How we make money
What we charge, in full
Every rate we charge is on this page. There is no page two, no enterprise tier, and no number that changes once you are inside.
Commission, by category
Charged to the seller, on completed orders only. Published range: 5% to 14%. Pickup orders: 5%, or the delivered rate if lower (services and farm tours keep their own rate).
| Category | Rate | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Meat & livestock | 14% under $1,000, 12% under $2,000, 10% under $3,000, 8% under $4,000, 7% under $5,000, 6% under $6,000, and 5% at $6,000 and above — one rate applied to the whole cart total — one cart, one total, one percentage, never per cut | — |
| Baked goods, prepared food, drinks, restaurant | 14% on the first $1,000, 11% above it | — |
| Produce, eggs, dairy, honey, preserves, canned, pantry, mushrooms, nurseries, subscriptions | 14% | — |
| Crafts, handmade, flowers, body care, fiber, tea & botanicals, trees & shrubs | 6% | — |
| Services | 14% | $500 |
| Coffee, pet food | 14% | — |
| Farmers market listings, agritourism | 12% | — |
| Fruit | 10% | — |
| Grain, seafood | 8% | — |
| Firewood & lumber | 8% | $100 |
| Compost & soil | 8% | $150 |
| Hay, feed & bulk ag | 6% | $150 |
Why meat is banded
A half beef is a single four-figure transaction, and a flat percentage on it would be indefensible. So meat and livestock is based on the cart total: 14% under $1,000, 12% under $2,000, 10% under $3,000, 8% under $4,000, 7% under $5,000, 6% under $6,000, and 5% at $6,000 and above. A $3,000 cart is charged $240.00; an $8,000 cart is charged $400.00. The rate falls as the order grows, which is the opposite of how most platforms treat their largest sellers.
We never take a floor amount out of a small sale
We had one briefly. A flat floor is 50% of a $3 sale, which breaks the published range and does it to the party this platform exists to protect. It was removed, and the database now refuses to store it at all.
What replaced it is a $2.00 small order fee charged to the customer, on delivery only, never on pickup, on orders under a $20 subtotal — and the app has to show exactly how much more to add to clear it. A threshold fee you cannot see is a junk fee.
Delivery by our drivers is a pass-through
The customer's delivery fee is quoted for the actual order. Our delivery drivers receive 100% of the delivery fee and 100% of tips, and Only Local Co. keeps $0.00 of what our drivers earn. The Driver Fund, sales tax and the customer’s service fee are each their own separate line. If a driver farther away takes an order, the Driver Fund pays the extra miles and the customer’s price never changes. We earn when a producer makes a sale, not when a driver makes a delivery, and we publish no driver earnings figures because we will not advertise a number a driver's real week may not match.
Pickup is charged 5%
On a pickup order we take 5%, or your delivered rate if that is lower. Commission still pays for the storefront, the payments, the customer relationship and the support behind the order, but nobody drives it, so it costs less. Services and farm tours are booked rather than picked up and keep their own rate.
Sellers never pay card fees
The customer pays a service fee, shown as its own line at checkout, that covers the card and payment costs of the whole order. It is never taken out of your sale.
Tips go to whoever delivers
Customers can tip at checkout or after delivery. 100% goes to whoever delivered it.