Sourcing calculator: check a deal will actually make money before you buy

The sourcing calculator lets you test a potential deal before you spend any money on it. Enter what you would pay, what you think it will sell for, and DashVue previews the profit, margin and ROI you could expect, using your own VAT status so the numbers reflect how your business is actually taxed.

Where to find it

The sourcing calculator sits on its own page, separate from your live listings and stock. It is meant for “what if” checks: stock you are considering buying, a car boot or wholesale lot you have spotted, or a listing idea you want to sanity check before committing cash. Nothing you enter here affects your actual inventory or listings until you decide to act on it.

What you enter

To preview a deal, fill in the fields for the item you are considering:

1. Buy cost: what you would pay to source the item.
2. Sell price: what you expect to list and sell it for.
3. Postage: what you expect to pay to ship it, or charge the buyer.
4. Fees: the eBay and payment fees you expect on the sale.
5. Ad rate: the promoted listings ad rate you expect to pay, if any.

As you fill these in, the calculator previews the profit, margin and ROI (return on investment) you would make on the deal, so you can see straight away whether it is worth pursuing.

VAT status and scheme

Your VAT status and scheme, standard, flat rate, or margin scheme, are prefilled from your business profile, so the preview reflects how VAT actually applies to your business rather than a generic assumption. This matters because the same buy cost and sell price can produce a different profit figure depending on which scheme you are on, particularly under the margin scheme, where VAT is due on the margin rather than the full sale price.

If your VAT status or scheme changes, update it in your business profile so future previews stay accurate.

See the related articles below for more on tracking item costs and profit.