What is a typical consignment split?

Common splits run from 60/40 to 80/20 in the consignor's favor, depending on the category, item value, and how much work the seller puts in. Higher-value or harder-to-sell items often give the consignor a larger share; lower-value or high-effort items skew more toward the seller.

Who pays the fees in a consignment split?

It varies and should be agreed up front. Some sellers take their percentage and cover shipping and supplies themselves; others pass fees through before splitting. The key is writing down which model you're using so the payout math is unambiguous.

How do you calculate a consignment payout?

Take the item's sale price, subtract any agreed pass-through fees, then apply the split percentage. For example, a $100 sale at an 80/20 split with no pass-through fees pays the consignor $80 and the seller $20.

Consignment splits explained

How consignment splits work on Whatnot — common split percentages, who covers fees, and how to keep splits straight across every consignor and every show.

The split is the heart of any consignment deal — it’s how the money from each sale gets divided between the consignor and the seller. Here’s how to set one that’s fair and easy to track.

What a split actually is

A consignment split is the percentage each side keeps from a sale. Written consignor-first, an “80/20 split” means the consignor keeps 80% and the seller takes 20%. On a $100 sale, that’s $80 to the consignor and $20 to the seller (before any agreed fees).

Common split ranges

There’s no single standard, but most deals land between 60/40 and 80/20 in the consignor’s favor. What moves it:

Item value — higher-value items often give the consignor a bigger share.
Effort — items that need lots of photography, sizing, or sorting skew toward the seller.
Category demand — easy-to-sell, in-demand items command better consignor terms.
Volume — a consignor sending lots of inventory may negotiate a better split.

Who covers fees

This is where most confusion starts. Decide up front whether fees (shipping, supplies, Whatnot’s cut, returns) come off the top before the split or out of the seller’s share. Both are valid — just pick one and write it down, because it changes everyone’s payout.

Keep splits straight across consignors

The headache isn’t one split — it’s running different splits for different consignors across many shows, then applying each correctly at payout time. Doing that by hand invites mistakes, and a wrong payout costs you a consignor.

The Backstage Consignor workflow stores each consignor’s split and applies it automatically to every attributed sale, so payouts are calculated for you on iPad or Chrome — and each consignor sees their own split and balance in their free app.

A quick worked example

A consignor sends a jacket. It sells live for $120. Their split is 75/25, and you agreed shipping comes off the top at $8:

$120 − $8 shipping = $112
$112 × 75% = $84 to the consignor
$112 × 25% = $28 to the seller

Write the model down once, and every payout follows the same clear math.

Next steps

New to consignment? Start with what is consignment selling on Whatnot.
Sellers: how to manage consignors.
Consignors: track what you’re owed.