Pricing Formula Guide

Pixfizz Pricing Formula Mega-Guide

Complete reference for product, variant, and option pricing

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Overview

Pixfizz pricing is powered by Ruby expressions evaluated at runtime on:

• Products

• Product attributes

• Variants / options

• Variant values

• Price variables

Pricing formulas can range from:

• Simple static pricing

• Page-based pricing

• Quantity-based pricing

• Tiered volume discounting

• Sheet-based production pricing

• Combined formulas (pages × quantity × tiers)

• Price variable–driven pricing systems

This guide documents all supported pricing patterns, using real-world Pixfizz examples.

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Where Pricing Lives in Pixfizz

Pricing formulas can be defined in:

• Product Attributes → Price

• Variants → Value price fields

• Variant Values

• Price Variables

• Option pricing (add-ons / upgrades)

All formulas are evaluated per orderline, unless explicitly using units logic.

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Core Variables You Can Use

Quantity & Units

Variable	Meaning
quantity	Quantity for this orderline only
units	Quantity aggregated across orderlines (legacy behavior)

⚠️ Prefer quantity unless you explicitly want cross-orderline pricing

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Page-Based Variables (Books / Multipage Products)

Variable	Meaning
pages	Total pages in the project
extra_pages	Pages above template minimum
uncounted_pages	Pages excluded from pricing

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Cut Print / Photo Print Variables

Variable	Meaning
cut_print_quantity	Quantity derived from per-photo UI
pages	Often reused as “prints” in sheet logic

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Price Variables (Admin → Price Variables)

Price variables are custom-defined constants, for example:

hardcover_base_a4
hc_extrapages_silk
whitelabel

⚠️ whitelabel is not a system variable — it is a custom price variable

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Simple Static Pricing

Fixed Price

19.99

Used when pricing never changes.

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Page-Based Pricing

Base Price + Per-Page Increment

Example: $19.99 base for 16 pages, +$0.50 every 2 pages

19.99 + (pages - 16) / 2 * 0.50

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Using extra_pages

19.99 + extra_pages / 2 * 0.50

Uses the template’s minimum page count automatically.

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Accounting for Uncounted Pages

19.99 + ((pages - uncounted_pages) - 16) / 2 * 0.50

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Quantity-Based Pricing (Per Orderline)

Simple Unit Price × Quantity

0.85 * cut_print_quantity

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Tiered Quantity Pricing (Per Orderline)

{
  1..10    => 0.59,
  11..49   => 0.49,
  50..249  => 0.44,
  250..499 => 0.39,
  500..2000=> 0.35
}.find { |range, unit_price|
  range.include?(cut_print_quantity)
}.last * cut_print_quantity

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Volume Discounting (Unit Price Changes by Quantity)

Example: Postcards / Prints

{
  1..1     => 8.00,
  2..5     => 6.50,
  6..10    => 6.00,
  11..20   => 5.75,
  21..30   => 5.60,
  31..50   => 4.80,
  51..1000 => 4.15
}.find { |range, unit_price|
  range.include?(quantity)
}.last

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Combining Page Pricing + Volume Discounts

Photobook with Volume Discounts

{
  1..1   => (19.99 + (pages - 16) / 2 * 0.50),
  2..5   => (18.99 + (pages - 16) / 2 * 0.45),
  6..10  => (17.99 + (pages - 16) / 2 * 0.40),
  11..20 => (16.99 + (pages - 16) / 2 * 0.35),
  21..1000 => (15.99 + (pages - 16) / 2 * 0.30)
}.find { |range, unit_price|
  range.include?(quantity)
}.last

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Sheet-Based Production Pricing

Charging by Print Sheets (Not Individual Items)

Example:

• 12 postcards per sheet

• First sheet: $10

• Each additional sheet: $8

10 + (((pages - 12.0) / 12.0).ceil) * 8

Why This Works

• pages = number of postcards

• .ceil ensures partial sheets are charged

• Reflects actual production cost

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Pack-Based Pricing (e.g. Greeting Cards)

Price per Pack (10 cards per pack)

{
  1..10   => 2.29,
  11..20  => 2.25,
  21..30  => 2.19,
  31..1000=> 2.10
}.find { |range, unit_price|
  range.include?(units)
}.last

Quantity dropdown must enforce multiples of 10.

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Incremental Unit Pricing

First Unit Expensive, Rest Cheaper

(10 + (units - 1) * 3.0) / units

• First unit = $10

• Each additional unit = $3

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Flat Pricing up to a Threshold

Example: Layflat Books

49 + ([0, pages - 50].max / 4) * 2.5

• $49 covers up to 50 pages

• Every additional 4 pages = $2.50

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Using Price Variables (Advanced, Recommended)

Example: Hardcover Book with Whitelabel Multiplier

i = 4
b = hardcover_base_a4
p = hc_extrapages_silk
e = (([24.0, pages - uncounted_pages].max - 24.0) / i).ceil

{
  1..4     => (b + e * p) * 1,
  5..19    => (b + e * p) * 0.9,
  20..49   => (b + e * p) * 0.8,
  50..1000 => (b + e * p) * 0.7
}.find { |range, unit_price|
  range.include?(quantity)
}.last * whitelabel

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Variant / Option Upgrade Pricing

Example: Paper Upgrade

p = [24, pages - uncounted_pages].max - 24
i = 2

{
  1..4     => (199.0 + p / i * 15.0),
  5..19    => (199.0 + p / i * 15.0) * 0.9,
  20..49   => (199.0 + p / i * 15.0) * 0.8,
  50..1000 => (199.0 + p / i * 15.0) * 0.7
}.find { |range, unit_price|
  range.include?(units)
}.last

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Best Practices

• ✅ Prefer clarity over cleverness

• ✅ Use price variables for maintainability

• ❌ Do not assume units unless needed

• ❌ Do not “optimize” Ruby at the expense of readability

• ✅ Copy known-working patterns

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Common Pitfalls

Issue	Fix
Unexpected discounts	Use quantity instead of units
Page math breaks	Always use decimals (12.0)
Whitelabel confusion	Remember it’s a custom price variable
Partial sheet undercharging	Use .ceil