New Seller Referral Fee Promotion - 2025
11/05/2025
Summary
What is the Referral Fee Promotion Program on TikTok Shop and how does it benefit new sellers?
- New sellers who complete onboarding and achieve their first sale with GMV >0 within 60 days get a 30-day discounted referral fee rate of 3%, effective within 48 hours after the first order. After 30 days, standard category rates apply.
How does TikTok Shop calculate referral fees and handle refunds for sellers?
- Referral Fee = 3% × (Customer Payment + Platform Discount - Tax). For refunds, TikTok Shop returns the referral fee minus a 20% Refund Administration Fee to cover processing costs. This fee applies to partial or full refunds after order placement.
What responsibilities do sellers have regarding updates to TikTok Shop’s fee policies?
- Sellers must regularly review the fee policy article as TikTok may update it anytime, notifying sellers 30 days before material changes via email or account notifications, but ultimate responsibility to stay informed lies with the seller.
What are the implications of the Refund Administration Fee for sellers when processing returns or cancellations?
- Sellers lose 20% of the refunded referral fee as a Refund Administration Fee, which means they bear some cost of refund processing, impacting profitability on returned or canceled orders.
Can TikTok Shop modify or terminate the referral fee promotion, and how does this affect sellers?
- TikTok Shop reserves the right to change or end the referral fee promotion at any time, so sellers should be prepared for potential changes in fee structure that could affect their costs and margins.
TikTok Shop may modify this Article from time to time, in which case TikTok will update the “Last Revised” date at the top of this Article. If TikTok makes material changes to this Article, TikTok will use reasonable efforts to notify you, such as by email or notifications in your User Account, 30 days before the changes take effect. However, it is your sole responsibility to review this Article from time to time to stay apprised of all updates.
TikTok Shop reserves the right to change or terminate the referral fee promotion at our discretion at any time.
Refund administration fee: If a refund, return, or cancellation occurs after the customer successfully places an order, TikTok Shop will refund the referral fee amount for the product(s), minus the appropriate "Refund Administration Fee," which is 20% of the referral fee. This fee is intended to cover the costs TikTok Shop incurs when processing refunds.
Examples
Note:
Referral Fee Promotion Program
Starting from April 1, 2025 (GMT-8), new sellers who achieve first sale and GMV >0 within 60 days after completion of onboarding will receive a 30-day discounted referral fee rate of 3%, which will take effect within 48 hours after the first order is placed. After 30 days, sellers will be charged the referral rate based on their category.TikTok Shop reserves the right to change or terminate the referral fee promotion at our discretion at any time.
Definitions
Referral Fee: The fee that TikTok Shop charges and collects on all completed orders.Refund administration fee: If a refund, return, or cancellation occurs after the customer successfully places an order, TikTok Shop will refund the referral fee amount for the product(s), minus the appropriate "Refund Administration Fee," which is 20% of the referral fee. This fee is intended to cover the costs TikTok Shop incurs when processing refunds.
Fees
Referral fee calculation formula | Referral Fee = 3% *(Customer Payment + Platform Discount - Tax) |
Refund | If a refund, return, or cancellation occurs after the customer successfully places an order, TikTok Shop will refund the referral fee amount for the product(s), minus the appropriate "Refund Administration Fee," which is 20% of the referral fee. |
Referral fee promotion | |||
Successfully placed order | Partially refunded order | Fully refunded order | |
Customer Payment | $98 | $98 | $98 |
Customer Refund | / | -$49 | -$98 |
Platform Discounts | $4 | $4 | $4 |
Platform Discounts Refunds | / | -$2 | -$4 |
Sales tax payment + Retail delivery fee payment | $2 | $2 | $2 |
Sales tax refund + Retail delivery fee refund | / | -$1 | -$2 |
Referral fee rate | 3% | ||
Referral fee calculation | Referral Fee = 3% *(Customer Payment + Platform Discount - Tax) | ||
Referral fee | 3%*($98+$4-$2)=$3 | 3%*(($98-$49)+($4-$2)-($2-$1))=$1.5 | $0 |
Refund administration fee | / | $3*50%*20%=$0.3 | $3*20%=$0.6 |
- Customer payment includes the shipping fee paid by the customer, after shipping fee discount from seller or TikTok Shop.
- You can click here to learn more about what the retail delivery fee is.