Platform fees are eating up nearly a quarter of your revenue. Are you sure you know how much profit your shop is making?

This week, Shopee and TikTok Shop continue to adjust fees in some product categories.

For many shop owners, this is no longer surprising news. It only clarifies a feeling that has persisted for months: orders are still coming in, revenue is still there, but the actual money retained is getting smaller.

The actual fees are also no longer small. According to Vietstock, some sellers estimate that the total associated costs of selling on Shopee can be around 24.5% of revenue and in some cases exceed 30.5%, depending on the product category and participation in programs. This figure does not include all advertising, livestream, affiliate, or operational staffing costs. Source: Vietstock - Ministry urges transparency as platforms raise seller fees

Simply put, if the dashboard shows 100 million VND in revenue, the actual money left for the business can be very different from the number seen on the screen.

Meanwhile, the option of "high fees mean switching to another platform" is not simple. According to Metric data cited by VnExpress, Shopee and TikTok Shop accounted for approximately 97% of the total GMV of the four major platforms tracked in 2025. Source: VnExpress - Shopee, TikTok Shop dominate market share

Regulators have also started paying more attention to this issue. The Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy has requested platforms to review fee policies for transparency, reasonableness, and a roadmap, in the context of increasing pressure on sellers due to high selling costs on platforms. Source: Vietstock - E-commerce platform fee policies

But while waiting for policy changes, there's one thing shops can do right now:

Accurately recalculate how much money they are actually keeping after each order.

Increased revenue does not necessarily mean increased profit

Looking back at 2025 reveals a fairly clear change.

According to YouNet ECI data cited by VnBusiness, the average selling price increased by approximately 33%, while Q4/2025 sales volume decreased by 8% compared to the same period. The number of sellers with reduced revenue was 5.6%, but the average revenue of active sellers increased by approximately 33%. Source: VnBusiness - High fees, increased prices, and the winnowing of e-commerce sellers

Putting these numbers side by side reveals something interesting.

There is still money in the market.

But the money is more concentrated.

Shops that are still growing are not necessarily those with the most orders. They usually control very basic things better: how much an order actually costs in fees, which products still have a profit margin, which campaigns are generating money, and which campaigns just make revenue look better.

VnBusiness, citing analysis from YouNet ECI, also described this shift towards e-commerce increasingly becoming a game of efficiency and data, rather than just chasing order volume. Source: VnBusiness - Shopee holds the lead, TikTok Shop accelerates

Previously, many shops only needed to ask:

"How much did we sell this month?"

Now they should add another question:

"How much is left after selling?"

The 30-minute test to recalculate real profit

No complex software needed.

Just an Excel or Google Sheets file, data from the last 30 days, and about half an hour.

First 10 minutes: break down all fees for an order

Choose the 5 most recent orders for your best-selling product.

For each order, record:

• Actual price paid by the customer
• Fixed fees and payment processing fees
• Category commission fees
• Shipping fees or support program fees
• Campaign participation fees, if any

Sum all these costs and divide by the actual price paid by the customer.

Don't use the fee level you remember.

Use the actual amount deducted from the order.

The two numbers can sometimes differ significantly.

Next 10 minutes: calculate the actual money left

Take the actual price paid by the customer, then subtract:

• Total platform fees
• Cost of goods sold
• Packaging costs
• Average advertising cost per order
• Affiliate or creator commissions, if any
• Other direct costs associated with the order

The remainder is the actual contribution of that product.

Then multiply by the number of orders in the month.

Now, compare that number to the revenue on your dashboard.

This is when you see if a product is actually generating money or just orders.

Last 10 minutes: re-evaluate 5 key products

Do the same calculation for your 5 main selling products.

But this time, don't rank by revenue.

Don't even rank by order quantity.

Rank them by real profit per order.

The order might change completely.

A product that leads in revenue might not lead in profit. If the cost of goods is high, category fees are large, continuous advertising is required, and frequent promotions are run, each additional sale may not necessarily make the business healthier.

Conversely, a product with lower revenue but good margins and less reliance on advertising can sometimes bring in more money.

This is why just looking at the revenue dashboard is increasingly insufficient.

Once you have the numbers, what's next?

Knowing how much profit you're making is just the first step.

The harder part is deciding:

• Which products to continue pushing
• Which products need a price increase
• Which campaigns should be stopped
• Which channels are truly generating profit
• Which channels primarily generate revenue
• Whether the current reliance on Shopee or TikTok Shop is too high

This pressure doesn't just come from commissions. Vietstock notes that sellers also have to balance advertising costs, visibility, campaigns, livestreams, and many other expenses in the process of operating e-commerce. Source: Vietstock - E-commerce boom faces logistics and cost pressures

Therefore, cutting a single fee may not solve the problem.

What needs to be looked at is the entire economics of an order, which means the entire structure of revenue, costs, and the money left after a sale.

This is where Hallovis can assist businesses

Hallovis offers a 72-Hour Quick Assessment package for businesses that have revenue but are unclear where money is being lost.

The Hallovis team delves into existing data, reviews fee and profit structures by channel and product group, and then identifies what is generating money and what is eroding profit margins.

It's not about cutting all costs.

Nor is it about redoing the entire system.

The goal is to know which actions to address first so that the business retains more money from its existing revenue.

AI can help with faster data aggregation and verification. The final assessment still requires someone who understands how an e-commerce system truly operates.

Platform fees may continue to change.

Businesses cannot control that.

But knowing exactly how much profit each order generates is entirely within their control.

And as the market increasingly competes on performance, those who know their numbers always have more options than those who only look at revenue.

Contact Hallovis for a real profit review by channel and product group within 72 hours.

Reference sources and images

Shopee/TikTok Shop fees increase + regulators demand fee transparency: Vietstock, 25/05/2026. Article has image of TikTok livestream seller, quite suitable for blog image. Open Vietstock article on platform fee increases Vietstock

Competition authority steps in: Vietstock, 01/06/2026. Has image directly related to Shopee and fee policy. Open E-commerce platforms under competition scrutiny article Vietstock

Shopee + TikTok Shop account for 97% market share: VnExpress cites Metric data. In 2025, the two platforms accounted for 97% of GMV of the four platforms tracked by Metric. Open VnExpress article on Shopee and TikTok Shop market share vnexpress.net

ASP +33%, Q4/2025 volume -8%, sellers -5.6%, revenue/seller +33%: this source is very close to the "market winnowing" section of the article, VnBusiness citing YouNet ECI. The article also has an image illustrating rising online product prices. Open VnBusiness article on high fees and seller winnowing VnBusiness

Another source for the same YouNet ECI data set: includes the exact statement that e-commerce is shifting to a game of "efficiency and data". Open VnBusiness article on Shopee and TikTok Shop VnBusiness

Logistics pressure and E-commerce costs: Vietstock, 06/2026. Article clearly states sellers bear commissions, advertising, visibility, campaigns, livestreams... and has market illustration image. Open E-commerce boom faces logistics and cost pressures article Vietstock

GHTK fuel surcharge: should use official GHTK source. However, the sentence in the blog needs to be corrected because as of 20/06/2026, GHTK has adjusted and reduced Express/Xfast and BBS surcharges to 5%, so it cannot be generally stated that they have just increased them. Official GHTK announcement on 19/06/2026