Start from what you want to keep
Most sellers price by looking at similar listings, then find out later what they kept. Reverse it. Choose the profit first, and let the price follow.
Profit is what the buyer pays, minus the marketplace fees, minus your costs. Our example item cost $6.00, the label costs $4.50, and the buyer pays $4.99 for shipping.
- Add your costs: $6.00 for the item and $4.50 for the label, $10.50 in all.
- Subtract any shipping you charge the buyer. Here that is $4.99.
- Add the profit you want.
- Add the fees. This is the hard step, because the fees depend on the price you are trying to find.
That last step is why a calculator beats mental arithmetic. The Find price mode in each calculator on this site solves it, using the same engine and the same rounding as the main result.
Why the price rises faster than your profit
On Etsy the transaction fee and payment processing are both a percentage of what the buyer pays. When you raise the price to earn another dollar, Etsy takes a slice of that dollar too.
| Profit wanted | List price | Etsy fees | Extra price per extra $1.00 of profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5.00 | $12.64 | $2.13 | n/a |
| $10.00 | $18.15 | $2.64 | $1.10 |
| $20.00 | $29.21 | $3.70 | $1.11 |
| $40.00 | $51.31 | $5.80 | $1.10 |
Item cost $6.00, label $4.50, $4.99 shipping charged. Computed by Find price in the Etsy calculator.
The last column stays a little above $1.00, and the gap is the percentage fees. It would be exactly $1.00 only if the marketplace charged nothing.
An Offsite Ads sale changes the sum. To keep the same $10.00, the item would need to be listed at $22.75 instead of $18.15, because the ad fee is another percentage of the order.
The same target on five marketplaces
Here is the price needed to keep $10.00 on the same item on each marketplace, with the same costs and $4.99 shipping charged.
| Marketplace | List price | Fees | Fees as a share of the buyer's total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Etsy (US shop) | $18.15 | $2.64 | 11.4% |
| eBay (US, default category) | $19.20 | $3.69 | 15.3% |
| Depop (US) | $16.67 | $1.16 | 5.4% |
| Whatnot (US, trading cards, Standard tier) | $17.90 | $2.39 | 10.4% |
| Vinted (US) | $16.00 | $0.00 | 0% |
Vinted has no shipping charged and no label in its default, because the buyer pays postage there. The Vinted buyer fee is paid on top by the buyer and is not shown.
The list price is not the whole picture. The buyer also pays shipping, and on some marketplaces a buyer fee as well, so compare what the buyer sees in total before you copy another seller's price.
The same item at $10 and at $100
Fixed fees and the label cost do not shrink with the item. Keep every cost the same and change only the price, and a $10.00 sale leaves $2.62 on Etsy while a $100.00 sale leaves $84.07.
| Marketplace | Fees at $10.00 | You keep at $10.00 | Fees at $100.00 | You keep at $100.00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etsy (US shop) | $1.87 | $2.62 | $10.42 | $84.07 |
| eBay (US, default category) | $2.44 | $2.05 | $14.68 | $79.81 |
| Depop (US) | $0.94 | $3.55 | $3.91 | $90.58 |
| Whatnot (US, trading cards, Standard tier) | $1.53 | $2.96 | $11.34 | $83.15 |
| Vinted (US) | $0.00 | $4.00 | $0.00 | $94.00 |
Costs are the same in every row: $6.00 item, $4.50 label, $4.99 shipping charged. The $100.00 row would normally carry a higher item cost, so read it as a fee comparison.
For low-priced items, check the label and any per-order fee before the percentage. A margin that looks fine on paper can disappear once the label is paid.
Profit target or margin target?
A profit target is a fixed amount per sale. A margin target is a share of what the buyer pays, which keeps the profit in proportion as the price changes. The calculators measure margin against the buyer's total, shipping included.
| Margin wanted | List price | Etsy fees | You keep | Margin reached |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20% | $10.55 | $1.93 | $3.11 | 20% |
| 30% | $13.11 | $2.17 | $5.43 | 30% |
| 40% | $16.69 | $2.51 | $8.67 | 40% |
Same costs as above. A very high margin target can be impossible, and the calculator then says the target is out of reach.
What these examples leave out
- Sales tax and VAT. Several fees are charged on the total including tax, so taxed orders cost a little more.
- Listing fees on items that never sell. On Etsy each listing carries a fee whether or not it sells.
- Advertising you choose, and optional upgrades and subscriptions.
- The buyer fees on Depop and Vinted. They are paid by the buyer and change what a buyer will pay.