What Is a Good ROI for Reselling?

A good ROI depends on the item, not a universal percentage

A good return on investment for reselling leaves enough profit to justify the money, work and risk involved. A 100% ROI can be attractive, but it is not automatically better than 30%: you also need to know how much cash remains and how long the item takes to sell.

For a small, uncertain purchase that needs cleaning and several photographs, you might set a higher target than for a tested, high-value item with strong demand. Your target should be a buying rule you can explain, not a percentage copied from another reseller.

What does resale ROI mean?

Purchase-price ROI measures your estimated profit against what you paid for the item. For the calculations here, profit means selling proceeds minus purchase price and all selling costs, before income tax and any unpaid personal labour.

Profit = selling proceeds − purchase price − selling costs. ROI = profit ÷ purchase price × 100.

If you buy for £20 and keep £10 after all transaction costs, the ROI is 50%. If the item was free, percentage ROI is undefined because you cannot divide by zero; assess cash profit and effort instead. Some businesses measure return against all cash invested, including preparation costs. That is a different denominator, so keep your method consistent.

Worked example: a £20 purchase with a 50% ROI

Imagine buying a sweatshirt for £20 and selling it for £40. Allow £5 for marketplace and payment fees, £4 for postage and £1 for packaging. These are illustrative costs, not a fee schedule for a particular marketplace.

Your profit is £40 − £20 − £5 − £4 − £1 = £10. Your ROI is £10 ÷ £20 × 100 = 50%. Your profit margin is £10 ÷ £40 × 100 = 25%. The three figures answer different questions: £10 is the cash gain, 50% is the return on your purchase, and 25% is the share of revenue retained.

Before buying, run a lower sale-price scenario too. At £32 with the same simplified £10 cost allowance, the profit falls to £2 and ROI to 10%. Actual percentage fees would also change with the sale price. A deal that only works at the most optimistic price has little protection against mistakes.

Use the reselling ROI calculator to compare purchase prices and cost assumptions without rebuilding the arithmetic each time.

High ROI does not always mean worthwhile cash profit

The following examples use assumed selling costs and exclude personal labour and income tax. They show why percentage return alone can rank opportunities badly.

Include the costs that can quietly reduce your return

Use the current fee information for your marketplace, seller account and category. Fees may depend on the total order value, postage, payment method or optional promotion. Do not assume a single percentage applies everywhere.

• Postage and packaging: check weight, parcel dimensions, tracking and protective materials.
• Cleaning, repairs and testing: include consumables, replacement parts and paid work.
• Returns: consider return postage, unrecovered costs and the risk of a lower resale price.
• Sourcing and storage: allow for travel, collection, space and cash tied up in stock.
• Other expenses: account for listing upgrades or business overheads where applicable, without counting a cost twice.

Choose a sensible buying target and review it against real sales

A practical rule has three parts: a minimum net cash gain, a minimum ROI and a realistic selling window. As an illustration, you could test a £15 profit floor and a 50% purchase-price ROI target for routine purchases, then raise or lower them for effort and risk. Those numbers are examples, not universal recommendations.

Base the expected selling price on genuinely comparable sold items rather than optimistic asking prices. Record your actual proceeds and costs after each sale. If slow turnover or returns repeatedly erase the expected gain, change the buying rule rather than merely increasing the advertised price.