How much cash do marketplaces hold back? Model reserve % and release days, see the cash tied up and the buffer you need.
*Illustrative tiers — platforms adjust these; check your seller dashboard for your actual reserve terms and edit the fields.
Marketplaces don't hand you every dollar the moment you sell: new sellers routinely face rolling reserves — a slice of sales held back for days or weeks against refunds and disputes. Sellers feel this as a mystery cash crunch: sales are up, the bank account is flat. This planner makes the invisible visible: exactly how much of your money is parked in reserves, the working cash you need each month, and the buffer that keeps restocking safe.
Pick your platform (the presets are illustrative starting points — your seller dashboard shows your real terms, and the fields are editable), enter monthly sales, and your upfront cost per $1 of sales (product + shipping you pay before the payout lands). You get the cash tied up in reserves, monthly working-cash need, a 25%-padded buffer, and what the tied cash becomes if sales grow 50%.
Most platforms relax reserves as your dispute history builds. If you're in month one, plan for the worst tier now and re-run this when your terms improve — the scenario table shows exactly how much cash each tier frees.
A percentage of your sales the marketplace holds for a rolling period (e.g. 5% for 21 days) as protection against refunds, disputes and chargebacks. You still earned the money — you just can't spend it yet.
Platforms have no track record to judge you on, so holds are deepest in the first weeks/months. Clean history — few disputes, on-time shipping — is what earns faster releases.
Very often, yes: you pay product and shipping costs up front while a slice of revenue sits in reserve. This planner quantifies exactly that gap so you can plan restocks around it.
Keep disputes low, ship on time, and build history. Some platforms also release faster for established accounts automatically — check your seller dashboard's payment terms regularly.
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