Gross Merchandise Value

GMV counts what buyers paid, full stop. It sits at the top of the funnel and flatters everything below it, because platform fees, payment processing, returns, chargebacks and the cost of the goods themselves all come out afterwards. Brands and affiliate platforms quote it because it is the biggest available number and it makes a partnership look impressive in a deck. For your own planning, the figure that matters is what lands in your account. Ask for net revenue or take-home commission alongside GMV, and treat a return rate above the usual for that category as a real hit to earnings.