A cannabis entrepreneur (let’s call him Ben) runs a small cannabis brand in Michigan. He’s dealt with harvest shortages, human resource issues, and the labyrinth of state regulations over the years. Then he gets a rattling message: his wholesale marketplace, Leaflink—his digital lifeline to hundreds of retailers—is jacking up fees three-plus-fold. No phased schedule, no public webinar, just an “effective next billing cycle” notice.
This story may sound familiar to the myriad brands who found out about a rate hike being implemented that would significantly increase their monthly costs. Operators in different states were already venting on Reddit, one claiming their monthly bill had gone from $599 to $6,200. Some described how they’ve begun to look at alternative platforms, while various brands in Missouri and Colorado were known to have organized coalitions of sorts to figure out if they were going to stay or migrate off of Leaflink, covered not too long ago by a few publications. The common refrain: We’re already bleeding margin. Why is our tech partner twisting the knife?
When Predictability Disappears
At first glance, a small percentage-based fee doesn’t look like much. But over time, those percentages pile up, especially if your sales start to grow. One month you’re paying a few hundred bucks, the next it’s thousands. That’s not a fee. That’s rent.
Operators aren’t just upset about the money. It’s the lack of warning. When a major vendor suddenly changes pricing with no heads-up, you’re left scrambling. Budgeting becomes a guessing game. Forecasts get tossed out. And there’s no time to rethink strategy because you’re already on the hook.
In places like Colorado and Missouri, where wholesale prices have dropped for years, even small unexpected costs hit hard. Add in taxes, compliance, and overhead, and margins get razor thin. Operators are already stretched. So these surprise hikes don’t just hurt—for many, they feel like betrayal.
An Industry Already on Edge
The truth is, cannabis operators are under constant pressure. In states like California, Michigan, and Colorado, prices have tanked from their peak. Meanwhile, costs haven’t followed suit. You still have to pay for testing, Metrc tags, packaging, and staff whether you’re selling at $1,500 a pound or $400.
Federal illegality makes things worse. No easy access to credit, no tax deductions under 280E, and no room for error. And in emerging markets like New York, legal businesses are being undercut by a booming illicit market while waiting for licenses and rule changes. It’s a slog.
So when a software platform flips the script and starts charging a percentage of every transaction, that leaves operators asking: Can I even afford to stay on this platform?
Incentives That Don’t Align
There’s another issue with take-rate pricing: it changes the incentives. When a platform makes more money as your gross sales go up, it starts to care more about volume than profitability. That might mean encouraging bulk deals or bigger discounts, even if those eat away at your bottom line.
That kind of misalignment isn’t harmless. When your vendor’s goals don’t match your own, it becomes harder to trust them. And in cannabis—where trust is already scarce—that matters.
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A Shifting Landscape—and the Opportunity to Innovate
Since the price hike, operators have responded in a handful of ways. Some are raising their own prices for orders placed on the marketplace while others are shopping around, trying out platforms with flat monthly rates and clearer billing. Some are even piecing together multiple tools to reduce dependency on a single marketplace.
This pushback is creating space for innovation. New platforms are now stepping up with better UX, real support, and clean pricing models that don’t change on a whim. When a tool feels more like a partner and less like a toll booth, people notice.
Operators are now asking smarter questions: Does this software actually help me run my business better? Is the support team responsive? Can I track my costs and margins easily? Can I switch without months of chaos?
Slowly, control will shift back to the brands.
Because in the end, that’s what this is about. In software we talk a lot about fees and features, but this is really about cannabis companies’ ability to have control over their data, costs, and future.
The winners in this space won’t be the platforms that extract the most. They’ll be the ones that give operators the tools and confidence to move forward without surprises. In cannabis, that kind of clarity is a lifeline.
If you get a surprise rate change tomorrow, it’s normal to feel frustrated. But it can also be a moment to pause and look at the bigger picture. Are the tools you’re using helping you stay connected to your business, or making things more complicated? When margins are tight, clarity matters. And when you gain that clarity, the better your chances of navigating what comes next.
