Lot Cost Per Item Calculator
The landed cost of each sellable item in a bulk lot or pallet, the profit at your selling price, and the most you can bid for a target margin.
Result
Landed cost per sellable item: $12.95
Unsellable items share the cost of the lot, so the sellable share you enter moves every figure.
- Landed cost of the lot
- $582.95
- Sellable items
- 45Estimate
- Rounded down to whole items.
- Profit at your selling price
- $38.05Estimate
- Margin at your selling price
- 4.7%Estimate
- Most to bid for the target margin
- $170.29Estimate
https://calcgallery.com/business-investing/lot-cost-per-item-calculator/
Results are arithmetic estimates based on the assumptions you enter, not accounting, tax, investment or lending advice. Forecasts can be wrong and important decisions should be checked with a qualified adviser. Read the full disclaimer
How to use the Lot Cost Per Item Calculator
- Enter the lot price or winning bid, the buyer’s premium and any sales tax charged on the purchase.
- Add the freight and any other cost of getting the lot home and ready to sell.
- Enter how many items are in the lot and the share you expect to sell.
- For profit and a maximum bid, enter the expected selling price per item, the selling fees, any selling cost per item and your target margin.
What each item really cost
landed cost = bid × (1 + buyer’s premium) × (1 + sales tax) + freight + other costssellable items = items × share you expect to sell, rounded downcost per item = landed cost ÷ sellable itemsA bulk lot, liquidation pallet or box lot is bought as one price, but it is sold one item at a time. The landed cost is everything paid to get the lot ready to sell: the bid, the auction’s premium on it, any tax on both, and the freight and other costs of bringing it home. Dividing that by the items you can actually sell gives each one’s share.
From a margin back to a bid
most to bid = (sellable × (price × (1 − fees − target margin) − selling cost per item) − freight − other costs) ÷ ((1 + premium) × (1 + tax))Working backwards answers the question before the auction: how high can the bidding go and still leave the margin you want? The page takes your expected selling price and fees, works out the most the whole lot can cost, takes off the freight and other costs, and removes the premium and tax to leave the bid. The bid is rounded down to the cent.
What the page assumes
Every item sells for the same average price, and the share you expect to sell is your estimate. Returns, unsold stock you later donate or scrap, and your time are not counted. Premiums, fees and tax rules differ between auction houses, marketplaces and places, so every rate here is the one you enter.
With your numbers
- Landed cost = $400.00 × 1.244875 + $85.00 = $582.95
- Sellable items = 50 × 90%, rounded down = 45
- Most to bid for a 40% margin = $170.29
- Cost per item = $582.95 ÷ 45 = $12.95
Quick reference
Unsellable items share the cost of the lot, so the sellable share you enter moves every figure.
| Example | Landed cost per sellable item |
|---|---|
| Worked example: 400 lot of 50 items | $12.95 |
| 250 pallet of 120 items, no premium | $3.17 |
| 100 lot of 40 items, 85% sellable | $2.94 |
| Estate sale box lot, 20% premium | $10.30 |
| Target out of reach | $10.22 |
| Liquidation pallet of 200 items | €3.14 |
Common questions about the Lot Cost Per Item Calculator
- Why divide by sellable items rather than all of them?
- Because the items you cannot sell still cost money. Spreading the whole landed cost over only the items that will sell gives the true cost of each one you list, which is the figure a price has to cover.
- How is the buyer’s premium charged?
- As a percentage of the hammer price, added on top of it. Where sales tax applies, it is usually charged on the hammer price plus the premium, which is how the page applies it. The auction’s terms say which applies: some houses charge a flat fee instead, and a resale exemption may mean no tax at all.
- Is freight part of the cost?
- Yes. The cost of getting goods to you is part of their cost. IRS Publication 334, for example, counts freight-in on merchandise bought for sale as part of the cost of goods sold. The page adds fuel, a rented van or storage the same way, under other costs.
- What margin does the maximum bid use?
- Profit as a share of sales, after selling fees, the selling cost per item and the whole landed cost, the same definition the margin and markup calculator uses. A target of 40% means 40 of every 100 in sales is left as profit.
- Why is the sellable count rounded down?
- You cannot sell part of an item. Rounding down keeps the cost per item on the cautious side.
- What if no bid reaches my margin?
- If the fees and your target margin leave nothing of the selling price to pay for the lot, even a free lot would miss it, and the page says so instead of showing a bid.