Enter an item's purchase price, your markup, and the VAT. Add a discount or your costs to see what's left per sale and how low you can reduce the price.
Add your costs
Shipping is spread across the batch. Enter other costs per item.
The shipping cost you bear for the whole batch.
Shipping is divided by this number of items.
The packaging cost allocated to one item sold.
Applied to the amount collected including VAT, after discount.
Allocate a transaction’s fixed fee across its items.
Your result per item
Results follow your inputs and discount.
Margin after the costs entered
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After the purchase, allocated shipping, packaging and commissions entered.
Change the inputs to compare scenarios.
- Starting price including VAT
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- Price including VAT after discount
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- Selling price excluding VAT
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- Costs entered per item
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VAT-inclusive price covering entered costs—
Estimated maximum discount—
Zero-margin threshold based only on the costs entered. The minimum price is rounded up to the next cent; the discount is conservatively rounded down to a tenth of a percentage point.
View the breakdown and gross margin
- Purchase cost excluding VAT
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- Shipping per item excluding VAT
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- Packaging excluding VAT
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- Estimated commission
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- Gross margin before costs
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- Gross margin on purchase cost
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- Gross margin on selling price
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Calculation: initial gross price = net purchase price × coefficient. The discount is deducted from this gross price, then VAT is removed. The margin after costs deducts the purchase, allocated transport, packaging, and entered commissions.
Estimate per item, before rent, wages, contributions, taxes and other costs not entered. The selected VAT rate applies to the sale. Include non-recoverable VAT in your costs where applicable.
Esotericæ · Margin simulation
Your simulation per item
Your selling price
- Purchase price excluding VAT
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- Price multiplier
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- VAT on the sale
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- Customer discount
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- Batch shipping excluding VAT
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- Items in the batch
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- Packaging per item excluding VAT
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- Commission on the VAT-inclusive price
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- Fixed commission per item
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Your result per item
- Margin after the costs entered
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- Starting price including VAT
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- Price including VAT after discount
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- Selling price excluding VAT
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- Purchase cost excluding VAT
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- Shipping per item excluding VAT
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- Packaging excluding VAT
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- Estimated commission
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- Costs entered per item
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- Gross margin before costs
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- Gross margin on purchase cost
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- Gross margin on selling price
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- VAT-inclusive price covering entered costs
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- Estimated maximum discount
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Zero-margin threshold based only on the costs entered. The minimum price is rounded up to the next cent; the discount is conservatively rounded down to a tenth of a percentage point.
Estimate per item, before rent, wages, contributions, taxes and other costs not entered. The selected VAT rate applies to the sale. Include non-recoverable VAT in your costs where applicable.
Indicators
- Initial gross price: purchase price excluding tax multiplied by the coefficient.
- Gross price after discount: amount paid by the customer after the discount entered.
- Gross margin: selling price excluding tax minus purchase price excluding tax, before added costs.
- Margin after entered costs: gross margin minus allocated transport, packaging and entered commissions. This amount must still cover other charges.
- Gross margin rate: gross margin divided by purchase price excluding tax, multiplied by 100.
- Gross markup rate: gross margin divided by selling price excluding tax, multiplied by 100.
- Estimated maximum discount: discount on the initial gross price that leaves a margin after costs of at least zero, based on the entered assumptions.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How to calculate your gross margin?
Subtract the pre-tax purchase price from the pre-tax selling price. For a pre-tax purchase of €10 and a €25 VAT-inclusive price with 20% VAT, the pre-tax selling price is €20.83 and the gross margin is approximately €10.83. The calculator then distinguishes this gross margin from what remains after the entered expenses.
What is the difference between the margin rate and the markup rate?
The markup rate is calculated based on the pre-tax purchase price, while the margin rate is calculated based on the pre-tax selling price. The former is primarily used to measure the profitability of a purchase, while the latter is often used in management reports and business analyses.
Is the multiplier the same as the margin?
No. In this tool, the multiplier is applied to the pre-tax purchase price to obtain the initial pre-tax price. The gross margin is then calculated excluding taxes. A discount or additional costs may reduce the remaining amount, even if the initial multiplier does not change.
Why is the calculation based on pre-tax prices?
For a business that reclaims VAT, pre-tax amounts allow you to distinguish the sale from the tax collected. The VAT selected here applies to the sale. If you do not charge VAT, select 0%. If the VAT on your purchases or expenses is not reclaimable, include it in the actual costs incurred that you enter.
