Profit Margin Calculator
Enter what an item costs you and what you sell it for. See gross profit, margin and markup, plus the price that hits a target margin.
Margin and markup describe the same profit from two directions. Margin is profit as a share of the selling price; markup is profit as a share of cost. A $20 item sold for $50 has a 60% margin and a 150% markup. Sellers who confuse the two usually underprice: a "40% markup" on $20 is $28, which is only a 28.6% margin.
Fees change the picture. Marketplaces typically take 10–15% of the sale, payment processors around 3%, and both come out of your price, not your cost. Enter the fee amount from your platform's calculator in the optional fees field to see the margin you actually keep, and the price you'd need for a target margin after fees.
As a rule of thumb, resellers of used goods aim for a net margin of 40–60% to absorb returns, unsold inventory and their own time; retail arbitrage on new goods often runs at 15–30%; digital products and services can exceed 80% because there is no cost of goods.
The formula
margin % = (price − cost − fees) ÷ price × 100 · markup % = (price − cost) ÷ cost × 100 · price for target margin = (cost + fees) ÷ (1 − margin)
FAQ
What is a good profit margin for reselling?
Most experienced resellers of used clothing, collectibles and electronics target a net margin of at least 40% after platform fees and shipping, because a share of items never sell or get returned. Lower margins can work for fast-moving, low-risk items.
Is margin calculated on the price with or without shipping?
Use whatever the buyer pays you in total if the platform charges fees on shipping (eBay, Etsy, Whatnot do). If you charge shipping at cost and the platform doesn't fee it, leave it out of both price and cost.
How do I convert markup to margin?
margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup). A 100% markup is a 50% margin; a 50% markup is a 33.3% margin; a 25% markup is a 20% margin.
Should I include my time as a cost?
For a fair picture, yes. If sourcing, photographing, listing and shipping an item takes 30 minutes and you value your time at $20 an hour, add $10 to the cost. Many part-time sellers skip this, which is why the hourly rate of reselling is often lower than it feels.
Platform-specific calculators
Fees are rarely a single percentage. For the real numbers, use the calculator for your platform: