Marketplace Profit per Order: Include Fees, Returns and Fulfilment

This worked example helps a small seller compare marketplace orders. It uses invented charges so the calculation can be followed without implying that any platform offers these rates. Use the current fee page and your own statements when replacing the inputs.

Collect the evidence for one order

Save the order receipt, fee breakdown, refund history, fulfilment charges and payout record. Identify product revenue and any delivery revenue separately. Note whether a fee is charged on the item price, the amount including tax, delivery, or some combination.

For a real example of why this matters, Amazon Australia's fee page lists category-based referral fees, selling-plan charges and separate fulfilment costs. Read the rules for your category and service rather than importing a generic percentage from someone else's calculator.

Reconstruct the settlement before calculating contribution

Assumptions: Fictional Australian-dollar management-costing example. Amounts exclude GST that is assumed recoverable; any non-recoverable tax is already included in costs. These assumptions do not establish your GST entitlement. Contribution is before unallocated overheads and income tax.

Line	Calculation or evidence	Amount
Customer product payment	Assumed taxable sale, including GST	$132.00
GST in the sale	$132 ÷ 11	−$12.00 from revenue
Revenue on the cost-comparison basis	$132 − $12	$120.00
Platform fee cost	Fictional 12% charged on $132	−$15.84
Separate payment fee cost	Fictional 2% charged on $132	−$2.64
Product cost	Landed unit cost	−$55.00
Fulfilment and freight	Paid outside the marketplace	−$12.00
Expected net return loss	4% chance × $30 additional net loss	−$1.20
Expected contribution	$120 − $15.84 − $2.64 − $55 − $12 − $1.20	$33.32

Original ASBG worked example. All businesses, amounts and scenarios are fictional. The table contains the same figures as the visual.

For this model only, fee amounts are final costs with no further GST or GST credit, and there are no other payout deductions or reserves. The marketplace remits $132 − $15.84 − $2.64 = $113.52. That isn't profit: it still contains the sale's $12 GST, while stock and shipping were paid elsewhere.

If your fee invoice includes recoverable GST, separate the cash deduction from its net cost before using this table. If the marketplace collects or remits tax on your behalf, record that separately too. Have an adviser resolve an unclear tax treatment instead of making the payout equal the sales figure by force.

A higher listing price can leave less

Compare a direct order at $121 including the same assumed GST: $110 revenue, a fictional 2% payment cost on $121 of $2.42, $55 product cost, $10 delivery and fulfilment, and $1.20 expected return loss. Contribution is $41.38 before customer acquisition and fixed overheads.

The marketplace order sells for $11 more to the customer yet contributes $8.06 less before direct-store acquisition costs. If the direct order also needs $12 in advertising, its contribution falls to $29.38 and the marketplace is ahead by $3.94. State whether acquisition costs are included whenever you compare the channels.

Model returns as a net loss

The $1.20 allowance assumes a returned order costs an additional $30 compared with a kept order and that 4% of orders return. The $30 must account for the refunded sale, any fee credits, stock recovered for resale and extra handling. It is not just the return postage.

When measuring completed orders, replace the allowance with actual results or reconcile the difference at batch level. Don't retain the allowance and subtract the same full refund again. Include storage, subscription and other fixed marketplace costs separately when reviewing the channel as a whole.

Keep the review tied to current statements

Record the fee schedule date, product category, fulfilment method and currency. Check a normal order, a discounted order and a returned order before applying a model across the catalogue. Business.gov.au's budget guide supports comparing actual costs with planned amounts; here the payout statements provide that evidence.

Where to get help

Calculate landed unit cost and the delivery subsidy before testing another channel. See online-store setup and the pricing and profit hub for the wider workflow.