A profitable ecommerce price has to cover more than the product invoice. It must leave enough retained revenue after selling fees, fulfillment, shipping, returns and acquisition costs to support overhead and profit. A fixed markup can therefore produce very different results across channels.
Start with the economic stack
List product or landed cost, marketplace/payment fees, fulfillment, seller-paid shipping, packaging, expected return/refund cost, affiliate commission and advertising. Separate percentage-based fees from fixed per-order costs because they respond differently when price changes.
Know the break-even floor
Break-even price is the modeled selling price at which contribution reaches zero under your assumptions. It is not necessarily a commercially sensible price. A viable price normally needs room above that floor for overhead, volatility and profit.
Price for a target contribution
Rather than saying “I need a 2x markup,” define the contribution you need after variable costs. Then solve for a price that produces that result under the relevant channel fee structure. This makes pricing responsive to marketplace economics.
Worked scenario
Imagine a product with $20 landed cost, $8 fulfillment/shipping, $2 expected returns and a channel whose variable selling/payment fees total 12% of retained revenue. At a $50 price, percentage fees are $6 and modeled contribution before advertising is $14. At a 20% discount, the economics change much faster than the product cost does; that is why discount pricing should be tested separately.
Do not ignore acquisition cost
A price that looks profitable before advertising may have little room for customer acquisition. Use contribution before ads to estimate the maximum acquisition cost and compare it with realistic paid-media or affiliate economics.
Scenario-test four cases
- Normal price with expected costs.
- Promotional price with the same cost base.
- Higher return/refund rate.
- Higher acquisition cost or affiliate commission.
Common pricing mistakes
- Applying markup only to supplier cost.
- Copying a competitor's price without knowing their cost structure.
- Ignoring percentage fees that rise when selling price rises.
- Running discounts without recalculating contribution.
- Treating tax, duties or shipping inconsistently between price and cost inputs.
Use price as a decision variable
Pricing is not a one-time calculation. Re-run the model when supplier costs, marketplace terms, shipping rates or acquisition economics change. Ecomly Profit is a planning tool; verify current fees and use actual business records before making commercial decisions.
Open Pricing Calculator Compare Marketplaces
Document the date and source of any fee assumption you enter. When a marketplace changes pricing or your supplier and logistics costs move, update the model and rerun the scenario. A repeatable process is more valuable than a one-time calculation because ecommerce economics change over time.
Use the framework with a real SKU rather than a hypothetical average product. Pull selling price, discounts, product cost, shipping and fulfillment from your own records. Enter marketplace or payment fees using the current terms that apply to your account. Then compare a normal case with a conservative case that assumes either higher returns or higher acquisition cost. The purpose is to understand which assumptions have the greatest effect on contribution, not to produce a false sense of precision.
How to use this guide in practice
Editorial note
Fee schedules and seller programs can change. Verify current official marketplace terms for your country, category and account before making a commercial decision. Ecomly Profit provides planning estimates and educational guidance, not accounting, tax, legal or investment advice.