First, the honest bit.
TikTok Shop is genuinely huge and still growing fast. It's also the most uneven place to sell online right now.
A small number of sellers take most of the money. The bottom half of shops make almost nothing. Some very good agencies tell people to stay away from it entirely, and for a lot of products they're right.
So here's who it actually works for.
It probably works for you if:
Your product is visual and easy to understand in a few seconds. It costs somewhere between about $15 and $60. It solves an obvious problem or looks satisfying to use. You have margin to pay both TikTok and a creator. And you can keep up with new video every week, or pay someone who can.
It probably won't if:
Your product needs explaining, comparing, or trying on carefully. It's expensive or slow to decide on. Your margins are thin. Or you want to set it up once and leave it running — that's the single most common way people lose money here.
We'd rather tell you this on a first call than take three months of fees and hand you a shop nobody bought from.
Sound familiar?
“I set up a shop and nothing happened.”
Very common. A shop with no videos and no creators is a shelf in an empty room. TikTok doesn't send people to shops, it sends them to videos.
“Creators keep ignoring my product.”
Usually because your commission is too low, your listing looks unconvincing, or nobody has sent them anything. Creators pick products they think will sell for them, not just for you.
“My products keep getting rejected.”
Almost always the images. TikTok is strict about what the main photo can look like, and most people upload the same photos they use everywhere else.
“I'm selling but making no money.”
TikTok takes its cut, the creator takes theirs, and shipping takes the rest. If nobody worked out those numbers before launch, this is the result.
TikTok Shop doesn't run on ad budget. It runs on video.
This is the bit people get wrong, so it's worth being clear about.
On Facebook or Google you put money in and traffic comes out. TikTok doesn't work like that. People find your product because a video showed up on their feed — usually somebody else's video, not yours.
That means the amount of video attached to your product is the single thing that decides whether you sell. One brand video a month will do nothing, no matter what you spend.
Two things create that volume. Creators making videos about your product, and you making your own, constantly.
Most sellers can do neither, which is why most shops sit still.
We do both. The videos are made in-house as part of our product photo and video service, so we're not waiting weeks on a creator or charging you extra every time an idea needs testing.
Getting creators to actually sell for you.
Creators are where most of the sales come from on TikTok Shop, and getting them interested is a job in itself.
Setting a commission that's worth their time
Too low and nobody picks it up. Too high and you lose money on every sale. There's a workable number and it depends on your margins — we find it before launch, not after.
Sending product to the right people
Not the biggest accounts. The ones whose audience already buys things like yours, and who post often enough to matter.
Making your listing look worth promoting
Creators check your shop before they agree. A thin listing with two bad photos tells them the product won't sell.
Keeping the good ones
Most sellers send a product once and never speak to the creator again. The ones who reply, restock, and share what's working get promoted repeatedly.
Your listings have to pass, then they have to sell.
TikTok is stricter about product photos than most places, and this is where a lot of shops quietly get stuck.
The main photo has to be the product on a plain white background. No text on the image, no logos, no borders, no watermarks, no sale badges. Nothing overlaid at all. Photos need to be a decent size and each one has to show something different — the same angle twice isn't allowed.
That's just to be allowed on the shelf. Selling is a separate job: enough photos to answer the obvious questions, a title with the words people actually search, and a description that isn't three words long.
We handle both. And because we make product photos in-house, fixing a whole catalogue isn't a photoshoot you have to schedule and pay for separately.
What we actually do.
Set your shop up properly
Seller Center, verification, delivery, returns, and connecting it to your store.
Fix your listings
Photos that pass the rules, titles with searchable words, proper descriptions, and rejected products cleared.
Work out your numbers first
What TikTok takes, what a creator takes, what shipping costs, and what's left. Before launch.
Find and manage creators
Choosing them, sending product, setting commission, and keeping the ones who sell.
Make your videos
New ones every week, in-house, in the formats that work on TikTok.
Run your Shop ads
Including putting money behind videos that are already working, which is usually the cheapest thing you can do.
Handle the day-to-day
Stock, orders, messages, and keeping your shop in good standing with TikTok.
Putting money behind what's already working.
There's one thing on TikTok that's almost always worth doing, and most sellers don't know about it.
When a video is already getting attention on its own — yours or a creator's — you can pay to show it to more people. You're not gambling on a new ad. You're buying more of something that's already proven it works.
That's usually the best value advertising on the platform, and it's only available to shops that are producing video in the first place. Which brings you back to the same point: no video, nothing to promote.
From first call to selling.
- 01
We tell you if it's a bad idea
We look at your product, your price, and your margins. If TikTok Shop isn't right for you, that's the call, and it costs you nothing.
- 02
We set up and fix
Shop, verification, listings, photos, delivery and returns. The unglamorous month.
- 03
We start the videos
Your own content first, so there's something on the platform before we approach creators.
- 04
We bring creators in
Product sent, commissions set, relationships started with people whose audience buys things like yours.
- 05
We push what works
Money behind the videos already getting attention, more of the formats that sell, and a monthly report you can read.
Straight answers about money.
We charge a flat monthly fee
Not a percentage of your sales. Percentage pricing means we'd earn more from volume even if you were losing money on every order.
TikTok takes a cut of each sale
And creators take a commission on top when they're the reason for the sale. These are real costs and we build them into the numbers before you launch, not after.
Your ad budget is separate and yours
Paid to TikTok from your own account.
Three months minimum, then month to month
Month one is setup and fixing. Leaving before month three means paying for the groundwork and none of the results.
Everything stays in your name
Your shop, your Seller Center, your creator relationships, your videos. If we part ways you keep all of it.
Questions.
What does a TikTok Shop agency do?+
Sets up your shop, fixes your listings so they pass and sell, finds and manages creators, makes the videos, and runs your ads. On TikTok the video and creator side is most of the work.
How much does a TikTok Shop agency cost?+
We charge a flat monthly fee agreed before starting. TikTok's own cut and creator commissions are separate, and we'll map all of it out before you commit.
How much does TikTok Shop take per sale?+
TikTok charges a fee on each sale, and creators take a commission on top when they drove it. The combined number is higher than most people expect, which is why we work out your margins first.
How do I sell on TikTok Shop?+
You register a shop, get verified, list your products, and then get videos made about them. The first three steps take days. The fourth is the actual job and never stops.
Do I need creators to sell on TikTok Shop?+
Practically, yes. Most sales on the platform come from someone other than the brand posting about the product.
Why do my TikTok Shop products keep getting rejected?+
Usually the main photo. It needs the product on a plain white background with nothing added — no text, logos, borders or watermarks. Reusing photos from another marketplace is the most common cause.
Can I connect TikTok Shop to my Shopify store?+
Yes, there's an official connection that syncs products and orders. We set it up as part of the Shopify build.
Do you use AI to make the videos and photos?+
Yes, alongside editing, which is how we can produce new content every week instead of monthly. It's worth knowing that TikTok requires AI-generated imagery to be labelled as such, and content that isn't labelled can have its reach cut. We handle that labelling properly rather than hoping nobody notices.
How long before TikTok Shop makes money?+
Month one is setup and usually loses money. Real momentum comes from creators and video volume building up, which takes a few months. Anyone promising fast results either has a very lucky product or isn't counting properly.
Tell us what you're selling.
Send your product and your price. Within 24 hours you'll get an honest read on whether TikTok Shop would make you money — including if the answer is no.