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Service fee on downloads

Service fee on downloads

Starting in March 2026, a service fee will be charged for downloads. The service fee is only applied to download profit. It is not charged on the profit from purely physical products.

The service fee depends on the subscription you have selected:

  • Subscription: Free 12 %
  • Subscription: Saal Cloud 9 %
  • Subscription: Saal Prio 7 %
  • Subscription: Saal Prio Max 5 %

This section explains how the service fee for downloads is calculated.

In all examples below, we use a 5 % service fee (Saal Prio Max)

1. Free downloads (stand‑alone)

What counts as free?

  • Files downloaded directly from the gallery with a 0.00 € price
  • Orders where items are downloads with a 0.00 € price

How is the fee calculated?

No service fee is charged, because no profit is generated.
Service fee = 0.00 €

2. Paid file downloads (single files, sizes, licences, “all files” packages)

For all paid download products, the service fee is applied to the gross profit of the download.

Example:
Product: “All downloads” package
Gross profit: 50.00 €
Service‑fee rate: 5 %
Service fee = 50.00 € × 5 % = 2.50 €

3. Product set with only digital downloads

If a product set contains only digital items, we treat it like a pure download order: the service fee is applied to the gross profit of the whole set.

Example:
Product set (only downloads)
Gross profit: 40.00 €
Service‑fee rate: 5 %
Service fee = 40.00 € × 5 % = 2.00 €

4. Mixed product set (downloads + physical products)

For mixed sets that contain both digital downloads and physical products (and possibly upsells), we:

  1. Take the gross profit of the whole set, including upsells.
  2. Divide that profit by the total number of articles in the set (all physical items + all download items + all upsell downloads).
  3. Multiply the profit per article by the number of download parts to get the download profit share.
  4. Apply the service‑fee percentage only to that download profit share.

Because download upsells increase the value of the set and contribute to its profit, they are counted as download articles in the allocation – even if the upsell itself is marked as “free” to the customer.

Below are three different examples.

4.1 – Mixed product set without upsell

Order content

  • 1 × Photo Print 13 x 18
  • 3 × Photo Print 10 x 15
  • 1 × Download
  • No upsells
  • Total items: 5
  • Gross profit (set): 25.00 €
  • Service‑fee rate: 5 %

Calculation:

  1. Profit per item: 25.00 € ÷ 5 items = 5.00 € per item
  2. Download profit share: 1 download × 5.00 € = 5.00 €
  3. Service fee: 5.00 € × 5 % = 0.25 €

Result: Service fee for this order = 0.25 €

4.2 – Mixed product set with free download upsell (all downloads)

Order content

  • (Same base set as 4.1):
    • 1 × Photo Print 13 x 18
    • 3 × Photo Print 10 x 15
    • 1 × Download
  • Free download upsell: “All downloads (15 images)”
  • For the allocation, the order is treated as having 20 parts (5 base items + 15 upsell download images)
  • Gross profit (set): 25.00 €
  • Service‑fee rate: 5 %

Even though the upsell is offered “for free” to the customer, it increases the value of the mixed set and the share of the order that consists of downloads. Therefore, it is included as download parts in the calculation.

Calculation:

  1. Profit per item: 25.00 € ÷ 20 parts = 1.25 € per part
  2. Download items (1 base download + 15 upsell images) = 16 items. Download profit share: 16 × 1.25 € = 20.00 €
  3. Service fee: 20.00 € × 5 % = 1.00 €

Result: Service fee for this order = 1.00 €

4.3 – Mixed product set with paid download upsell (all downloads)

Order content

  • Same base set as 4.1:
    • 1 × Photo Print 13 x 18
    • 3 × Photo Print 10 x 15
    • 1 × Download
  • Paid upsell: “All downloads (15 images)”
  • Gross profit (base set): 25.00 €
  • Gross profit (upsell downloads): 25.00 €
  • Gross profit (total set): 50.00 €
  • Total items used for allocation: 20 items (5 base items + 15 upsell images)
  • Service‑fee rate: 5 %

Calculation:

  1. Profit per item: 50.00 € ÷ 20 items = 2.50 € per part
  2. Download items (1 base download + 15 upsell images) = 16 parts. Download profit share: 16 × 2.50 € = 40.00 €
  3. Service fee: 40.00 € × 5 % = 2.00 €

Result: Service fee for this order = 2.00 €