Payment Processing Fees
The cut Shopify Payments (or Stripe, PayPal) takes on every transaction. Usually 2.9% + $0.30 online. Here's the part that stings: when you issue a refund, you don't get this fee back. It's gone forever.
Example
$50K in monthly sales across 667 orders. You'll pay roughly $1,650/month in processing fees — about $19,800 a year just to accept payments.
Why It Matters
Processing fees are the one cost you pay on every single transaction with zero negotiation — and you pay them again on refunds without getting the money back. On a $50K/month store, that's nearly $20K a year just to accept credit cards. Merchants who don't factor this into pricing are leaking margin on every sale.
Pro Tip
If you're on Shopify Basic, upgrading to Shopify plan drops your online rate from 2.9% to 2.7%. At $50K/month, that alone saves you $100/month. Run the math on your volume — the plan upgrade often pays for itself.
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