Free eBay Reseller Tool
You're standing in a charity shop. The item sells for £45 on eBay. Enter that number, pick your target margin, and this calculator tells you the maximum you should pay — right now, before you hand over cash.
Calculate your maximum price below ↓The only eBay calculator that answers the question you actually face in the real world
UK private sellers: no eBay fees. Switch to Business to see fee deductions.
Every other eBay fee calculator starts with what you paid and works forward to profit. But that’s not the decision you face at a car boot sale. The decision you face is: should I pay this price?
The maths is simple. The tool is useful because it does it in your pocket, instantly, at the moment it matters — before the purchase, not after.
Search eBay and filter to “Sold listings”. The average recent sale price for the same item in similar condition is your expected selling price.
20% is a reasonable starting point. 30% is more comfortable. 40% gives you room for discounting or a slow sale without losing money.
What you’ll spend sending the item. Small packet rates via Royal Mail or a courier. If you’re collecting in person or selling locally, use £0.
The maximum you can pay and still hit your target. If the seller wants more than that number: leave it. If they want less: you’re in profit territory.
The three places UK resellers source most — all require the same split-second decision.
You’ve spotted a North Face fleece tagged at £12. Similar ones sell for £45 on eBay. You need a number in five seconds, not a calculator you have to go home to use.
A seller is asking £8 for a vintage camera. You think it goes for £35 on eBay. You need to know if that’s a buy — and whether to negotiate harder.
You’re at a flea market. A seller has a pair of trainers for £20. You’ve seen similar pairs go for £65 on eBay. Is it profitable after fees and postage?
Knowing your walk-away price is step one. Step two is knowing whether the item is actually selling — how many sell per month, how many sellers you’re competing with, and what the real market price is right now.
That’s what the Privy Chrome extension does. You open any eBay listing and Privy shows you the sell through rate, the competition level, and the profit margin automatically. No searching, no copy-pasting, no manual maths.
See what percentage of listings for any item result in a sale. No manual searching through completed listings.
The same maths as this calculator, running automatically on every eBay listing you visit. Your target margin remembered and applied.
Units sold per month, average days to sell, and trend direction. Know whether you’re buying into a hot category or a dead one.
Start with the expected selling price on eBay. Subtract eBay’s final value fee (12.9%), the payment processing fee (2.9% + £0.30), and your outbound shipping cost. That gives you your net revenue. Then subtract your target profit. What’s left is the maximum you should pay. This calculator does all of that instantly — just enter the selling price, your target margin, and your shipping cost.
Most experienced eBay resellers aim for a minimum of 20–30% profit margin on the selling price. 20% is a reasonable baseline for sourcing at charity shops and car boots. 30–40% gives you buffer if the item takes longer to sell or you need to discount. Below 10% leaves almost no room for error — a single return or unexpected fee wipes your profit entirely.
The calculator includes eBay’s final value fee (12.9% for most categories) and the payment processing fee (2.9% + £0.30 per transaction). These are the two fees that come out of every eBay sale automatically. The calculator also accounts for your outbound shipping cost — what you pay to post the item to the buyer.
A standard eBay profit calculator works forward: you enter what you paid and the selling price, and it tells you the profit. This sourcing calculator works backward: you enter the selling price and your target profit, and it tells you the maximum you should pay. It’s designed for the moment you’re standing in a charity shop or at a car boot sale — before you’ve handed over any money.
Search for the item on eBay, then filter to “Sold listings”. Look at the recent completed sales — the average sale price of similar items in similar condition is your expected selling price. Focus on sold listings, not active listings, because active listings only show what sellers are asking, not what buyers are actually paying. The Privy Chrome extension shows this automatically on every eBay listing.
Yes — always include your outbound shipping cost. Most eBay sellers absorb the cost of postage rather than charging buyers separately. If you’re charging buyers for postage, eBay still calculates its final value fee on the total amount received including that shipping charge, so factor it in carefully. This calculator uses the shipping cost you’ll pay to send the item as a direct deduction from your net revenue.
This calculator gives you the maximum you should pay. Privy tells you whether the product is worth buying in the first place — how fast it sells, how many competitors you’re up against, and what the real margin looks like. Right on the eBay listing. No manual searching.
Install the Privy Extension Free20 free lookups • 7-day trial • No card required