Do I have to pay fees to sell?

Yes, there are fees for selling on Tophatter.

Fees are deducted prior to payouts. By listing products, sellers agree to all Tophatter seller fees. Selling terms are subject to change at any time. We will honor the selling terms in place at the time the item was scheduled for auction or sold via Buy Now. Fee types are described below.

How to review Fees

View All Fees

  1. Visit your Payouts page.
  2. There you can see all of the fees that will be deducted from your Upcoming Payout.
  3. Please note, the amount shown on your Upcoming Payouts page will change as orders and fees move over from your Pending payouts page. Incident Fees can be charged on unpaid or canceled orders, and after the order has been paid out.

View Fees by Order

  1. Visit your Orders page.
  2. Select View Fees from the drop down menu next to the order you wish to review.
  3. There you can see all of the fees and applicable credits applied to that specific order.
How to read your Fees CSV
Fees are shown as negative amounts, e.g. -20.
Credits or payments are shown as whole amounts, e.g. 7111
  • Buyer Fee is the hammer or buy now price of orders
  • Courtesy Seller Credit is a seller credit to offset some amount of fees
  • Postage Fee Credit is a a refund for voided unused return shipping labels
  • Service Fee is a fee paid by buyers
  • Shipping Fee is the shipping and amount paid by buyers
  • Postage Fee is the amount a seller pays for shipping labels purchased through Tophatter

Commission Fee

There is a commission on the final sale price plus shipping price of each item. Commissions may vary by account terms, and will be displayed on your Terms page.

Scheduling Fee

Scheduling Fee Bid - Auction Campaign

Sellers can choose how much they are willing to pay each time a product is scheduled in an auction. This is called a Scheduling Fee Bid (SFB). Each product scheduled in an auction will be charged a Scheduling Fee each time it opens for bids. The Scheduling Fee is based on the SFB a seller has set in the Campaign. Scheduling Fees are invoiced even if the item is unsold at the auction, or is won then canceled by a buyer. Please note that Scheduling Fees are not reimbursed when an item is refunded.

Bid Per 1000 Impressions - Buy Now Campaign and Reminder Campaign

In addition to auctions, a seller can promote their products in the feed on Tophatter’s homepage. An additional fee may be charged in the form of a Buy Now Campaign or Reminder Campaign fee.

Buy Now and Reminder Campaigns are charged by the number of impressions the product(s) receive—in other words, the number of times shoppers see the product on their screens. An impression is generated each time the product is seen on a shopper’s screen. 1000 impressions means your product was seen 1000 times.

Sellers are competing with one another for visibility by bidding for impressions. The sellers with the highest Buy Now and Reminder Campaign bids will get more impressions and receive more visibility. Both Buy Now and Reminder Campaign fees are charged regardless if the product sells, so it is important for sellers to optimize for well-performing products and set budgets accordingly. 

Processing Fee

There is a processing fee of 2.9% +$0.30 for each paid order. Processing fees are charged on the full sales price, including shipping.

Reserve Fee

Sellers can choose to set Reserve Prices on specific items for a fee of $2.00 per schedule. This fee is charged even if the item is unsold at the auction, or is won then canceled by a buyer. For example, if an item is scheduled in auction 10 times, the seller will be charged $20 for Reserve Fees in addition to the Scheduling Fees, plus Commission, and Processing fees if the item sells. For more information on Reserve Fees, please see  Does Tophatter Offer Reserve Pricing?

Other Fees

Along with the above, other deductions may include the following:

  • Incident Fee: Fees for incidents which result in a poor customer experience. For more detailed information on Incident Fees, please see What are Incident Fees?
  • Refund Deduction: When a refund is issued, Tophatter pays the refunded amount to the buyer and a Refund Deduction will be invoiced to the seller for the net amount.
  • Chargeback Fee: If a chargeback is initiated by a buyer and it is not covered by Seller Protection, this fee will be assessed.
  • Shipping Label: Sellers who purchase shipping labels from Tophatter will see this charge for the Shipping Label they have purchased.
  • Shipping Label Confirmation: Sellers may purchase optional signature confirmation.
  • Shipping Label Insurance: Sellers may purchase optional insurance for a minimum $1.00 additional charge.
  • Disbursement Correction Fee: Infrequently Tophatter may need to recoup funds that were disbursed in error. This is done by adding a Disbursement Correction Fee to a seller’s account.
  • Postage Correction Fee: Occasionally Tophatter may need to recoup funds for postage weights that were under reported.
  • Policy Violation Fee: Fees for violating a seller policy outlined in our Seller Policies. For more detailed information, please see What are Incident Fees?

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