Set the comparison on the same order
Compare one identical product and order in each channel: the same SKU or variant, selling price, destination, delivery promise and customer-paid shipping policy. Record the selling price before tax, then show tax separately. The Canada Revenue Agency lists GST/HST rates as 5% in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec, Saskatchewan and the territories; 13% HST in Ontario; 14% HST in Nova Scotia from April 1, 2025; and 15% HST in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island (Source: Canada Revenue Agency).
Treat shipping consistently. Either include customer-paid shipping as revenue and the carrier or fulfilment charge as a cost, or model free shipping with its actual delivery cost. Include product cost, pick-and-pack, fulfilment, payment, channel, return and acquisition costs only when they belong to that order. For returns, reduce revenue by the refund and include return freight or other directly incurred costs. ORVX calculates realized revenue from delivered orders only, excluding returned and cancelled orders, and reports return rate by units and refund value against revenue.
- Product and price: compare the same item at the same pre-tax selling price.
- Taxes: track GST/HST separately from revenue using the applicable destination rate.
- Fulfilment and shipping: include customer-paid shipping, delivery revenue and direct fulfilment costs on the same basis.
- Returns: record refunds and direct return costs against the original order.
- Acquisition: include order-attributable marketplace promotion or advertising costs, but do not mix in rent, salaries, software or other unrelated overhead.
| Measure | Comparison rule |
|---|---|
| Revenue | Pre-tax product price, plus shipping revenue where charged |
| Variable costs | Product, fulfilment, payment, channel, shipping and acquisition costs |
| Returns | Refund value and direct return costs reduce the order economics |
| Excluded overhead | Rent, general payroll, software and other costs not attributable to the order |
What a marketplace order charges
A marketplace order has more than one deduction. Separate the marketplace commission from payment processing, listing or transaction charges, fulfilment, outbound shipping, refunds and marketplace advertising. Check the platform statement for overlap: a transaction charge may already include payment handling, so adding a second processing line can overstate cost. Customer-paid shipping is revenue only if it exceeds the shipping and fulfilment cost.
Use the following as an explicit working assumption, not a marketplace-wide rate card. On an assumed $100 product order, the listed deductions leave $51 before product cost and tax: $100 − $15 − $3 − $1 − $12 − $10 − $9. A refund reserve is an analytical allowance, not necessarily a fee on every order; calculate the actual refund separately when the order is returned. For an Alberta scenario, an assumed 5% GST is the rate listed by the Canada Revenue Agency; tax collected for remittance is not margin. Test the assumptions in the profit margin calculator, then replace them with your marketplace statements.
| Line | Assumption | Amount on assumed $100 order |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace commission | Assumed 15% of item revenue | $15 |
| Payment processing | Assumed 3% of item revenue | $3 |
| Listing or transaction charge | Assumed flat charge | $1 |
| Fulfilment | Assumed pick-and-pack charge | $12 |
| Shipping | Assumed merchant-paid carrier cost | $10 |
| Advertising | Assumed attributed ad cost | $9 |
| Refund reserve | Assumed 9% of order value | $9 |
Worked example with sample numbers
This example is illustrative. It uses sample numbers for a home decor store selling in Canada. They are made up to show the method, they are not a benchmark, and your own figures will differ.
Formula: Left over = net price - cost of goods - delivery - returns - selling cost.
| Channel | Selling cost | Left over |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace | C$14.67 | C$58.13 |
| Own store with ads | C$29.76 | C$43.03 |
Run the same sum with your own numbers in the free calculator, or browse guides for sellers in Canada and more home decor guides.
General information only: tax, duty and import rules change and depend on your situation, so check with an accountant or the official source before acting.
Eligible Shopify stores can see these numbers for their own store through the Founding 10,000 offer.
What an owned-store order charges
An owned-store order starts with software and apps. Your ecommerce platform subscription, analytics tools and fixed app fees are not created by one order, so allocate them across delivered orders: a $300 monthly software bill over 100 delivered orders is $3 per order. Usage-based apps, such as reviews or subscriptions, may be partly fixed and partly per order. Payment processing is usually a transaction cost tied to the order’s payment amount; record it separately from software.
Fulfilment and shipping are order-level costs: pick-and-pack, packaging, carrier charges and any fulfilment fee should follow the shipment. Returns need their own allocation because a returned order can add reverse shipping, handling, restocking and refund-related costs while removing the sale. Customer acquisition is not automatically a per-order charge. Allocate campaign spend to attributed orders for contribution analysis, while recognising that some spend creates repeat or assisted demand that last-click attribution may miss.
Do not treat collected GST/HST as product revenue. The Canada Revenue Agency lists rates from 5% GST in Alberta and several other provinces and territories to 13%-15% HST in participating provinces, with Nova Scotia at 14% from April 1, 2025. Calculate margin on the tax-exclusive amount where applicable, then allocate fixed costs consistently; the profit margin calculator can help test the assumptions (Source: Canada Revenue Agency).
Read one order through both channels
Read the worked example from left to right, starting with the amount the customer paid. Separate the product price, customer-paid shipping and sales tax before calculating what the order contributes. Tax collected for remittance is not product revenue; apply the destination’s applicable treatment rather than assuming one Canadian rate. The Canada Revenue Agency lists the provincial and territorial GST/HST rates.
Next, subtract the product cost from the product revenue, then follow the example’s channel-specific deductions. For the marketplace line, these are deductions taken or incurred through that order. For the owned-store line, keep variable payment, fulfilment and shipping costs with the order, while fixed platform or app costs remain separate unless the example explicitly allocates them. Do not transfer a marketplace deduction to the store channel, or treat a store subscription as a per-order charge without stating the allocation method.
The final figure is the amount left after the costs included in that example, not a universal margin. Check the arithmetic with the profit margin calculator, then compare the same stages in ORVX using delivered orders, the product cost model and each channel’s recorded costs.
Where each channel fits the business
Marketplaces fit the discovery side of the business. Their search, category and recommendation systems can put a home decor SKU in front of shoppers who are not yet familiar with the store. The trade-off is less control over the buying environment: the marketplace sets listing rules, presentation options and much of the checkout experience. Customer communication and repeat-purchase access also operate within its policies and available data.
An owned store fits a controlled customer relationship. You decide the navigation, product story, bundles, merchandising calendar and checkout experience, then can build repeat-purchase programs around the customer relationship and applicable consent. Discovery depends more on your own traffic sources, while the store retains the customer and order data it collects. Fulfilment is an operating choice in either channel: you may ship yourself, use a third-party logistics provider or use a marketplace-linked service where available. Compare each channel by the role it serves: marketplace orders can expand reach, while owned-store orders can support controlled merchandising and retention.
Sources
- GST/HST provincial rates table (Canada Revenue Agency, checked 26 October 2026).
How this page was made: drafted with AI from a brief, then checked by automated rules for arithmetic, sources and duplication. The sample numbers were calculated, not reported.