What is GMV on TikTok Shop?
GMV (gross merchandise value) on TikTok Shop is the total amount paid for orders in a period, including orders that were later canceled or refunded. TikTok works it out as the list price times the items sold, plus shipping, minus seller-funded and platform-funded discounts, minus tax, counted at the time of payment. It's a sales figure, not what you keep: fees, commission and refunds come out after.
What do TikTok Shop and affiliate terms mean?
The words you'll meet in Seller Center, the affiliate dashboard and TikTok Studio.
- GMV (gross merchandise value)The total paid for orders in a period, canceled and refunded orders included, before fees and commission. It's a sales figure, not earnings. More: TikTok Shop earnings calculator
- TikTok ShopShopping inside TikTok: sellers list products and ship orders, and creators earn commission for selling them in videos and LIVEs. More: Selling on TikTok Shop, step by step
- Referral feeWhat TikTok Shop takes from each US sale: 6% on most categories, with no listing or monthly fee. More: Selling on TikTok Shop, step by step
- Affiliate commissionThe share of a sale, set by each seller, that you earn on products you tag in your videos and LIVEs. More: TikTok Shop affiliate rules
- ShowcaseThe product list on your TikTok profile: add a product to your showcase, then tag it in a video or LIVE. More: TikTok Shop affiliate rules
- Free sampleProduct a seller sends an affiliate to film. In the US, only creators with a sale in the last 120 days can request free samples. More: TikTok Shop affiliate rules
- Pending commissionCommission that isn't withdrawable yet: in the US it typically clears 15 days after delivery, or 31 days if the seller has a longer settlement period. More: TikTok commission withdrawal time
- Commission fee (UK)TikTok Shop UK's cut of each order: 9% (VAT included), or 5% on electronics, appliances and some beauty devices. More: TikTok Shop UK fees and rules
- GMVThe seller's sales
- Check: Includes refundsYes, canceled and refunded orders count
- Who sees itSellers in Seller Center analytics
- Affiliate commissionYour share
- Yes: Includes refundsNo: a fully refunded order pays nothing
- Who sets itEach seller, per product
- Withdrawable balanceYour money
- WhenTypically 15 days after delivery in the US
- Then3 to 5 business days to a bank, 1 to PayPal
VerdictGMV is the biggest of the three numbers and the one you never receive.
GMV from TikTok Shop's Seller University (sources below); commission and timing from our affiliate guide and withdrawal post.
What do platform payout terms mean?
How TikTok and Amazon pay creators who post to their own audience.
- Creator Rewards ProgramHow TikTok pays for views on original videos longer than one minute; it needs 10,000 followers and 100,000 views in the last 30 days. More: Creator Rewards calculator
- Creator FundTikTok's older payout program, replaced by the Creator Rewards Program (then called the Creativity Program) in the US, UK, France and Germany on December 16, 2023. More: Creator Rewards calculator
- Qualified viewA view that counts for Creator Rewards: watched for at least 5 seconds, once per viewer. Paid and promoted views don't count. More: Creator Rewards calculator
- RPM (revenue per mille)What a video earns per 1,000 qualified views. TikTok publishes no fixed rate, so any estimate is a range. More: Creator Rewards calculator
- TikTok OneTikTok's own creator marketplace, which replaced the Creator Marketplace; you need 1,000 followers to join its brand projects. More: Brand deals and rate cards
- Amazon Influencer ProgramAn extension of Amazon Associates that gives creators a storefront page on Amazon and a commission on qualifying purchases. More: Amazon storefront guide
- Onsite commissionsAmazon's program for your videos on product detail pages: after 10 videos approved by moderation, and once you sign up, shoppers may see them there. More: Amazon storefront guide
Creator Rewards in four numbers
- 10,000
- followers to join
- 100,000
- video views in the last 30 days
- 1 min+
- video length that earns
- 5 s
- watched for a view to qualify
TikTok's own pages, as summarised in our Creator Rewards requirements.
What do UGC and creator terms mean?
Who makes the video, who posts it, and what the brand pays for.
- UGC (user-generated content)Photos, videos and reviews made by customers and other ordinary people, not by the brand. More: UGC meaning, explained
- Organic UGCUGC a customer posts on their own. A brand may reuse it only with the customer's permission. More: UGC meaning, explained
- Paid UGCCustomer-style videos a brand hires a creator to film for the brand's own accounts and ads. The brand buys the video and the right to use it. More: UGC meaning, explained
- UGC creatorSomeone a brand pays to film short videos that look like a real customer made them. No followers needed, only a portfolio. More: UGC creator guide
- Influencer marketingA brand pays for a post to the creator's own audience, where paid UGC buys the video and the right to use it. More: UGC meaning, explained
- Nano influencerA creator with a small, engaged following, usually 1,000 to 10,000 followers, though sources disagree on both ends. More: What is a nano influencer?