Does this calculator take into account all the costs of a product?
You can add the batch shipping cost, the number of items, the packaging per item, a commission proportional to the VAT-inclusive price, and a fixed commission amount. The discount is applied to the VAT-inclusive price before calculating the commission. The result remains an estimate per item: it does not automatically deduct rent, salaries, social security contributions, taxes, advertising, or other unentered expenses.
What multiplier should be applied for an esoteric shop?
There is no universal multiplier. It depends notably on the type of product, its positioning, the competition, and your store's operating costs. The goal is to find a balance between competitiveness, profitability, and the value perceived by your customers.
Why calculate your margin before placing an order with a wholesaler?
Calculating your margin allows you to anticipate a product's profitability before listing it. It is an excellent way to compare several items, adjust your selling price, and build a coherent offering based on your business objectives.
Does the calculator work with all Esotericae products?
Yes. Whether you are purchasing incense resins, ritual oils, powders, herbs, salts, accessories, or any other item available on Esotericae, the calculator allows you to quickly estimate your selling price, gross margin, and key business metrics before putting together your assortment. It is a tool designed to assist esoteric shops with their purchasing decisions.
How is the maximum discount calculated?
The tool calculates the threshold at which the pre-tax selling price still covers the purchase price and the expenses entered, including commission. This threshold applies to the pre-discount, tax-inclusive price. As a precaution, the displayed minimum price is rounded up to the nearest cent, and the discount percentage is rounded down to the nearest tenth of a percentage point. Reaching this threshold leaves no margin for the entered costs and does not cover your store's other expenses.
An example of margin after transport, packaging and commission
Fictional example: an item purchased at €10 excluding VAT with a markup factor of 2.5 has a starting price of €25 including VAT. After a 10% discount, the customer pays €22.50 including VAT, or €18.75 excluding VAT with 20% VAT.
Add €12 excluding VAT for shipping spread over 12 items, €0.50 excluding VAT for packaging per item, and a commission of 2% of the collected price including VAT plus €0.30 per item. The estimated commission is €0.75. The gross margin is €8.75 and the margin after these costs is €6.50 per item. This amount must still cover other charges.
The "Try a fictional example" button loads these values. You can then change the purchase price, the markup factor, or the discount. To prepare a concrete assortment, see our guide to resins for shops and the catalog references.
Why is it essential to calculate your margin precisely?
One of the most common mistakes when setting up a store is pricing products solely by looking at the competition. However, two stores offering the exact same product can have very different costs. Rent, logistics costs, customer acquisition costs, shipping policy, and sales volume all directly affect actual profitability.
Accurate calculations help prevent selling at a loss, maintain a sufficient margin to fund business growth, and ensure a consistent pricing policy across the entire catalog. They also make it easier to negotiate with suppliers, choose which products to develop, and identify the most profitable items.
A calculator designed for esoteric shops
Prepare the listing for a resin, plant, or accessory starting with the purchase cost of a single item. If your supplier sells by the pack, divide the pack price by the number of units before entering the purchase price.
The calculator allocates the shipping cost across the number of items indicated and applies the commission to the VAT-inclusive price received after the discount. The amounts remain estimates based on your entries, without automatic access to your accounting.
Print the summary or export it as a CSV to keep a record of your assumptions. The prices and terms of the professional catalog remain accessible according to the usual rules of your Esotericæ account.
Optimize your pricing policy and improve your profitability
A good pricing policy does not simply mean being cheaper than your competitors. It must allow you to offer a price consistent with the value of the product, while ensuring the long-term viability of the business.
By accurately calculating margins, you can identify the items capable of generating a good level of profitability, offer loss leaders without jeopardizing your financial stability, and build a balanced range between small impulse purchases and higher-value products.
The calculator is also an excellent tool for simulating different scenarios, comparing several suppliers, or measuring the impact of an increase in purchase costs on your final selling price.
A useful tool to create or grow your business
Whether you are in the planning phase, currently developing your business, or simply looking for better tracking of your profitability, this tool will save you valuable time.
It makes it easier to set your prices before going online, add new products to your catalog, review your prices after a supplier price increase, and compare different business strategies.
In just a few clicks, you get reliable data that helps you make decisions with greater confidence and build a sustainable business.