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Understanding the service fee

The service fee is what GearLend takes from a booking's rental price before paying out a gear owner. It's separate from the community fee, which is paid by the renter. See Understanding GearLend fees for how the two fees relate to each other.

What the fee pays for​

The service fee funds the parts of GearLend that help your gear get booked with confidence:

  • Verifying the identity of every renter before they can book
  • Secure payment processing and payouts through Stripe
  • Customer support and dispute handling if something goes wrong during a rental
  • Listing tools, search, and ongoing platform development

How it's calculated​

The service fee is a flat 10% of the rental price you set for a listing. It doesn't vary between bookings the way the renter's community fee does. It's shown when you create or edit a listing, and again on each booking confirmation, so you always know what you'll net before you publish.

When it's deducted​

You never pay the service fee out of pocket. It's deducted automatically from the rental price when your payout is released, so the amount that reaches your Stripe account is already net of the fee. See How payouts work for when payouts are released.

If a booking is cancelled​

If you cancel a confirmed booking yourself, you're not paid anything, so no service fee applies. The same is true if a renter cancels with enough notice, or within their initial cancellation grace period.

If a renter cancels close to pickup, though, you may still be paid part or all of the rental price as compensation for the booking, and the service fee is deducted from that payout the same way it would be from a completed rental. See Understanding cancellation fees for exactly when this applies.

Questions about a fee on your payout​

If a service fee deduction on a payout looks incorrect, contact support@gearlend.com.au with your booking reference and the team will look into it.