There was a time when a cosmetic product’s path to the consumer was relatively predictable: formulate, test, package, pitch to a retailer, land on a shelf, and hope a compelling counter display did the rest.
Oh Kevin. KEVIN. I have been waiting for someone to write this. 🤣
For context, anyone reading this, I'm a small indie skincare founder. Been in this industry 35 years as a licensed esthetician and makeup artist. I make my products in Japan and Korea. I know this space. And I have been on TikTok Shop for two years so let me tell you what actually happens when you're not a giant brand with a war chest of venture capital money. I a completely self funded.
The Tea: The first six months were a blast. Product was moving, creators were excited, I was having fun. I was like okay, I get it. Even my ass was playing on TT, and Kevin you KNOW I hate being on social. 🤣
Then I had to keep feeding the beast.
Samples to creators.
Constant content.
New hooks, new faces, new everything.
And the second I slowed down, the second I didn't post or didn't have product seeded out, TikTok punished me like I owed it something.
Reach tanked. Sales tanked.
This platform does not care what you built yesterday. It only cares what you're handing it right now. That is an exhausting and expensive hamster wheel.
So I did the math. And honey.
By the time I pay TikTok's fees, pay creators, cover shipping and taxes, I make VERY little money. Technically not a loss. That's the win. And that's before the backend labor, the inventory juggling, and all the invisible work nobody mentions when they're posting their TikTok Shop success screenshots.
But the margin isn't even what kills me.
The customer never comes to my site. Not once. Not ever. They find me on TikTok, buy on TikTok, and go right back to scrolling TikTok. TikTok owns the transaction, the data, and the relationship. I'm just a product that showed up between a cat video and someone's "get ready with me." No relationship. No connection to the brand. Nothing. Purely transactional and purely transactional cannot pay salaries, fund growth, or scale a real business.
Do I see the brand awareness flywheel? Yes. I'm not stupid. But let's talk about whose flywheel it actually is.
TikTok wins. Every time. They keep the customer data, the purchase behavior, the loyalty, and they collect fees on every single sale running through their platform.
Then they turn around and market to YOUR customer, including your competitors, forever. ☠️
Unless you have venture capital money to burn and can absorb operating at a loss to buy market share, you are subsidizing TikTok's empire with your product and your margins.
I still use it. My shop is still there, but I don't play the TikTok game anymore. I'm not chasing the algorithm or feeding the beast.
What I am doing is showing up for the creators. Because the creators are the magic of that platoform. They are the people I genuinely love in this whole ecosystem, real humans who found a product they believed in and told their people about it with actual enthusiasm. That part is real and I don't take it for granted.
But even they are getting squeezed now. Views are down. Rates are down. And the platform just takes. It takes from the very people who built it into what it is.
Maybe that's just my small business experience talking. Maybe the big players with big budgets are seeing something different. But two years in, eyes wide open, TikTok Shop is a tool, not a business model. The creators deserve better.
The indie brands deserve better.
Until the math changes, I'll keep showing up for the people I love on there. But I'm building the thing I actually own everywhere else.
Side note: When TT went dark last January it def broke something in my store and it has never been the same since. 🤷🏻♀️
Oh and you are SO right about the dupe culture. Ask me why I have so many Hermès cashmere wraps I got for $6 and cute bags that are dupes of designer names. I even got a fake Cartier and a fake Rolex on there so good that I was genuinely shook. 🤣
🙋🏻♀️ So yes, I fully understand the appeal. I live the appeal. 🤷🏻♀️
But here is where I draw a hard line. A fake watch does not go on my body and into my bloodstream. Skincare does. I would never buy anything for my skin on TikTok Shop unless I knew with absolute certainty it was a legitimate brand running an official store. Same reason I don't buy skincare on Amazon. You have no idea what you are actually getting, who made it, how it was stored, or whether what's on the label is what's in the bottle. A bad dupe bag is a fun story. A contaminated serum on compromised skin is a dermatologist visit and a whole lot of regret.
