Q: Can you walk me through calculating my real margin after TikTok Shop fees?

Q: Can you walk me through calculating my real margin after TikTok Shop fees?

A: Yes — do the full stack, not just the headline fee:
— Start with sale price, then subtract the platform referral/commission fee on the order.
— Subtract the transaction/payment processing fee.
— Subtract any affiliate commission you set if a creator drove the sale.
— Subtract product cost and actual shipping (not estimated).
— Subtract a return reserve — budget for a percentage of orders coming back.

What's left is your true margin. Many sellers forget the affiliate cut stacks on top of platform fees and end up selling at a loss on creator-driven orders.

Also worth knowing: build a simple spreadsheet with these five lines per product before you launch. Pricing blind is the fastest way to scale a money-losing item.

Got a question? Drop it in the comments.