The prefilled rates are public list-rate starting points, not a live fee table and not anyone’s negotiated terms. Real rates vary enormously by platform, category and how well you negotiated — take the exact numbers from your own agreement and settlement reports. Nothing is sent anywhere; the calculation runs entirely in your browser.
The four things that quietly decide whether a channel pays
Common questions
Is marketplace commission charged on MRP or on the selling price?
It depends on the agreement, and it is the single most expensive detail in it. Most Indian marketplace agreements charge on the selling price, but some charge on MRP and a few on net sales. If commission is charged on MRP and you are discounting to move stock, the effective rate against what you actually receive is far higher than the headline — a 30% commission on MRP at a 40% discount is around 50% of your realised price. Check which basis your contract uses before you model anything else.
What is marketing support, and is it on top of commission?
It is a percentage some platforms charge for placement and promotional inclusion, and yes, it is usually on top of the commission rather than inside it. It is common to see a headline commission quoted in a conversation and a separate marketing support line in the signed agreement. Add them together — the sum is your real take rate, and that is the number worth comparing between platforms.
How much commission does a marketplace charge in India?
Broadly 2% to 35% depending on platform and category, plus closing fees, shipping or fulfilment charges, and storage if the platform holds your stock. Negotiated rates vary enormously — we have seen the same platform run four times higher for one brand than another. The defaults here are public list-rate ballparks to get you started; replace them with the numbers in your own agreement and settlement reports.
Why is my marketplace profit lower than I expected?
Usually returns and advertising, in that order. A 10% return rate does not cost you 10% of your margin — you lose the outbound shipping, often the return leg too, sometimes the unit, and you keep none of the sale. Advertising then takes a slice of every order rather than only the ones it caused. Both are in the calculation above.
Should GST be counted as revenue?
No, and treating it as revenue is the most common mistake we see. GST collected on a sale passes through to the government, less the input credit on your own costs. This calculator strips it out on both sides so the contribution figure is money you actually keep.
In more detail
Why gross sales is the wrong number to run a business on
Every marketplace dashboard leads with gross sales, because it is the flattering number and the one that makes the channel look indispensable. It is also the number furthest from your bank balance. Between the two sit a commission whose basis you may not have checked, a marketing support percentage that may be charged on top of it, a closing fee, shipping or fulfilment, storage if the platform holds your stock, returns that cost you twice and earn nothing, advertising, and the GST that was never yours. It is entirely normal for a channel showing strong gross sales to contribute very little, and not unusual for one to lose money on every unit sold.
The clause worth re-reading before you renegotiate the rate
Sellers spend their negotiating capital on the headline percentage and almost none on the basis it is applied to. That is the wrong way round. Moving a commission from 30% to 27% is a three point gain; moving it from MRP to selling price, on a catalogue that habitually discounts, can be worth several times that and is often easier to obtain because it does not feel like a rate concession. The same is true of marketing support: it is frequently a separate line, frequently negotiable, and frequently overlooked because it was not in the conversation where the rate was agreed.
Where this stops being a spreadsheet problem
Working out the contribution is arithmetic. Changing it is not. It usually means correcting the catalogue so the right products get the visibility, renegotiating what shipping costs, finding where returns originate rather than absorbing them, and pointing advertising at the products that can carry it. That is the work — and it is the work the Scan prices before anyone commits to doing it.
Want this run on your actual numbers?
The Scan runs this across every channel you sell on, from your real settlement data and agreements rather than estimates, and ranks what each fix is worth — ₹75,000 + GST introductory, credited in full against the Deep Audit.