Most resellers price by looking at sold comps and hoping the fees don't eat too much. Comps tell you what buyers will pay. They don't tell you what you keep. I built a spreadsheet to answer the other question: what do I list this at to clear the profit I want? Here is the math behind it. It works in Excel or Google Sheets.
In a hurry? The free resale price calculator does this math for seven platforms side by side, on your phone.
Every platform fee is a percent plus a fixed bit
Almost every resale fee fits one shape: fee = price × percent + fixed. Using 2026 US rates:
| Platform | Percent | Fixed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| eBay | 13.6% | $0.40 | most categories, charged on shipping too |
| Poshmark | 20% | 0 | flat $2.95 on sales under $15 |
| Mercari | 12.9% | $0.50 | 10% selling + 2.9% processing |
| Depop (US) | 3.3% | $0.45 | processing only |
| Facebook (shipped) | 10% | 0 | $0.80 minimum |
| Whatnot | 10.9% | $0.30 | 8% + 2.9% processing |
Check your own category. These numbers change, so keep them in one Setup table and point every formula at it.
Work backwards from the profit you want
What you keep is:
keep = price - price × pct - fixed - cost - postage + shipping charged
Solve for price:
price = (cost + profit + postage - shipping charged + fixed) / (1 - pct)
In a sheet, with the platform's percent in C and fixed in D on a Setup tab:
=ROUNDUP((Cost+Profit+Postage-ShipCharged+D2)/(1-C2),0)-0.01
The ROUNDUP(...,0)-0.01 lands on the next .99, which is what buyers expect to see.
A worked example: a $6 thrift find, plus $7.50 postage you pay, and you want $25 clear.
- eBay: (6 + 25 + 7.50 + 0.40) / 0.864 = 45.02, so list at $45.99
- Poshmark: 38.50 / 0.80 = 48.13, so $48.99
- Depop: 38.95 / 0.967 = 40.28, so $40.99
Same item, same profit, an $8 spread in list price. If your comps say $42, Depop and Mercari work and Poshmark doesn't.
The Poshmark flat fee needs an IF
Under $15, Poshmark takes $2.95 instead of 20%. Price both ways and keep the one that is consistent:
=LET(flat, Cost+Profit+Postage-ShipCharged+2.95,
pct, (Cost+Profit+Postage-ShipCharged)/0.8,
IF(flat<15, flat, pct))
In Google Sheets, LET works too. In older Excel, put flat and pct in helper cells.
Facebook's minimum fee
Facebook takes 10% with a $0.80 floor, so the fee is MAX(price*10%, 0.80). For the reverse formula, try the percent version first. If the fee comes out under $0.80, use price = base + 0.80 instead.
Track the sale, not just the listing
Pricing right is half the job. The other half is knowing what each item really made. One row per item with these columns covers it:
- Bought date, cost, prep/repair
- Listed date, platform, list price
- Sold date, sold price, shipping charged, postage paid
Then:
Fees = sold × pct + fixed (lookup by platform)
Profit = sold + shipping charged - fees - postage - cost - prep
ROI = profit / (cost + prep)
Days = sold date - bought date
With those four columns, a SUMIFS by source tells you whether the Goodwill bins or estate sales pay better per dollar. A COUNTIFS on unsold items older than 90 days gives you a reprice list.
The template
If you want this ready-made, with a price calculator for every platform, a 3,000-row inventory log, mileage and expenses, ROI by source and category, and stale-stock aging, it is here: Reseller Profit Tracker (Excel + Google Sheets).
I post more templates and tools on Patreon.
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