E-commerce Commission Fees on the Rise, Online Sellers Scramble to Find Profits
Rising administrative fees on e-commerce platforms are leaving online sellers struggling. Amid uncertain sales, the deductions from platforms are seen as increasingly large, causing profits for small traders to dwindle continuously.
Cindy Wulan, a clothing seller who trades via online shopping platforms and live streams, admits she now has to be smarter in finding buyers. This is because the profits obtained are no longer as substantial as before due to the many fees deducted by the platform.
“The deductions are now really huge, so my profits are also being slashed,” said Cindy to Republika on Thursday (7/5/2026).
According to her, business conditions are not always bustling. Sometimes sales are brisk, but there are also days when there are hardly any buyers.
“That’s the nature of selling—not always someone buys. Sometimes buyers get bored, sometimes they’ve bought before, sometimes they buy a lot at once,” she said.
To stay afloat, Cindy does not rely solely on sales via e-commerce platforms. She also offers her goods through WhatsApp status updates and her local community.
“Sometimes I promote via WhatsApp stories, sometimes I bring them to my child’s school,” she said.
Similar complaints were voiced by Agus Darmanto, a seller of groceries and household necessities. According to him, the high administrative fees come at a time when profits are thinning and the number of store visitors is declining.
“In this era of increasingly high admin fees, thin margins, and falling traffic, buyers still think the seller handles the logistics,” said Agus.
He admits that sellers often become the target of buyers’ anger when goods are delayed in arrival, even though shipping is managed by logistics services.
“The one who ships is the logistics provider, but the seller gets the blame,” he said.
To survive, Agus is now more active in promoting on social media and focuses on selling household necessities that are most sought after by buyers.