The profit in clearance reselling is made when you buy, not when you sell. Once a pallet is yours, good listings can only recover the value that was already in the lot when you paid for it. This calculator helps you run the maths before you commit, so you can see whether a pallet or job lot is likely to pay before you spend a penny.
Enter what you know about the lot and the tool returns three outcomes side by side: a best, realistic, and worst case, each with the profit and return on investment you might expect. It is built on the same method we set out in how the reselling model works, turned into something you can run on any lot in under a minute.
| Scenario | Units sold | Gross revenue | Selling costs | Net revenue | Net profit | ROI |
|---|
These figures are illustrative working numbers, not a guarantee of returns. ROI here is net profit measured against your acquisition cost (lot plus delivery). As a rough guide, under 20% is rarely worth the effort once your time and tied-up capital are counted, 20 to 50% is workable, and 50% or more is a strong result. The lots worth your money pass the realistic case and survive the worst case. This is not financial advice.
Work through the fields with honest figures rather than hopeful ones. The result is only ever as good as what you put in.
The three cases matter more than any single number. A lot worth your money is viable at the realistic case and still survives the worst case, rather than depending on everything going right.
Read the ROI alongside the verdict. As a working guide, anything under 20% is rarely worth the effort once your time and tied-up capital are counted, 20 to 50% is workable, and 50% or more is a strong result. These are rules of thumb to frame a decision, not promises. The break-even figure tells you the blunt version: how many units you need to sell at target price just to recover what you paid. If you have any honest reason to think you will sell fewer than that, the lot fails the test before you have spent anything.
One thing the percentage hides is time. A lot showing a healthy ROI on paper returns far less in practice if it takes six months to clear rather than six weeks, because cash tied up in slow stock cannot buy the next lot. Treat speed of return as part of the picture, not an afterthought.
This tool is the short version. For the complete cost checklist, a worked UK example across three scenarios, and the red flags that tell you to walk away before you buy, read the full guide to working out whether a clearance stock purchase will be profitable.
When you are ready to run the numbers on a real lot, browse current stock or request the full inventory or manifest for anything you are weighing up.
What counts as a good ROI on a clearance lot?
As a working guide, aim for 20 to 50% at the realistic case as a minimum and treat 50% or more as strong. Be cautious about anything under 20% once your time and tied-up capital are counted. These are practical rules of thumb rather than measured figures, so use them alongside how quickly the stock is likely to sell. There is more on this in the full guide.
Where do I find realistic sell prices?
Use eBay sold listings for comparable items at the same condition grade, not active listings and not the supplier's RRP. Sold listings show what buyers actually paid. Take an average of recent sales rather than the highest figure you can find.
