Platform Fees and What You Actually Keep
The sale price is not what lands in your pocket. Here is how fees change the math.
Platform fees determine what you actually keep because the sale price is gross, not net. Listing fees, commission, and payment processing come out before anything reaches you, so a small looking percentage on each sale adds up. Build expected fees into your prices and compare channels by net earnings, not headline price.
The sale price is gross, not net
When a product sells, the price shown is not what you keep. Selling platforms and payment processors take their cut first, and what remains is your actual revenue on that sale. Related: When should a handmade seller stop making a product that still sells?
Keep reading: Why Your Handmade Sale Might Be Losing Money, Pricing Handmade Products With Confidence, Hidden Costs That Eat Maker Margins. See how MakerLedgr helps you per-order shipping and profit calculator for handmade sellers.
Small percentages, real impact
Each fee is a modest percentage, which makes it easy to shrug off. But across every order, and stacked together, they take a meaningful bite out of margins that were already thin.
Factor them into pricing
The right response is to include expected fees when you price, so your target margin survives them. A price set as if fees did not exist quietly delivers less profit than you planned. Related: Why Your Handmade Sale Might Be Losing Money
Compare channels honestly
Different channels charge differently. Knowing what you actually keep on each lets you compare them honestly, and decide where it is worth selling, rather than being swayed by the headline price alone.
- The sale price is gross; fees come out first
- Small fees add up to real margin loss
- Include expected fees when you set prices
- Compare channels by what you actually keep
Julien Jimenez
Julien Jimenez is an independent software builder based in Paris. He designs, ships, and operates focused SaaS products for small businesses and independent professionals. Read the full author page.
Frequently asked questions
How should fees change my listed price?
Add your expected total fee percentage on top of the price you need to net, so the fees come out of margin you planned for rather than the profit you were counting on.
Why compare sales channels by net, not price?
Two channels with the same sale price can leave very different amounts in your pocket once their fee structures differ. Only the net figure tells you which one is genuinely more profitable.
Know the real profit on every handmade order
Per-order shipping and profit calculator for handmade sellers. MakerLedgr is built to help you put this into practice.
See my marginsMore from the MakerLedgr blog
Why Your Handmade Sale Might Be Losing Money
Pricing Handmade Products With Confidence
Hidden Costs That Eat Maker Margins
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