Pallet ROI Estimator
Will this wholesale liquidation lot actually make money? Plug in your numbers and see net profit, margin, ROI %, and breakeven sell-through before you commit to a buy.
Projected outcome
- Units sold (80% of 172)
- 137
- Gross revenue
- $3,852.80
- − Marketplace fees (13%)
- −$500.86
- − Per-unit packaging/shipping costs
- −$275.20
- − Total landed cost
- −$2,500.00
- Net profit
- $576.74
- Return on investment (ROI)
- +23.1%
- Net profit margin
- +15.0%
Breakeven point: you need to sell 112 units (65% sell-through) to cover the landed cost. Everything above that is profit.
Projection only. Actual sell-through, resale prices, and marketplace fees vary by category, season, condition, and your local market. Best-case = 90%+ sell-through on a well-chosen manifested lot; worst-case = 40-50% on an unmanifested mystery box.
Want to pair with the landed cost calculator?
Calculate your true landed cost first (freight + duties + VAT), then plug that number into the ROI estimator above for a full margin projection.
Open landed cost calculator →How this estimator works
The estimator models a single-pallet ROI as a function of five inputs:
Gross revenue = Units sold × Avg resale price
Marketplace fees = Gross revenue × Fee %
Per-unit costs = Units sold × Packaging cost
Net revenue = Gross revenue − Fees − Per-unit costs
Net profit = Net revenue − Landed cost
ROI % = Net profit / Landed cost × 100
Realistic sell-through rates by lot type
- 90-100% — Manifested name-brand lots
- Line-item manifest, known retail value, recognizable brands, shelf-pull condition. Best-case for experienced resellers.
- 70-90% — Verified bulk lots
- Verified inventory with photos but no line-item manifest. Some uncertainty on exact SKU mix, but condition is known.
- 50-70% — Mystery box / unmanifested pallets
- No manifest. Cheap per unit but you don't know what's inside. Real risk of unsellable category mix.
- 30-50% — Customer-returns pallets
- Returns may be damaged, missing parts, or in unsellable condition. Highest margin if you have the time to sort and refurbish.
Marketplace fee cheat sheet
Approximate fees built into the estimator (use the "Custom" option for your actual rate):
- eBay: ~13% final value fee on most categories
- Amazon FBA: ~15% referral + FBA fees combined (varies by category)
- Facebook Marketplace: ~5% transaction fee (often skipped for local pickup)
- Bin store walk-in: ~0% (you keep all retail margin)
- Own Shopify store: ~3% payment processing (Shop Pay / Stripe)
- Whatnot live auction: ~8% commission