# Rate shapes

Terms > Consignor rates · Reference · https://vendordue.com/docs/rate-shapes

**In short:** A consignor rate can be a percentage, a fixed amount per item, a percentage plus a fixed amount, a tiered percentage that rises past a monthly line, or a fixed amount you keep with the vendor earning the rest. Each can have a minimum and maximum per item.

Who: Admin. Where: Vendors > a vendor > Terms.

When you add or change a consignor rate, **Rate type** decides its shape. Every example below is a $120.00 sale of one item, worked out on revenue.

## Percentage

The vendor earns a share of each sale. Most shops use this.

**60% of revenue** (example)

| | |
| --- | ---: |
| Revenue | $120.00 |
| **Vendor's share** | **$72.00** |

## Fixed per unit

The vendor earns the same amount for every item sold, whatever it sold for. Set it under **For each item**.

**$50.00 for each item** (example)

| | |
| --- | ---: |
| Revenue | $120.00 |
| **Vendor's share** | **$50.00** |

## Percentage plus fixed

A percentage, then a fixed amount added for every item. Set the amount under **Then, for each item**. "The percentage is worked out first, then this is added for every unit sold."

**50% plus $5.00 for each item** (example)

| | |
| --- | ---: |
| 50% of $120.00 | $60.00 |
| Plus $5.00 for one item | $5.00 |
| **Vendor's share** | **$65.00** |

## Tiered percentage

A higher share once a vendor's sales pass a line you set. Each step has an **Up to** amount and what it **Earns**; the last step covers **Everything above**. Only the part of a sale above a line earns the next step's share.

**60% up to $1,000.00 a month, 70% above, with $950.00 sold already** (example)

| | |
| --- | ---: |
| $50.00 at 60% | $30.00 |
| $70.00 at 70% | $49.00 |
| **Vendor's share** | **$79.00** |

**Measured over** decides what the line counts:

- **Each calendar month** starts again from zero on the 1st, by your store's clock. This is the default.
- **Everything they ever sold** never starts again.

The line counts sales, the figure the share is worked out on, not what the vendor earned.

## You keep a fixed amount

You keep the same amount of every item, and the vendor earns the rest. Set it under **You keep, per item**. "An item that sells for less than this earns them nothing," never less than nothing.

**You keep $30.00 per item** (example)

| | |
| --- | ---: |
| Revenue | $120.00 |
| You keep | $30.00 |
| **Vendor's share** | **$90.00** |

## Limits per unit

Every shape can have **Limits per unit**: a **Minimum per unit** the vendor's share never drops below, and a **Maximum per unit** it never rises above, for each item. When a limit changes a sale, its working says so: "The minimum on their consignor rate lifted this one."

**10% of revenue, minimum $5.00 per item, on a $30.00 item** (example)

| | |
| --- | ---: |
| 10% of $30.00 | $3.00 |
| **Vendor's share, lifted to the minimum** | **$5.00** |

## What the share is of

Every shape is worked out on a figure: **Revenue** by default, or **Listed price** or **Profit**. A fourth choice, **Fixed price per unit**, pays each product its own agreed price instead of a share, taken from the item's cost in Shopify unless you type one. See [What the share is of](https://vendordue.com/docs/share-basis).

## Common questions

**Which shape should I use?** A percentage, unless your deal says otherwise. Use You keep a fixed amount for consignment where you take a set fee per item, and Tiered percentage to reward a vendor's busier months.

**Does a tiered rate pay the higher share on the whole month?** No. Only the part of sales above the line earns the higher share. Everything below it keeps the lower one.

**Can a vendor earn nothing on a sale?** Yes, with You keep a fixed amount, if the item sells for less than the amount you keep. It never goes below nothing.

Checked against VendorDue on 2026-10-06.