Free course · Lesson 4 of 8

Pricing and profit math you can trust

Most beginners compare the eBay price to the Amazon price and call the gap "profit." It isn't. Fees, taxes and shipping sit in between, and ignoring them is the single most common reason sellers think they're winning while their bank balance says otherwise.

The real formula

Net profit = eBay sale price (what the buyer pays for the item) − Amazon cost (incl. tax and shipping you pay) − eBay fees − ad fees − any returns or refunds.

A worked example

Illustrative numbers only: the fee percentage varies by category and changes over time, so check eBay's current fee page.

• You sell at $30.00.
• eBay takes roughly 13% plus a small per-order fee: about $4.20.
• Amazon charges you $22.00 including tax.
• Net: $30.00 − $4.20 − $22.00 = $3.80.

That is a 12.7% margin on the sale. Now imagine Amazon's price rises $3 before you buy. Your profit nearly vanishes. That is why price changes after a sale deserve a plan.

Rules of thumb

• Build in a cushion. Price so a modest Amazon price increase still leaves you at or above break-even.
• Count promoted listings. If you pay an ad fee on a sale, subtract it. See promoted listings for dropshippers.
• Skip items with razor-thin margins. A $0.50 profit is not worth the account risk of a late shipment.
• Review prices regularly. Stale prices are the silent profit killer.

More depth: how to calculate dropshipping profit margin and eBay fees explained.

Synked helps here: fee-aware pricing computes net profit, not just the price gap, and keeps listings repriced as Amazon moves.

Next: Lesson 5: Create your first listings.