A marketplace/platform billing model that charges the platform 25% of transaction…
A marketplace/platform billing model that charges the platform 25% of transaction margin (sale price minus actual cost) rather than a percentage of gross revenue.
Problem it solves. Aligns platform fees with builder profitability and avoids charging creators for sales that don't cover costs (e.g., when price equals cost or during free/low-margin periods).
Who pays. Independent builders and small app makers selling features or services (esp. AI features with per-call costs)
Market. marketplace/platform payments
How it makes money. Platform takes 25% of the margin on each transaction (with option for creators to connect their own Stripe so platform gets 0%).
Author states they run such a platform and the community responses engage thoughtfully (no top comments call it self-promo or fake), but there are no verifiable product links or revenue figures and commenters raise concrete trust concerns about cost transparency.
“The catch: margin-based cuts need cost transparency to be trusted - builders will suspect the platform inflates 'costs' to shrink the margin it shares.” ▲ 50
“The obvious risk is that margin is easier to game than revenue, and the escape hatch is that you can connect your own Stripe and I get 0%.” ▲ 40