Cost of goods, explained: track what you paid and choose Simple or Advanced

This article explains the Cost of Goods overview in DashVue: what the completeness ring, total invested, ROI and days to sell figures actually mean, and how to choose between Simple and Advanced cost tracking so your profit numbers are as accurate as you need them to be.

Why cost of goods matters

DashVue calculates your profit and margin by taking what eBay pays you and subtracting fees, shipping and what the item cost you to buy or make. eBay only knows the selling price, so DashVue is the only place that figure comes from. If a listing has no cost recorded, its profit and margin cannot be worked out properly, which is why the overview page is built around how complete your cost data is.

The Cost of Goods overview

The /cost-of-goods page gives you a snapshot of how well your stock costs are tracked, before you drill into individual listings:

• Completeness ring: shows what proportion of your listings have a cost recorded versus how many are still missing one. This is the fastest way to see whether your profit figures can be trusted yet, or whether there are gaps to fill in.
• Total invested: the sum of what you have spent on the stock currently reflected in your listings, based on the costs you have entered.
• ROI: a return on investment figure calculated from your recorded costs against what that stock has sold for, giving you a sense of how efficiently your money is working.
• Days to sell: how long stock is typically taking to sell, based on your listing and sale history.

All four figures are only as accurate as the cost data behind them. A low completeness score means the total invested, ROI and days to sell numbers are based on a partial picture, so it is worth treating the completeness ring as the first thing to check, and the other figures as more reliable the closer that ring gets to full.

Simple versus Advanced cost tracking

DashVue offers two ways to record what you paid, and you can switch between them from the Cost of Goods page:

1. Simple: record one estimated cost per listing. This is the quickest way to get a profit figure on the board, ideal if you buy in bulk lots, do not track individual item costs closely, or just want a reasonable estimate rather than exact bookkeeping.
2. Advanced: record cost per item, useful if you buy stock at different prices over time, want more precise margin figures per listing, or need cost data accurate enough to rely on for real decisions about what to keep sourcing.

Switching between Simple and Advanced is a toggle on the Cost of Goods page rather than a one-way decision, so you can start with Simple estimates to get moving quickly and move to Advanced later for listings where precision matters more.

Keeping costs accurate over time

Cost of goods is not a one-off setup task. As you restock an item at a different price, or list something new, it is worth returning to the Cost of Goods overview to check the completeness ring has not slipped and that your total invested and ROI figures still reflect what you are actually spending. See the related articles below for more on setting individual listing costs and managing stock day to day.