For anyone paying commission on their own regulars
They searched for you by name.
And still paid a marketplace.
The commission is not buying you a customer. That customer was already yours.
The short answer
Discounting your own channel mostly does not work, because the marketplace customer is buying convenience and buyer protection, not a lower price. What does work is being genuinely easier than opening the app — and the platforms themselves sell the tools for it: DoorDash Storefront is 0% commission (you pay card processing of 2.9% + $0.30) and Uber’s Webshop is 2.5% + $0.29.
Delivery without commission is published too: DoorDash Drive On-Demand is a flat $6.99–$10.99 per delivery, and Uber Direct starts at $7.99. Compared against marketplace rates of 15–30%, the arithmetic on a large order is not close.
- DoorDash marketplace commission is published at 15%, 25% or 30% by plan, with 6% on pickup.
- Uber Eats publishes 20%, 25% and 30%, with self-delivery at 15%.
- Both companies sell commission-free direct ordering themselves — 0% and 2.5% + $0.29 respectively.
- In fee-capped cities including New York, Los Angeles and Seattle, Uber’s entry plan starts at 15% rather than 20%.
The distinction that matters
Discovery and interception look identical on the invoice
Both arrive as commission. Only one of them earned it.
The sequence
Reclaim the listing first. It costs nothing.
Fix where your own listing sends people
The cheapest win available, and usually the first surprise.
Put ordering on your own site
Zero commission on an order that was always yours.
Take payment into your own account
On your terms, through a real payment connection.
Keep delivery, drop the percentage
Flat-fee delivery keeps the convenience without the cut.
Keep the customer record
So the second order costs you nothing to win.
Same food. Different economics.
Not an attack
Marketplaces are genuinely useful for discovery
The argument here is narrower than it is usually made: a customer who already knew your name should not cost you a discovery fee. Where a marketplace actually finds you someone new, it earned it.
Being precise
Live today, and what we would build
Taking payment — real payment processing connected to your own account.
A full ordering flow depends on your menu, your POS and your delivery arrangements, and is built as part of an engagement.
Who does this
What SidRatnam.com does about direct orders
SidRatnam.com fixes where your own listings send people, builds an ordering path on your own site that is genuinely faster than opening an app, and connects payment to your own account. We compare the published costs of every channel against your real ticket size rather than assuming direct is always cheaper.
What that includes: auditing where your existing listings route customers, an ordering flow on your own site, payment into your own account, and flat-fee delivery compared against commission on your actual order values.
What it contributes to: keeping more of the orders from customers who already knew your name.
We build this for you
Evidence
What the research actually says
Every figure carries its source, date, the population it was measured across, and whether it is an observation or a projection.
DoorDash publishes its own rate card: Basic 15% on delivery orders, Plus 25%, Premier 30%, with 6% on pickup across all three. Its Storefront product for orders placed on your own site is 0% commission — you pay only card processing of 2.9% + $0.30 (or 3.3% + $0.30 on the Starter package).
observed DoorDash, Merchant Fees & Pricing, and Commission and Fees Explained
checked 20 September 2026 · US DoorDash merchant plans · current published rates
Uber Eats publishes Lite at 20% on delivery and 7% on pickup, Plus at 25%, and Premium at 30%. Self-delivery is 15%. Its own direct-ordering Webshop is 2.5% + $0.29 per order, and Uber Direct courier delivery starts at $7.99. In fee-capped cities — including New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis and Spokane — Lite starts at 15% instead of 20%.
observed Uber Eats, Pricing
checked 20 September 2026 · US Uber Eats merchant plans · current published rates
DoorDash also sells delivery without commission: Drive On-Demand is “a flat delivery fee per order, no commission rates”, published at $6.99 to $10.99 per delivery. Its developer documentation for Drive Classic states a flat $7.00 per delivery plus customer tip.
observed DoorDash, Drive On-Demand product page and Drive Classic developer docs
checked 20 September 2026 · US DoorDash Drive · current published rates
New York City caps what delivery platforms may charge restaurants — 15% for delivery, 5% for other basic services and 3% for transactions — and Local Law 79 of 2025 added an enhanced service fee capped at 20% on top. The same law entitles a restaurant to a monthly itemised list of every transaction and fee, and protects its right to put menus or coupons in the bag.
observed New York City Council, Local Law 79 of 2025 (Int. 0762-2024)
enacted 31 May 2025 · New York City food service establishments · in force
Connected problems
These turn out to be the same conversation
How do I reduce DoorDash fees?
Why is my payout lower than my sales?
Why isn’t my business showing up on Google?
This sits under keep more customers and increase revenue.
Find out what your own listing is doing
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