Seller math guide
Local pickup pricing guide
How pickup deals change fees, delivery cost, and risk.
Quick answer
Good seller math starts with the full cash picture: revenue, item cost, platform fees, payment fees, shipping, packaging, ads, returns, and time. If one of those is missing, the result can look profitable while cash quietly leaks out.
Workflow
- Start with expected sale price, not wishful list price.
- Subtract item cost and any inbound shipping or prep cost.
- Add platform fees, payment fees, ad cost, packaging, and outbound shipping.
- Stress test the number with a discount, offer, or return.
- Compare the final margin with your minimum target before buying more inventory.
Common mistake
The common mistake is treating sale price as success. The better question is whether the final net profit is worth the money tied up, the time spent, and the risk of return or markdown.
Practical checklist
Turn the guide into a repeatable check: write down the exact cost, the expected selling price, fees, shipping, discounts, returns, and the time or cash tied up in the decision. Then run the numbers again with a conservative scenario.
If the outcome only works with perfect assumptions, the decision may be too fragile. Good seller math should survive small changes in fees, shipping, and buyer behavior.
How to use this page well
Use this page as a planning aid, not a final quote or official rule. Replace defaults with your own numbers, compare more than one scenario, and check any important fee, tax, carrier, or marketplace policy against the official source before acting.
- Use real costs instead of rounded guesses whenever possible.
- Review the result together with shipping, returns, discounts, taxes, and payment fees.
- Save or repeat the calculation when costs change, because small inputs can change profit quickly.