The dupe game is fun until it isn't. Know the difference.
Oh Kevin. KEVIN. I have been waiting for someone to write this. 🤣
For context, anyone reading this, I'm a small indie skincare founder. Been in this industry 35 years as a licensed esthetician and makeup artist. I make my products in Japan and Korea. I know this space. And I have been on TikTok Shop for two years so let me tell you what actually happens when you're not a giant brand with a war chest of venture capital money. I a completely self funded.
The Tea: The first six months were a blast. Product was moving, creators were excited, I was having fun. I was like okay, I get it. Even my ass was playing on TT, and Kevin you KNOW I hate being on social. 🤣
Then I had to keep feeding the beast.
Samples to creators.
Constant content.
New hooks, new faces, new everything.
And the second I slowed down, the second I didn't post or didn't have product seeded out, TikTok punished me like I owed it something.
Reach tanked. Sales tanked.
This platform does not care what you built yesterday. It only cares what you're handing it right now. That is an exhausting and expensive hamster wheel.
So I did the math. And honey.
By the time I pay TikTok's fees, pay creators, cover shipping and taxes, I make VERY little money. Technically not a loss. That's the win. And that's before the backend labor, the inventory juggling, and all the invisible work nobody mentions when they're posting their TikTok Shop success screenshots.
But the margin isn't even what kills me.
The customer never comes to my site. Not once. Not ever. They find me on TikTok, buy on TikTok, and go right back to scrolling TikTok. TikTok owns the transaction, the data, and the relationship. I'm just a product that showed up between a cat video and someone's "get ready with me." No relationship. No connection to the brand. Nothing. Purely transactional and purely transactional cannot pay salaries, fund growth, or scale a real business.
Do I see the brand awareness flywheel? Yes. I'm not stupid. But let's talk about whose flywheel it actually is.
TikTok wins. Every time. They keep the customer data, the purchase behavior, the loyalty, and they collect fees on every single sale running through their platform.
Then they turn around and market to YOUR customer, including your competitors, forever. ☠️
Unless you have venture capital money to burn and can absorb operating at a loss to buy market share, you are subsidizing TikTok's empire with your product and your margins.
I still use it. My shop is still there, but I don't play the TikTok game anymore. I'm not chasing the algorithm or feeding the beast.
What I am doing is showing up for the creators. Because the creators are the magic of that platoform. They are the people I genuinely love in this whole ecosystem, real humans who found a product they believed in and told their people about it with actual enthusiasm. That part is real and I don't take it for granted.
But even they are getting squeezed now. Views are down. Rates are down. And the platform just takes. It takes from the very people who built it into what it is.
Maybe that's just my small business experience talking. Maybe the big players with big budgets are seeing something different. But two years in, eyes wide open, TikTok Shop is a tool, not a business model. The creators deserve better.
The indie brands deserve better.
Until the math changes, I'll keep showing up for the people I love on there. But I'm building the thing I actually own everywhere else.
Side note: When TT went dark last January it def broke something in my store and it has never been the same since. 🤷🏻♀️
👏👏👏💙
Oh and you are SO right about the dupe culture. Ask me why I have so many Hermès cashmere wraps I got for $6 and cute bags that are dupes of designer names. I even got a fake Cartier and a fake Rolex on there so good that I was genuinely shook. 🤣
🙋🏻♀️ So yes, I fully understand the appeal. I live the appeal. 🤷🏻♀️
But here is where I draw a hard line. A fake watch does not go on my body and into my bloodstream. Skincare does. I would never buy anything for my skin on TikTok Shop unless I knew with absolute certainty it was a legitimate brand running an official store. Same reason I don't buy skincare on Amazon. You have no idea what you are actually getting, who made it, how it was stored, or whether what's on the label is what's in the bottle. A bad dupe bag is a fun story. A contaminated serum on compromised skin is a dermatologist visit and a whole lot of regret.
The dupe game is fun until it isn't. Know the difference.