- Content creatorSomeone who makes videos or posts for an audience or a business, paid by platforms, brands or sales commission. More: UGC creator guide
- Paid UGCThe brand posts it
- What the brand buysThe video and the right to use it
- Yes: Followers neededNone
- Where it runsThe brand's accounts and ads
- Influencer marketingYou post it
- What the brand buysA post to your audience
- Check: Followers neededFrom 1,000 on TikTok One
- Where it runsYour own account
VerdictBoth can be in one deal: a Spark Ads code runs a brand's ad under your handle.
From our what is UGC guide and brand deals guide.
What do UGC contract and pricing terms mean?
The words in a brand's brief, your quote and the contract.
- Usage rightsWhere a brand may use your content, for how long, and whether its posts come down after. Paid ad use is priced on top of the video. More: Contract builder
- WhitelistingA brand runs ads through your account, under your name. More: Spark Ads codes for creators
- Spark AdsTikTok ads made from an organic post: a brand pays to show your video under your name, and the likes, comments, shares and follows go to your original post. More: Spark Ads codes for creators
- Spark Ads codeA code you generate in a video's ad settings that lets a brand run that post as an ad, for the 7, 30, 60 or 365 days you chose. More: Spark Ads codes for creators
- ExclusivityA period in which you agree not to work with the brand's competitors in its category, priced per month. More: Brand deals and rate cards
- Kill feeWhat you're paid if the brand cancels after you've filmed, for example the up-front half. More: Brand deals and rate cards
- Raw footageThe unedited clips, priced as their own line on a quote rather than included with the edited video. More: UGC pricing calculator
- Rate cardA list of what you offer and what each item costs: videos, extra hooks, raw footage, ad usage by length, Spark Ads, exclusivity and rush delivery. More: Brand deals and rate cards
- Media kitA one or two page summary you send brands: who you are, your platforms and audience, examples of your work, your rates and how to reach you. More: Portfolio builder
- UGC portfolioYour bio, sample videos and rates in one place: what a brand looks at instead of your follower count. More: Portfolio builder
- Creative brief (UGC brief)The brand's instructions for a job: the product, deliverables, key messages, usage rights, deadline and fee. More: Brief builder
- PitchA short email or DM offering a brand one video idea, with two samples of your work. More: Pitch email builder
- PR packageFree product a brand sends a creator, hoping for a post. If you post about it, the FTC says to disclose it. More: How to get PR packages
- Disclosure (#ad)Telling viewers a post is paid or gifted. If you post a video after being paid or given free product, the FTC says to disclose it in the video. More: UGC creator guide
- Spark Ads codeTikTok
- What the brand runsYour post, from your account
- How long7, 30, 60 or 365 days, your choice
- Engagement goes toYour original post
- Paid usageAny ad platform
- What the brand runsThe video file, from its own account
- How longAgreed in the contract
- Engagement goes toThe brand's ad
VerdictThey're separate rights, priced separately; whitelisting is the same idea as a Spark Ads code for your whole account.
From our Spark Ads guide and our rate calculator.
What do scripting and editing terms mean?
The words in a script, an edit and an export.
- HookThe opening line of a video, often with matching on-screen text. Briefs often ask for extra hooks, each one a new opening on the same video. More: AI hook generator
- ScriptA timed plan of the video: the hook, what you say, the on-screen text and the B-roll notes. More: Script template builder
- TeleprompterA screen that scrolls your script at a set reading speed while you look into the camera. More: Teleprompter
- Filler wordsSounds and words that fill a gap while you think, like um, uh, like, you know, so and basically. More: Filler words
- A-rollThe main footage, usually you talking to the camera, that the voice of the video comes from. More: What is B-roll?
- B-rollFootage you cut to while the main audio keeps playing: product close-ups, hands using the product, the place, the result. More: What is B-roll?
- Jump cutA cut between two moments of the same shot from the same camera position, so the subject seems to skip forward in time. More: What is a jump cut?
- Punch-in (zoom cut)A cut where the next piece is cropped tighter, used for emphasis or to hide a jump cut on a key line. More: What is a jump cut?
- Safe zoneThe part of a vertical frame the app's buttons and caption don't cover. On TikTok at 1080 × 1920, keep text 240 px from the top and 660 px from the bottom. More: TikTok safe zone checker
- 9:16 aspect ratioThe vertical video shape, 9 units wide for every 16 tall: 1080 × 1920 pixels in full HD, used by TikTok, Reels, Shorts and Stories. More: Ratio calculator
- Aspect ratioA frame's width compared with its height, such as 16:9 for a horizontal video and 9:16 for a vertical one. More: Ratio calculator
- SRT fileA caption file of timed lines that you download from a caption generator and upload to a video app or editor; VTT is the web version of the same idea. More: Auto caption generator
- A-roll
- What's on screenYou, talking to the camera
- What it's forThe voice of the video
- B-roll
- What's on screenThe product, hands, the result
- What it's forShowing what you say, hiding cuts
- Jump cut
- What's on screenThe same shot, a moment later
- What it's forTaking pauses and fluffed lines out
From our B-roll post and jump cut post.
