Pricing, Fees, and Payments
Domain 5: Pricing, Fees, and Payments
This domain tests unit economics: which fees apply, when they are charged, and how a price change affects margin and eligibility. Expect a calculation question.
Fee stack
Typical fees include a monthly professional subscription or per-item fee; a referral fee as a percentage of the sale price, often excluding tax but including shipping in some cases; a fulfillment fee based on size tier and weight; monthly storage; aged-inventory surcharge; and advertising cost. Referral fees are category-specific, so a mis-categorized product can carry the wrong fee.
Payments
Disbursements follow a reserve period and a settlement cycle. New sellers, high-risk categories, or accounts with claims may have funds held longer. Refunds, chargebacks, and A-to-z claims are deducted from the next disbursement.
Worked example
Sale price $40, shipping collected $5, referral fee 15%, fulfillment fee $6.50, product cost $12. Referral fee applies to $45 = $6.75. Net before ads = $45 − $6.75 − $6.50 − $12 = $19.75. If ad spend is $6, contribution is $13.75. A 10% price cut to $36 cuts referral fee to $6.15 but net to $16.65, so the ad budget must shrink to keep the same contribution.
Traps
Applying referral fee only to the item price when shipping is included; ignoring dimensional weight; forgetting storage and aged surcharges in long-term margin; and treating a disbursement as profit.