How Flippedit calculates eBay profit

Net revenue starts with the buyer’s payment, including postage charged to them, and subtracts sales tax collected by eBay. That collected tax is not money you keep as revenue.

Transaction fees and ad fees come from the charges recorded for the sale. Flippedit uses those amounts rather than applying a general percentage estimate. Other recorded eBay fees, such as international selling fees, also reduce profit where applicable.

Cost of goods is what you paid for the item. You add it directly or allocate it from a bulk purchase. eBay does not know your purchase price, so importing a sale alone cannot provide the full profit picture.

Shipping is what you paid to send the item. Keep this separate from postage charged to the buyer: one is a cost and the other contributes to revenue. The $0.00 in this example means no shipping cost was recorded. If you paid postage, add it before relying on the result.

Check that each sale has its purchase cost and any shipping you covered. A missing cost makes the displayed profit higher than it should be. Flippedit flags items that need cost data so you can complete the record.

Refunds change the figures for a sale. When checking a refunded order, compare the revenue, refund and any fee adjustments with the updated eBay record. Do not subtract a refund again if it is already reflected in the figures you are using.

For a listing with multiple quantities, check the individual orders. Each sale can have different fees, and a refund on one order should not be confused with the other completed sales.

For a bulk lot, assign a share of the purchase cost to each item. For example, a $180 purchase split equally across 60 items gives each item a $3 cost of goods. That $3 is deducted when calculating the sold item’s profit.

Keep every amount in a calculation in the same currency. A purchase recorded in AUD and a sale in USD cannot be compared directly without conversion. Check the currency shown with your figures before comparing sales or totals.

Item profit answers one question: how much remains from this sale after its recorded costs?

Store totals combine sales for the selected period and may include refunds or shared business expenses. When comparing a store total with individual items, use the same date range and check which expenses and adjustments the total includes.

Item profit is also different from a payout. A profitable sale can still be waiting for eBay to transfer the money. The timing of a bank deposit does not change the purchase cost or selling fees for that item.

This figure is not a complete calculation of business income tax. Expenses and adjustments outside the item record need to be considered separately when preparing your accounts.

1. Choose a completed sale and open its order details in eBay.
2. Compare the buyer’s payment, collected sales tax, transaction fees and ad fees.
3. Confirm the purchase cost and shipping you paid are entered in Flippedit.
4. Subtract the recorded costs from net revenue and compare the result.
5. If the figures differ, check for missing costs, refunds and later fee adjustments.

Start with a few sales you know well. Once you understand those numbers, the same calculation makes the rest of your item breakdowns easier to read.