How this calculator works
Online orders that seem profitable at checkout can lose money after refunds, return postage and unresellable goods. Model both a successful sale and a fully refunded returned sale to understand average profit.
What the calculation does
Calculate the contribution of a kept order and a fully refunded order separately, weighting each by the percentage of orders you expect to be returned.
Important limitations
Assumes percentage payment fees are refunded and fixed fees are not. Partial refunds, marketplace-specific fee policies, advertising, taxes, and overhead are excluded.
Common questions
Why can returns reduce profit so dramatically?
Returned items often lose the sale while still incurring outbound shipping, reverse shipping, inspection, and inventory costs.
What is recovered value?
The expected usable resale or liquidation proceeds from a returned product.
Do all platforms refund payment fees?
No. The model documents its assumption; check your provider's current fee-reversal policy.