Subtract the selling costs
Start with item price and shipping collected. Subtract fees, postage, and other entered costs.
FREE RESELLER BUY PRICE CALCULATOR
What can I pay?
Find your buy price before you make the flip.
Start with the sale, account for the costs, and leave room for profit.
A better buy starts
with a number.
YOUR NEXT FLIP
Work backward. Buy smarter.
Example numbers are loaded. Replace them with your own.
THE MATH, MADE CLEAR
A ceiling, not a spending goal.
Paying less leaves more room for profit. Use a realistic sale estimate, then give every cost a place in the calculation.
Leave room for your return
Divide what remains by 1 + your ROI target. At 50% ROI, every $20 spent buying needs to leave at least $10 in profit.
Check your minimum profit
If you set a dollar target too, we use the lower buying limit so both goals are met. ROI is not profit margin: it divides profit by all-in purchase cost.
WORKED EXAMPLE
From a $65 sale to a $31.60 ceiling
With $8 shipping paid, illustrative fees of 14% + $0.50, no other costs, and a 50% ROI target: estimated fees are $9.60, leaving $47.40 for purchase cost plus profit. The maximum all-in purchase cost is $31.60. At a $22 buy cost, estimated profit is $25.40. These sample fee inputs are not a verified marketplace rate.
FROM ESTIMATE TO ACTUAL
Know what the flip really earned.
Keep purchases, sales, and entered costs together in Upcyclist.
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More practical reading
Understand profit margin versus ROI, get practical ideas for items to flip, or explore all reseller guides.
Buying used books? Learn how to check book-flipping profit before you buy, allowing for fees, postage, and your purchase cost.
Work backward from how much you can make reselling to the buying limits that support your income goal.
Apply an online arbitrage margin check to online deals, or prepare your buying limit for estate sale sourcing.
Before you buy
Is ROI the same as profit margin?
No. This tool uses ROI = profit ÷ all-in purchase cost. For example, a $20 purchase that earns $10 profit has 50% ROI. Margin uses a revenue denominator instead. This calculator does not use margin to set your buying limit.
Which marketplace fees should I enter?
Use the rates that apply to your marketplace, category, seller plan, and transaction. This tool applies one percentage plus one fixed fee. Adjust the fee base if shipping or buyer sales tax is fee-bearing. Tiered fees, minimum fees, caps, promotions, and special seller rules are not modeled automatically. The 14% + $0.50 example default is illustrative, not verified; check the marketplace's official fee schedule.
What belongs in the purchase cost?
The item price, purchase sales tax, and costs to acquire it or get it home. The buying limit is your total budget for those costs, not just the price on the tag. Enter repairs or packaging under other selling costs and do not count the same cost twice. Buyer tax only affects the fee base when entered; it is not revenue.
Does this save an item to my Upcyclist account?
No. Copy or download the estimate to keep it. Opening Upcyclist does not transfer these numbers or create an inventory record. You can enter the purchase and completed sale in the app when you are ready.