screen, 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 Buy Button widget.



Button Style

Choose the shape of the button:




Button Size

Adjust the size of the button:



Font Selection

By default, fonts will automatically be inherited from your site to better align the widget with your website's branding and visual style, or you can choose from various other options in the drop-down menu.



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 Text Color – Controls the color of the text displayed inside the Buy Button.

Button Colors

Customize the appearance of the Buy Button itself.

Available options include:

  • 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.
  • Cover Frame Color – Controls the border or frame color displayed around the product cover image.


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 a product title, author name, thumbnail image, and a 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 one of the display option of your choice can be seen on the product details page.



Payments, Shipping, and Fulfillment

All transactions completed through 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, ships, and fulfills the order directly to the customer.

For more information on Buy Button 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 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.