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Marketplace commission

Marketplace commission is the fee a marketplace charges a seller for each item sold, usually a percentage of the price at a rate set by product category.

How it works

An online marketplace takes its commission only when an item sells. Rozetka sets the rate by product category; Amazon in the US charges a 15% referral fee on home and kitchen products, with a minimum per item.

The percentage is only part of the cost. Amazon takes its percentage of the total price, shipping and gift wrap included, adds a selling plan fee per item or per month, and bills fulfilment and advertising separately.

To compare a marketplace with Google Ads, count the cost of one order on each side as a share of the same order value. Google’s Search and Shopping ads charge for clicks, so their cost per order moves with the conversion rate; a commission stays fixed per sale (comparing the cost of one order).

Formula

Commission per order = order total × commission rate + fixed fees per order

Example

Example store, not client data.

The tableware shop’s average order is 600, and Google Ads costs it 133 per order (40,000 ÷ 300), or 22% of the order. A marketplace takes 15% of the total price: an order of 600 with 60 shipping is charged 660 × 0.15 = 99. A monthly selling plan of 3,000 over 50 orders adds 60 per order. The order costs 99 + 60 = 159, or 26.5% of 600.

Not to be confused with

  • ACoS — ad spend as a share of the revenue the ads brought. Amazon Ads measures its ads this way, and that spend comes on top of the commission.

Right and wrong readings

  • Wrong: “The marketplace takes 15% and Google Ads 22%, so the marketplace is cheaper.” Right: the 15% applies to a total with shipping, and fixed fees come on top; measured the same way, the order costs 26.5%.
  • Wrong: “We’ll cover the commission with a higher marketplace price.” Right: Rozetka forbids prices unreasonably higher than in the seller’s other channels and can block the product, category or shop. The commission has to fit within a price kept at price parity.

Sources