We only make money when you do. Our fee structure is designed to keep transactions fair for buyers and sellers alike.
Fees are deducted from the seller's payout when a trade completes. Buyers never pay a Sniffy platform fee — only the agreed price, shipping (unless the seller included it), and card processing (2.9% + $0.30, shown as "Processing fee" at checkout).
| Transaction Type | Platform Fee | Payment Processing | Payout Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sale | 10% | Paid by buyer at checkout (2.9% + $0.30) | Released to your bank (via Stripe) — or held in your Sniffy balance until you connect one — when the buyer confirms receipt, or automatically 48 hours after they confirm delivery |
| Trade (bottle for bottle) | $5 per side | Prepaid insured label per side at its real price ($0 with your own) + refundable deposit (as little as 10% of your bottle's value, or as much as you want) | Deposits refunded when both sides confirm receipt |
| Shipping | The exact price of the cheapest insured, tracked USPS label from the seller's ZIP to the buyer's — postage plus 1% insurance for the full sale value (up to $5,000), typically $8–11 — shown to the buyer before they pay, with nothing added. If the seller turns on "Price includes shipping & insurance", the buyer pays $0 and that label cost is deducted from the seller's payout. | ||
| Featured / Boosted listing | $5 per 7 days or $10 per 14 days (every member gets 1 free 7-day boost a month) | ||
A real example. Maya lists a bottle of Layton, Jake buys it, and the USPS label costs about $9 (postage plus 1% insurance).
| Jake pays at checkout | $50 + $9 shipping + $2.07 processing = $61.07 |
| Held in escrow until Jake confirms | all of it |
| Sniffy buys the $9 label | Jake paid exactly $9 for it |
| Sniffy fee (10%) | $5 |
| Maya receives | $45 |
| Jake pays at checkout | $58 + $0 shipping + $2.04 processing = $60.04 |
| Held in escrow until Jake confirms | all of it |
| Sniffy buys the $9 label | comes out of Maya's payout |
| Sniffy fee (10% of $58) | $5.80 |
| Maya receives | $43.20 |
Either way the label is prepaid and insured, and the only question is who pays for it — the buyer at checkout (toggle off) or the seller out of the sale (toggle on). Jake's money sits in escrow the whole time; when he confirms the bottle checked out, Maya's share goes to her connected Stripe account and Sniffy keeps its fee. Processing is Stripe's card fee (2.9% + $0.30), paid by the buyer, not by Sniffy or the seller.
Everything you need to know about how Sniffy fees work.