TPHUBS.COMSelling on TikTok Shop: rising fees, account health scores and the risk of being shut down
TikTok Shop can take a product from zero to thousands of orders off one video. It is also the big marketplace whose rules change the fastest. Here is a summary of the main costs and risks on TikTok Shop US, with sources, so you know exactly what you depend on.
1. Fees that keep rising
TikTok Shop US charges a referral fee on every order. It went up to 6% on April 1, 2024, according to TikTok Shop's own announcement, from a much lower rate at launch. In 2026, some seller resources report a further rise to 8% for many categories from August 2026, while the public fee table still shows 6%. Check your rate in Seller Center.
On top of that, most TikTok orders come from creator videos, and you pay an affiliate commission you set yourself. According to FastMoss (June 2026), most sellers set 5% to 20%, with categories like beauty and health often at 15% to 20%.
Example on a $30 order: 6% referral is $1.80, a 15% creator commission is $4.50. That's $6.30, or 21%, before flash-sale discounts, free samples for creators and return costs.
2. Slow payouts
New sellers typically start with a long settlement period of about a month, and funds can be held longer to cover returns. Timing depends on your shop performance score and account age. When a viral video brings in thousands of orders, you pay for stock up front and get paid weeks later.
3. Account health: the rules just changed
Until mid-2026 TikTok Shop used violation points: reach 48 and the account was permanently deactivated. From July 2026 it switched to an Account Health Rating (AHR) from 0 to 1,000 (detailed summary):
- Every shop starts at 200, and violations take points away.
- At 150, 100 and 50 points: no new listings and no major campaigns for 7, 14 and 28 days.
- At 0: the account may be permanently deactivated.
Common deductions include late shipping, items not as described, policy-breaking video content (including content from creators promoting you) and restricted products. The system has changed several times in two years, so sellers have to keep relearning the rules or risk penalties for rules they hadn't caught up with.
4. The bigger risk: depending on one platform
- The algorithm decides your sales. A video trends today; next week views drop 90% with no explanation.
- Discount pressure. Flash sales, vouchers and shipping subsidies keep thinning your margin.
- Risks beyond your control. In the US, TikTok faced a divest-or-ban law in 2024 and 2025. When the whole platform is at risk, every shop on it is too.
- You don't own the customer. You have no email or contact to reach past buyers outside TikTok.
Lower the risk: TikTok to get found, your store to keep customers
TikTok is still a powerful way to create demand. The safe approach is to treat TikTok as where customers discover you, and your own store as where they come back for the second and third order:
- Put your store link in your TikTok, Instagram and Facebook profiles, within each platform's rules.
- Offer a sign-up discount on your store to collect emails.
- If your TikTok Shop account is restricted, you still have a place to take orders and your creators still have a link to share.
- Repeat orders on your store carry no referral fee or creator commission.
TPHubs builds Shopify stores for TikTok sellers: product sync, TikTok pixel and sales channel set up, every account handed over in your name. See pricing or read why marketplace sellers need a backup store.