You don’t need a spreadsheet to know if a resale is worth it — but you do need the right formula. Here’s how the resale value calculator works under the hood.
Profit
Profit = sale price + postage charged − marketplace fees − postage cost − buy price − other costs
Example: You buy a jumper for £6 and sell it on Vinted for £28. Vinted charges no seller fee and the buyer pays postage. You spend £1 on a mailing bag.
Profit = £28 − £0 − £6 − £1 = £21
ROI (return on investment)
ROI shows how hard your money worked.
ROI = profit ÷ (buy price + other costs) × 100
Example: £21 ÷ (£6 + £1) × 100 = 300%. You got your money back and tripled it on top.
Profit margin
Margin shows what share of the sale price you kept.
Margin = profit ÷ sale price × 100
Example: £21 ÷ £28 × 100 = 75%.
Break-even price
The lowest sale price where you don’t lose money. If your expected sale price is close to break-even, the item is risky — a small price drop or an extra cost wipes out the profit.
Maximum buy price
The most useful number at the till. To double your money (100% ROI):
Max buy price = (what you’ll receive after fees and postage) ÷ 2 − other costs
Example: If you’ll receive £28 and have £1 of other costs, the most you should pay is £28 ÷ 2 − £1 = £13.
Costs resellers forget
- Mailing bags, boxes and tape
- Washing, dry cleaning, de-bobbling and repairs
- Travel to shops and car boots (petrol, parking, bus fares)
- Paid promotion (Vinted Bumps, eBay promoted listings, Depop boosts)
- Returns and items that never sell
Rules of thumb
- £10+ profit and 100%+ ROI is a common minimum for clothing.
- Cheap items need to sell fast or be bundled — your time is a cost too.
- Higher-value items can work at lower ROI if the profit is large and they sell reliably.
Skip the maths and use the calculator — it does all of this as you type.
