Whatnot seller fee calculator

Why a $25 hammer can leave you $13.43

On the default sale — a $25 hammer price with $5 shipping charged, an $8 item, a $4.50 label and $0.50 of packaging — Whatnot's cut comes to about $3.57 (11.9% of the $30 the buyer pays) and you keep about $13.43. Two different charges are stacked in that number.

1. Commission

Whatnot takes a commission on the sale, commonly quoted at around 8%, though it can differ by category and account. On $30 of sale plus shipping that is about $2.40. It is charged on the whole amount the buyer pays, so shipping you charge is not free money — commission applies to it too.

2. Payment processing

Underneath the commission sits card processing, typically around 2.9% + $0.30. On the same $30 that is about $1.17. It is a separate cost, not included in the 8%, which is why 8% commission becomes an 11.9% effective fee rate.

3. The label is usually yours

Many Whatnot sales include a prepaid label bought through the platform, and its cost comes out of your side whether or not the buyer was charged shipping. Put the label price in "label / postage you pay" — if you offer free shipping, also set the shipping charged to 0 and watch the net line fall.

What break-even tells you

With these costs you break even at a $9.93 hammer price. In a live auction the price is decided by the room, so the useful move is to know your floor before you start the stream: anything that hammers below $9.93 here is a loss, even though the screen shows a sale. For a 30% margin you need $17.50.

Giveaways and promos are marketing spend

Giveaway items, discount codes and host promotions are real costs that do not appear in the commission line. If you give away one $8 item per show with 20 sales, that is $0.40 per sale — put it in "packaging / giveaway share", which is exactly what the default $0.50 represents. Cancellations, refunds and disputed chargebacks are not modelled.