The business side of selling
The money fundamentals, handled properly and stated plainly — what we take, how you’re paid, where VAT and tax sit, and the few things we do to keep them off your plate. Everything here applies equally to artists and labels.
What does metal.club actually take?
8% on sales. No monthly fee, no listing fee, nothing else — you’re only ever charged when something sells. Exactly what that covers is on the fees page.
How and when do I get paid?
Directly — metal.club never holds your money. Payments go straight to your own connected account via Stripe, on your normal payout schedule.
Do I need to handle VAT myself?
Partly, and we try to take as much of that off your plate as we honestly can:
- Digital sales: metal.club is legally required to collect and remit VAT on these, so you don’t have to think about it at all.
- Physical sales: if you’re EU/UK-established, VAT on these remains your own responsibility (your own domestic VAT or OSS registration) — we’re upfront about this rather than pretending otherwise. If you’re based outside the EU/UK, metal.club collects the relevant import VAT on your behalf.
What happens if a sale is refunded?
You bear the actual refunded amount. Commission is always returned to you in full on a refunded sale, since we don’t keep a fee on something that didn’t happen.
What happens if a buyer charges back?
A chargeback is the buyer’s bank reversing the payment, not a refund you chose to give. The money is held by the card scheme while the case is decided, so that sale is listed on your statement under “Charged back — not counted” instead of being added up with the rest.
The scheme’s fee for raising the chargeback is yours, and appears as its own line on your statement under what you owe — the amount is set by the scheme and differs by currency. You don’t file anything yourself: the case is raised against metal.club’s payment account, so we submit the evidence. Reply to the chargeback email with proof of shipment and delivery, and the sooner the better — the scheme sets the deadline, and it is in the email.
Is there a minimum balance held back?
Yes, a small standing floor (currently about ten pounds, or your currency’s equivalent) — this exists purely as a buffer against refunds on recent sales, so we’re never chasing money back from you after it’s paid out. If you ever leave the platform, this is released to you automatically.
Do you handle my tax reporting obligations?
Under UK law, platforms like this are required to report certain seller information to HMRC once a seller’s sales reach a set threshold in a calendar year — currently around 30 physical/merch sales, or roughly 1,700 pounds in total (this doesn’t apply to digital-only sales at all). Most sellers will never reach this, and if you don’t, nothing changes for you.
If you do get close, we’ll ask for your tax details in good time — well before it’s actually needed, with clear notice, never as a surprise. We’ve already built the secure system to handle this properly (your details are encrypted and only ever used for this specific purpose); it simply hasn’t needed to ask anyone yet.
Can I offer tracked shipping as an upgrade?
Yes — it’s entirely optional, and set per shipping origin. If you enable it, buyers see a clear add-on price at checkout; if you don’t, nothing changes for you.
Is there ever a reason my fee would be different?
Sometimes — founding artists and labels occasionally get promotional rates as part of early partnerships. If that applies to you, it’ll always be clearly visible in your own dashboard, including when (if ever) it reverts to the standard rate.