The hidden fee Tmall doesn't want you to know about

#Taobao has a rewards program letting shoppers earn reward points whenever they make a purchase…but the #accounting for it often comes as a surprise.

Shoppers earn #points on every valid purchase. Much like a #cashback program, the points can be spent in any store regardless of where they were earned.

"As a #merchant, won’t I lose money if someone spends all their points in my store?"

Don’t worry. #Alibaba will pay you for any items that shoppers purchase with points.

Instead, you’ll lose money through every transaction in your store.

Merchants are charged for the points the moment they are issued to customers. So even if your customers don’t spend those points anywhere, your store still has to pay for them in advance.

This #fee shows up in Alipay’s cash flow statement alongside every fulfilled transaction. Google will translate this as “withholding #rebate points.”

This only costs 0.5% in most categories. But having no say in the matter AND seeing no mention of it on Tmall’s platform #commissions page makes for quite an unpleasant surprise.