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Curator margins

Curator margins allow curators to profit on the curated deals they handle. Margins let curators compensate themselves for the value they’re adding to a curated deal transaction. Margins are set at a curated deal line item level, so curators can take different margins for each deal. Margins can be edited at any time for a deal.

Curators do not take margin by default and therefore must select a margin type and set a non-zero margin value if they want to profit on the transaction. Setting a zero value as margin will prevent any margin from being taken, even in unique situations where the curator is targeting seller fixed price deals and the buyer is bidding above the seller floor price (see Curated Deal Floors).

Margin types

Curator margin types are configured on a curated deal line item. There are two types of curated margins corresponding to the following curated deal line item Margin Type selections:

  • Percentage - The percentage of the buyer’s bid (Curator Revenue) which will be taken as curator margin.
  • CPM - A fixed CPM deducted from the buyer’s bid (Curator Revenue) which will be taken as curator margin.

Understand margin account

Margins are a markdown in which the buyer bid is taken at face value, the margin is deducted (as well as any Curator Tech Fees), and the remaining revenue is sent to the seller auction. The formula for any markdown in our system is markdown amount = bid * (1 – margin rate). This happens in the following order:

  1. The buyer bid has buyer fees removed. This value is reported as Curator Revenue.
  2. From Curator Revenue, Curator Margin is deducted (if relevant) and Curator Tech Fees are taken.
  3. The remaining value is reported as Curator Net Media Cost (see Curator Analytics Report) and is the bid sent to the seller auction, where seller fees are deducted before all bids are ranked in the final auction.

Note

If margins are set too high, deals might not serve because, when combined with Curator Tech Fees, the total deduction can reduce the bid by 100% or more. To prevent this, the Microsoft Curate platform enforces a maximum margin rate when curators configure a curated deal.

If you have any questions about this policy, reach out to your account representative.