Lemon Squeezy

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Do not build this. Being the seller is the product, and it is a legal position rather than a feature.

Merchant of record means they sell your product on their own account, so sales tax and VAT registration, collection and remittance in every jurisdiction are theirs. Taking that on means registering in places you have never visited, collecting evidence of where each buyer was, filing returns, and being the one a card network argues with over a chargeback.

WHEN TO KEEP PAYING
- International customers, which for digital products means almost everybody
- Any volume where the alternative is learning tax law for a dozen countries

WHEN TO BUILD
- Sales concentrated in one country where you are already registered
- Volume high enough that the percentage exceeds what an accountant would cost
- Then hosted checkout with a payment provider does the payment half, and the shape is under SendOwl elsewhere in this catalogue

WHAT YOU TAKE ON, STATED PLAINLY
- **For digital goods the tax rate is usually the buyer's, not yours.** Collect the country, apply the rate, and store two pieces of non-conflicting evidence of where they were. That evidence requirement is what people discover a year late
- Registration thresholds differ by country and several have none at all for digital services
- Refunds, chargebacks and disputes become yours, and a chargeback costs the fee as well as the sale
- Invoices with the content and numbering each jurisdiction requires — gapless sequences are a legal matter in much of Europe, not a preference
- Take advice before the first sale rather than after the first tax year

DO THE ARITHMETIC HONESTLY
Add up the percentage over a year, then price the alternative: a payment provider's fees, a tax service or an accountant, and your own time on filings and disputes. For most small sellers the merchant of record wins, and finding that out on paper is more useful than an opinion.

THE ONE-LINE VERSION
The fee is buying tax liability and chargeback handling. Do the sum before calling it expensive.