How Much Should You Pay for Items to Resell? The Max Buy Price Formula (2026)
Short answer: Pay no more than what's left of the sale price after platform fees, shipping and supplies, minus the profit you want. For an item that sells for $60 on eBay with an $8 label and $1 of supplies, $42.44 is left before item cost, so the most you should pay is $27.44 for a $15 profit or $21.22 for a 100% ROI.
Most resellers learn a rule of thumb like "pay a third of what it sells for." Rules of thumb ignore that a $60 sale leaves a very different amount on Poshmark than on Mercari, and that shipping can eat most of a cheap item. The fix is to work backwards from the sale. The numbers below come from our max buy price calculator, which uses the same fee engine as the eBay and Poshmark fee calculators (rates checked Oct 2026).
What is the max buy price formula?
- Left before cost = sale price + shipping charged − platform fees − your shipping label − supplies.
- Max buy for a dollar target = left before cost − target profit.
- Max buy for an ROI target = left before cost ÷ (1 + target ROI). A 100% ROI means dividing by 2.
- Your max buy price is the lower of the two if you use both targets.
This works exactly because marketplace fees are charged on the sale, not on what you paid. Your purchase price never changes the fee.
Example: a $60 eBay item
This is an example, not a real sale. A pair of boots sells for about $60 on eBay with free shipping. The label is $8 and the box and tape cost $1. You want at least $15 profit and at least 100% ROI.
| Sale price | $60.00 |
| eBay fees | −$8.56 |
| Your shipping label | −$8.00 |
| Supplies / other costs | −$1.00 |
| Left before item cost | $42.44 |
| Max buy for $15.00 profit | $27.44 |
| Max buy for 100% ROI | $21.22 |
| Max buy price (lower of the targets) | $21.22 |
eBay's fees on $60 are 13.6% ($8.16) plus the $0.40 per-order fee, so $8.56. $60 − $8.56 − $8 − $1 = $42.44 left before item cost.
- $15 profit target: $42.44 − $15 = $27.44
- 100% ROI target: $42.44 ÷ 2 = $21.22
The ROI target is stricter here, so $21.22 is your max buy. Pay $21 and you make $21.44, slightly more than your cost back. Pay $27 and you make $15.44, which hits the dollar target but only a 57% ROI.
Example: a $40 item on Poshmark
Poshmark works differently: the buyer pays Poshmark for a prepaid label, so you don't pay shipping, but the commission is 20% on sales of $15 and over. You sell a $40 top, spend $1 on a mailer, and want $10 profit and 100% ROI.
| Sale price | $40.00 |
| Poshmark fees | −$8.00 |
| Supplies / other costs | −$1.00 |
| Left before item cost | $31.00 |
| Max buy for $10.00 profit | $21.00 |
| Max buy for 100% ROI | $15.50 |
| Max buy price (lower of the targets) | $15.50 |
20% of $40 = $8 in fees, leaving $31. The $10 target allows $21, but 100% ROI allows only $15.50, so that's your number.
Why does the same item have a different max buy on each platform?
Same $40 item, $7 label where you pay shipping, $1 of supplies, $10 profit and 100% ROI targets. Max buy price by platform, from the calculator's default settings:
| Platform | Fees | Left before cost | Max buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poshmark (buyer pays shipping) | $8.00 | $31.00 | $15.50 |
| Depop | $1.77 | $30.23 | $15.11 |
| TikTok Shop | $2.40 | $29.60 | $14.80 |
| Mercari | $4.00 | $28.00 | $14.00 |
| Facebook Marketplace (shipped) | $4.00 | $28.00 | $14.00 |
| Etsy | $4.25 | $27.75 | $13.87 |
| eBay | $5.84 | $26.16 | $13.08 |
| Amazon (Individual plan) | $6.99 | $25.01 | $12.50 |
The spread here is $3. On a $200 item it's much larger. If you sell on more than one marketplace, price your buy for the platform where it will most likely sell, or use the compare reseller fees page to see every option.
What about cheap items?
Low-priced items fail the dollar target first. A $20 item on eBay with a $5 label and $0.50 of supplies leaves $11.38 after $3.12 in fees. A $10 profit target means paying $1.38 or less. That's the math behind "skip anything under $20" advice: it isn't about the fee percentage, it's that shipping and a fixed profit target take most of the price.
| Sale price | $20.00 |
| eBay fees | −$3.12 |
| Your shipping label | −$5.00 |
| Supplies / other costs | −$0.50 |
| Left before item cost | $11.38 |
| Max buy for $10.00 profit | $1.38 |
| Max buy for 100% ROI | $5.69 |
| Max buy price (lower of the targets) | $1.38 |
How do I pick my targets?
There's no official right answer. Practical ways to set them:
- A dollar floor covers your time. If listing, packing and shipping one item takes 20 minutes, a $10 floor is $30 an hour before other costs.
- An ROI floor protects your cash. Money tied up in slow inventory can't buy faster-selling stock.
- Use sold prices, not asking prices. Check what similar items actually sold for recently. An optimistic sale price makes every max buy wrong. If you source books or new retail items, scanning barcodes speeds this up (see choosing a barcode scanner).
- Leave room for markdowns. If you'll likely accept offers, enter the price you expect after the offer.
Buying in bulk or by the pallet
For lots, bins and liquidation pallets, the unit math changes: you divide one landed cost over many items, and some won't sell. Use the pallet profit calculator for that, then check single high-value pieces with the max buy calculator.
Track what you actually paid
Max buy price is a decision at the shelf. Whether it worked shows up months later when the item sells. The Fliprofit Profit Tracker records cost, sale and fees per item so you can see your real ROI by month and by platform.
Sources
- eBay Seller Center – Selling fees, checked Oct 25, 2026.
- Poshmark – Posh Guide: fees, checked Oct 25, 2026.
- Other platforms' rates are listed with sources on each fee calculator page.
FAQ
How much should I pay for something I want to resell?
Subtract the platform's fees, your shipping label and supplies from the realistic sale price, then subtract the profit you want. For a $60 eBay sale with an $8 label and $1 of supplies, that leaves $42.44, so pay $27.44 or less for a $15 profit.
What is the rule of thirds in reselling?
It's an informal rule of thumb some resellers use, roughly splitting the sale price between cost, fees and expenses, and profit. It isn't a platform or tax rule, and it ignores how much fees and shipping differ by marketplace. Working backwards from the actual fees is more accurate.
How do I calculate ROI on a resale item?
ROI = profit ÷ what you paid for the item. If you paid $21.22 and made $21.22 profit, your ROI is 100%. To find the most you can pay for a target ROI, divide what's left after fees and shipping by (1 + ROI).
Does what I pay affect eBay or Poshmark fees?
No. Marketplace fees are based on the sale (and on some platforms shipping and tax), not on your cost. That's why you can work backwards from the sale price to an exact max buy price.