TikTok Shop U.S. Reserves the Right to Adjust the Referral Fee
TikTok Shop U.S. seller terms state that the Referral Fee is calculated on the total order amount, while the platform reserves the right to adjust the rate and end fee-reduction offers.
What are the key facts?
- 1Sellers must pay multiple platform service fees
- 2The Referral Fee is calculated on the total order amount
- 3The platform reserves the right to adjust the Referral Fee
- 4The platform may notify sellers by email or Seller Center
- 5Fee-reduction offers may end automatically
What happened?
TikTok Shop U.S. seller terms state that sellers must pay fees for platform e-commerce services, payment services, technical management services, logistics services, and other optional services. The Referral Fee is calculated on the total amount paid by the buyer for each order. The terms also reserve the platform's right to adjust the Referral Fee, and the platform may notify sellers by email or Seller Center. If the platform has previously offered a reduced Referral Fee, the reduction may automatically end when the fixed period specified in the notice expires or within one year from the notice date, unless otherwise stated. Sellers participating in platform enrollment, category support, creator incentives, or new-store commission-reduction programs should not treat the current promotional rate as a long-term cost basis. The original text recommends regularly archiving Seller Center notices, internal messages, and fee tables, and stress-testing gross margins after the promotion ends.
What does this mean for cross-border sellers?
The TikTok Shop U.S. Referral Fee is calculated on the total order amount, and the platform reserves the right to adjust the rate and end fee-reduction offers; the current promotional rate cannot be used directly as a long-term cost basis. Sellers participating in platform enrollment, category support, creator incentives, or new-store commission-reduction programs should continue monitoring Seller Center, internal messages, and email notifications and reassess gross margins after the promotion ends.
What should sellers do now?
- 1This week, centralize and archive U.S. Seller Center notices, internal messages, emails, and the current fee table; highlight Referral Fee adjustments and fee-reduction termination information to create a traceable fee record.Marketplace fee compare
- 2This week, enter products in each U.S. category and products participating in commission-reduction programs into profit calculations separately; recalculate gross margins using the post-promotion Referral Fee and produce a list of products requiring price increases or cost controls.Profit calculator