Silk Road forums

Discussion => Silk Road discussion => Topic started by: Enthused on May 18, 2013, 08:48 pm

Title: Commission
Post by: Enthused on May 18, 2013, 08:48 pm
Hey :)

Just wondering how much is the commission charge?

Thanks,
Moo x
Title: Re: Commission
Post by: Libertas on May 18, 2013, 09:14 pm
Hey :)

Just wondering how much is the commission charge?

Thanks,
Moo x

Hi Enthused,

You can find the full Silk Road commission schedule here:
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=100160.msg702790#msg702790

The commission scale has been laid out on the forums a number of times but it always disappears in the haze of crazy posts! Here's an example from DPR's State of the Road Address:
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=8397.0

We also went to the Silk Road independent sellers to see what they thought an appropriate commission schedule would look like.  The average response looked like this:

15% of the first $10
11% of $10 - $50
8.14% of $50 - $250
5.6% of $250 - $1000
3.7% of $1000 - $5000

We looked at past sales data and our current and future revenue needs and were able to bring these numbers down even further:

10% of the first $50
8.5% of $50 - 150
6% of $150 - 300
3% of $300 - 500
2% of $500 - 1000
1.5% for everything over $1000

So taking DPR's fee scale, here is how a sale is broken down:

In a $300 sale, for example:

$50 is charged at 10% of the first $50, so $5 fee.
$100 is charged at 8.5% of the next $50 - $100, so $8.50 fee.
$150 is charged at 6% of the final $150 - $300, so $9 fee.

Total: $300.
Total commission: $22.50
Total paid to vendor for item: $277.50
Total paid to vendor for item, if hedging order (@ 4% hedging fee): $266.40


In a $1016 sale, for example:

$50 is charged at 10% from the $0 - $50 point, so $5 fee.
$100 is charged at 8.5% from the $50 - $100 point, so $8.50 fee.
$150 is charged at 6% from the $150 - $300 point, so $9 fee.
$200 is charged at 3% from the $300 - $500 point, so $6 fee.
$500 is charged at 2% from the $500 - $1000 point, so $10 fee.
$16 is charged at 1.5% from the $1000 and up point, so $0.24 fee.

Total: $1016.
Total commission: $38.74
Total paid to vendor for item: $977.26
Total paid to vendor for item, if hedging order (@ 4% hedging fee): $938.17


You may also be interested in the post I wrote in response to a question asked by Bungee54 about pre-commission and post-commission pricing. That post explains how much you get if you choose pre-commission, how much you get if you choose post-commission, how much you get if you decide to hedge, and what the customer will actually see on the listing itself depending on the option you choose.
You can find that post here:
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=37765.msg429683#msg429683

- grahamgreene

Libertas