Why your marketplace payout is less than your sales
Type the numbers from your own statement and see where the money went. Any marketplace, any currency. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.
Last updated October 2026
Payout checker · filled in with an example
Use the names on your statement. Put a minus sign in front of money the marketplace gave back, like a shipping rebate.
The lines that usually come off
Every marketplace names these differently, and the rates change, so this page doesn't list anybody's prices. Here is what each line is for, roughly in the order it shows up on a statement. Your own fee page has today's numbers.
Commission also called a referral, selling or final value fee
A percentage of the sale. On some marketplaces it is worked out on the shipping the buyer paid as well. Either way, if you fold shipping into your price, the commission grows with it.
Payment or transaction fee
For handling the buyer's payment. Often a percentage plus a small fixed amount per order, which is why it hurts most on cheap items: the same fixed amount is a much bigger share of a small order.
Shipping you paid
If you offer free shipping, or the marketplace sells you the label, the cost comes off here. Some marketplaces pay part of it back, so this can also be a line that adds money. Type those with a minus sign.
Vouchers and promotions you funded
When you joined a sale or a voucher campaign, the buyer's discount came out of your share. You agreed to it once, in a setting you may not have opened since, and it keeps coming off every order.
Ads and creator commission
Some marketplaces take your ad spend, or the commission owed to an affiliate or creator who sent the buyer, straight out of your sales balance instead of charging a card.
Tax
In some countries the marketplace has to add tax to its own fees, or hold back tax from what you sold. It may be its own line or be folded into the fees. Which rules apply depends on where you and your buyers are, and this page can't tell you that.
Returns and refunds
A refund can be taken out of a later payout, so it shows up next to orders that had nothing to do with it. If one payout looks badly short, look for a return before anything else.
Currency and withdrawal
If you are paid in a different currency, the conversion rate is a cost even when no line calls it one. Some marketplaces and payment services also charge a fixed amount to move money out to your bank.
The percentage that actually matters
Fees are quoted as a share of the sale: 10%, 15%, 20%. That sounds small because it is measured against the wrong thing.
Take the example in the checker. A sale of 1,000 with 205 in fees is 20.5%, which sounds bearable. But the items cost 600, so the most that sale could ever have earned was 400. The fees took 205 of that 400: more than half.
The same arithmetic works in your favour. Cutting 20 from the fees on that order barely changes the sale, but it lifts what is left after costs from 195 to 215, about a tenth more profit. A slightly higher price, one promotion you stop funding, or a cheaper way to ship can matter far more than its percentage suggests. Type what your items cost into the checker and it shows you both numbers.
How to check a payout in five minutes
- Open one payout, not one week. Find the statement or order list behind a single payout. A payout often covers many orders, and not always the ones you expect.
- Add up the sale. What buyers paid for the items in those orders goes in the first box.
- Copy every line that came off, using the marketplace's own names, so you can find them again next time.
- Type the payout that reached you. If the checker says something is missing, the gap is usually a line you skipped, a return, or tax on the fees.
- Do it once a month. The same surprise tends to come back every time, and once you have seen it you can decide what to do about it.
When it still doesn't add up
- The payout covers different orders. Many marketplaces pay out on a schedule, or only after delivery is confirmed, so this week's payout can be last week's orders.
- Some money is being held. New sellers, or sellers after a dispute, may have part of their balance held for a while. It is not lost; it arrives later.
- Rounding. Each order is rounded on its own, so a payout covering many orders can differ from your total by a few cents. That is normal.
- A charge came from a different place. Ads or a shop subscription can be taken from your sales balance or from a card, depending on your settings. Check where yours go.
Worth knowing before you start. The first time sellers do this, the real share taken is often higher than they guessed. That is useful, not bad news: a number you can see is a number you can change.
Checking every payout, without the arithmetic
Checking one payout by hand is worth doing. Doing it every week is where most people give up. In Purrsave you note each payout you expect, tap "It landed" when it arrives, and it tells you if one came in short and by how much, next to your products, your real profit and your own everyday money.
No bank or store connection: you type what you see, in any currency. Personal money is free; payout matching is part of Purrsave Pro.
Common questions
Why is my marketplace payout less than my sales?
Because the marketplace takes its fees before it pays you: commission, a payment fee, shipping you agreed to cover, discounts you funded, and sometimes ads, tax and returns. The checker at the top shows how much each one took.
Is commission charged on shipping too?
On some marketplaces, yes: the fee is worked out on the total the buyer paid, shipping included. Check your marketplace's own fee page. Either way, if you fold shipping into your price, the commission grows with it.
Why doesn't my payout match this week's orders?
A payout usually covers a set period, or only orders that have been delivered, and some money may be held back for a while. Compare a payout with the orders it lists, not with the week you sold them.
Does this checker save or send my numbers?
No. The maths runs in your browser. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere, and it is gone when you close the page.
Related: keeping shop money and your own money apart, budget apps that don't need a bank login, and what Purrsave costs.