Free eBay Reseller Tool
Enter the number of sold listings and total listings for any eBay item to calculate its sell through rate (STR) instantly — with benchmarks showing exactly what the number means for resellers.
Calculate your STR below ↓Privy shows STR automatically on every eBay listing — no manual searching required
How to get these numbers on eBay: Search for your item → filter to "Sold listings" and note the count → remove the filter and note how many active listings remain. Add both numbers for your total.
60 out of every 100 listings for this item result in a sale. Demand is solid — worth sourcing if the margin is right.
Sell through rate = (sold listings ÷ total listings) × 100. Use 30-day sold data for the most accurate picture.
Not all STR percentages mean the same thing. Here's how experienced resellers read the number.
Demand is outpacing supply. Items sell fast. Price confidently — you don't need to be the cheapest listing.
A steady, reliable seller. Expect a sale within days of listing at the right price. Most experienced flippers use 40% as their minimum threshold.
The item sells, but slowly. Your capital will be tied up for longer. Only source if the margin is strong enough to justify the wait.
More sellers than buyers. Prices are likely being driven down. Avoid unless you have a specific buyer lined up or a significant price advantage.
These thresholds are guidelines, not rules. Category matters — some product types (like electronics or branded clothing) naturally have higher STRs than others (like vintage furniture). Always compare within the same category and condition. Once you've confirmed demand is there, use our free eBay profit calculator to check whether the margin justifies the buy.
eBay doesn't show sell through rate directly — you build it from two numbers hiding in plain sight on any search results page. Here's how to find them in under two minutes, whether you're at your desk or standing in a charity shop.
Use the specific search term a buyer would type — include brand, model, size, and condition where relevant. "Nike Air Max 90 UK 10" gives you a far more accurate STR than just "Nike trainers". Vague searches pull in unrelated listings and skew the result.
Before touching any filters, look at the total results shown at the top of the page. These are current sellers actively competing for buyers. Write this number down — it's half of your equation.
On desktop: left sidebar → Show only → Sold items. On mobile: tap Filters → Show only → Sold items. You're now looking at completed transactions — real sales, not wishful asking prices.
eBay surfaces up to 90 days of sold history. Focus on the most recent 30 — it tells you what the market looks like right now, not three months ago. Seasonal items in particular can look artificially strong on 90-day data.
Put your sold count and active listing count into the Sell Through Rate Calculator at the top of this page. You'll get your STR percentage instantly — plus a benchmark rating to tell you whether that number is worth acting on.
Doing this manually for every product adds up fast. Privy automates the entire process — the moment you land on any eBay listing page, you get STR, profit margin, and a clear buy or pass recommendation. No counting. No switching tabs.
Get Privy Free — see STR on every listingSell through rate — also called sales velocity by more experienced sellers — tells you the single most important thing about an item before you buy it: does it actually sell?
Profit margin is meaningless if the item sits unsold for months. Think of STR as your eBay inventory turnover metric — a demand checker before you commit capital. A 70%+ STR means you can expect a sale within days of listing. A 15% STR means most sellers on that item never move stock at all.
If you're standing in a thrift store or charity shop trying to decide whether to pick something up, STR is the number you need on your phone in 60 seconds — not after you've already bought it.
Search the item on eBay, filter to "Sold listings" (eBay completed listings), count how many sold, remove the filter and count active listings. That's your STR. Privy does this automatically on every listing page.
eBay shows up to 90 days of sold history, but 30 days gives the most current picture of demand. Seasonal items can have high 90-day STRs that mask a slow current market.
For sell through rate reselling decisions, STR and profit margin work together. A 70% STR with a 5% margin is worse than a 45% STR with a 40% margin. Use the eBay Profit Calculator alongside this tool.
The calculator above does this for you instantly. But here's the formula and method if you want to understand what's happening under the hood.
Example: 30 sold listings + 20 active listings = 50 total. 30 ÷ 50 × 100 = 60% STR.
Use the exact search term a buyer would use. Include brand, model, and condition if relevant. The more specific, the more accurate your STR.
On eBay, go to Filters → Show only → Sold items. Count how many results appear (aim for 30-day window). This is your sold count.
Remove the Sold filter to see current active listings. Count those results. Active + Sold = Total listings.
Put your sold count and total count into the calculator. You'll get your STR instantly with a rating and interpretation.
A sell through rate above 70% is considered excellent — demand is consistently outpacing supply. 40–70% is a solid range most experienced resellers target as their minimum before sourcing. 20–40% means the item sells slowly, and below 20% is a warning sign that there are far more sellers than buyers. As a rule of thumb, most flippers set 40% as their floor: if the STR is below that, the margin needs to be exceptional to justify the risk.
Sell through rate (STR) measures what percentage of total listings for an item actually result in a sale. If 100 listings exist for an item and 60 of them sold, the STR is 60%. A high STR means demand is strong relative to supply — items sell quickly. A low STR means more sellers than buyers, leading to price compression and longer time-to-sale. eBay resellers use STR (also called sales velocity) to evaluate whether an item is worth sourcing before committing to a purchase.
Sell through rate is: (number of items sold ÷ total number of listings) × 100. On eBay, search for your item, filter to "Sold listings" and count how many appear. Remove the filter and count active listings. Add both numbers together for your total. Divide sold by total and multiply by 100. For example: 30 sold, 20 active = 30 ÷ 50 × 100 = 60% STR. The calculator on this page does all of this instantly.
Sell through rate and sales velocity refer to the same underlying concept — how quickly an item sells — but use different framing. STR is expressed as a percentage of listings that resulted in a sale. Sales velocity is often expressed as units sold per day or per month. Experienced eBay sellers tend to use "sales velocity" when thinking in volume (e.g., "10 units a month"), while "sell through rate" as a percentage is the standard check before sourcing. Both answer the same question: is this item actually selling?
The formula is the same wherever you are. Before picking something up in a thrift store or charity shop, search for it on eBay on your phone. Filter to "Sold listings" and note how many sold in the last 30 days. Remove the filter and note how many active listings exist. Divide sold by (sold + active) × 100 for your STR. If the STR is above 40% and the profit works, it's generally worth buying. The Privy Chrome extension automates all of this — you see the STR the moment you open any eBay listing, no manual searching needed.
A low STR (below 20%) means there are far more sellers listing the item than buyers purchasing it. This causes price compression — sellers undercut each other — and means your capital will be tied up for a long time. It doesn't mean the item never sells, but you'll likely need to price competitively (often at a thin margin) to move it. For most resellers, a low STR item is best avoided unless you have a specific buyer lined up, a clear price advantage over existing listings, or a very long sourcing runway.
The fastest way to check if something will sell on eBay is to look at its sell through rate. Search for the item, filter to "Sold listings" (eBay completed listings) and count how many sold in the last 30 days. Remove the filter and count active listings. Divide sold by (sold + active) × 100 for your STR. Above 40% and it's generally a reliable seller. Below 20% and there are far more sellers than buyers. Use the STR calculator at the top of this page to do the maths instantly — or install Privy to see it automatically on every listing.
As a rule of thumb: 70%+ is excellent (hot item, demand outpacing supply), 40–70% is good (reliable seller, worth sourcing), 20–40% is average (slow mover, needs a strong margin), and below 20% is poor (more sellers than buyers — avoid unless you have a clear advantage). Most experienced eBay resellers use 40% as their minimum STR threshold before sourcing. These are guidelines — STR benchmarks vary by category, so always compare within the same product type and condition.
The Privy Chrome extension shows sell through rate, profit margin, and a buy/pass recommendation the moment you open any eBay listing. No manual searching. No copy-pasting.
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