Shipping
Return Cost Calculator
Enter the sale price, product cost, the shipping you already paid and the return shipping, then say whether the returned item can be resold. The calculator shows the refund and your total loss on the return.
A return costs more than the refund. The buyer gets the price back, but the outbound shipping is already spent, return shipping is added, and if the item cannot be resold, its product cost is lost too. Marketplace and payment fees on the original sale are often not fully refunded either.
Formula
Loss on a return = outbound shipping + return shipping + product cost (only if the item cannot be resold). The refund to the buyer is the sale price; the loss is what the return costs you on top of giving the money back.
How it works
Enter the refunded price and the shipping lines. If the returned item goes back into stock, its cost is not lost — only the two shipping charges are. If it is damaged or unsellable, add the product cost to the loss. Compare the loss with the profit on a good sale to see how many good sales one return wipes out.
Worked example
Sale price $45.00, product cost $13.00, outbound shipping $7.50 and return shipping $8.25. If the item is resellable, the loss is $7.50 + $8.25 = $15.75. If it is damaged and unsellable, the loss is $7.50 + $8.25 + $13.00 = $28.75 — on top of refunding the $45.00 to the buyer.
FAQs
Is the refund itself part of my loss?
No — the refund returns money the buyer already paid you. The loss is the extra cost the return creates: shipping both ways and, sometimes, the product itself. Keep the two figures separate or you will double-count.
What about the marketplace and payment fees on the returned sale?
They vary by marketplace and by whether the sale is fully or partly refunded. Some fees are credited back, some are not, and payment processing fees are commonly kept by the processor. Check your marketplace's return-fee rules and add any non-refunded fee to the loss.
Who pays return shipping?
It depends on the marketplace policy, the return reason and your own policy. If you offer free returns, you pay it. If the buyer pays, enter zero for return shipping — but expect fewer buyers to accept a return they must fund.
How many good sales does one return wipe out?
Divide the return loss by the profit on a good sale. A $15.75 return loss against a $15 profit per sale wipes out more than one good sale, which is why return rates matter as much as margins.
Can I reduce return costs?
Accurate listings, clear photos, honest condition descriptions and careful packaging cut the most common return reasons. For fragile or sized items, a short sizing or fit note in the listing helps too.
Stand: October 2026. Pure arithmetic — no platform rate is used; enter your own figures.
Disclaimer: Results are estimates and general information only, not tax or financial advice. Your actual fees, shipping costs and profit depend on your marketplace account, category, shipping service and buyer location. Check the figures that apply to you before pricing a listing.
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