For clothing boutiques
Price clothing with returns and end-of-season markdowns built in
Returns and markdowns are not accidents, they are expected. Price them in from day one and keep your margin when the sale comes.
Quick answer: how should clothing boutiques price a product?
Add every cost, then the fees that take a share of the price, then choose your margin. For linen shirt that works out at $67.82, leaving $33.91 profit. Skip a cost and the profit shrinks without you noticing.
Check your best seller in two minutes
Take the product you sell most. If its price was set by adding a mark-up to the buy-in price and you have never counted returns allowance or end-of-season markdown allowance, card fees and monthly costs, it may earn less than you think. Some items may even lose money. You will not see it in your till, only in the end-of-month result.
The mark-up trap, worked through
Marking up only the buy-in price by 50% gives a price of $31.50. After the other costs and the fees taken from that price, the sale leaves $3.73, not the $33.91 you planned. The same costs priced properly give $67.82.
Illustration with the example costs below. Your numbers will differ.
Where clothing boutiques usually lose money
Returns
Add a returns allowance so the cost of sent-back items is already covered.
End-of-season markdowns
See how deep a markdown can go before the item sells at a loss.
Mixed online and in-store sales
Compare your shop price with Shopify, Etsy or eBay fees in one click.
Example: Linen shirt
These costs go in. The price comes out of the same engine the app uses.
- Buy-in price$21.00
- Inbound freight$1.10
- Tags and bag$0.35
- Card terminal fee2.9% of price
- Returns allowance6% of price
- End-of-season markdown allowance8% of price
- Profit you want50% margin
Sell it for
$67.82
Profit per sale $33.91 on a total cost of $33.91.
What clothing boutiques see in the app
Real screens. Your own costs and products go in, the same kind of answers come out.
A ready cost list
Pick clothing boutiques and the usual cost lines appear. You fill in the amounts.
The exact price
Fees that depend on the price are solved exactly, so the profit you ask for is the profit you get.
Products that lose money
Check a whole price list at once and see which items run thin or below cost.
Already set up for clothing boutiques
Choose this business type in the calculator and these cost lines appear. You only fill in the amounts.
- Buy-in price
- Inbound freight
- Tags and bag
- Alterations
- Hanger and tissue
- Card terminal fee
- Returns allowance
- End-of-season markdown allowance
- Shoplifting and shrinkage allowance
- Loyalty discount allowance
- Rent (monthly)
- Staff wages (monthly)
- Ads and photos (monthly)
- Mannequins and window display (monthly)
- Photography and website (monthly)
What clothing boutiques get with CostCal Pro
The pricing maths is free. Paid plans add bulk tools and store connections.
Exact selling price
FreeEnter the buy-in price, other costs and fees, choose a margin, and get the price that keeps it.
Catalog check
FreeUpload a product export and see which products lose money or run on a thin margin.
Discount simulator
FreeSee the largest discount that still leaves a profit before you run a sale.
Break-even
FreeAdd monthly costs and see how many sales cover them.
Branded PDF report
FreeSend a clear cost and price breakdown to a customer or partner.
CSV import and typical costs
StarterBring in many products at once and start from ready cost templates.
Store connection
StarterLink calculations to products in your online store by SKU.
Weekly below-cost email
PremiumGet an email when a store product is selling below cost.
Apply prices to your store
PremiumPush approved prices to a connected WooCommerce store.
See plans and prices, all features or a sample report.
Questions clothing boutiques ask about pricing
How do I price linen shirt?
Add every cost (buy-in price, inbound freight, tags and bag, card terminal fee, returns allowance, end-of-season markdown allowance), then choose the profit margin you want. With these example costs and a 50% margin, linen shirt should sell for $67.82, which leaves $33.91 profit on a total cost of $33.91. Your own costs will differ, so enter yours in the calculator.
What is the formula for a selling price that keeps your margin?
Price = fixed costs divided by (1 minus the percentage fees minus your margin). Here the fixed costs are $22.45, the percentage fees are 16.9% of the price and the margin is 50%. Percentage fees must be taken from the selling price, not from the cost, which is why a simple mark-up on cost usually leaves less profit than planned.
What costs do clothing boutiques often forget?
The easiest to miss are returns allowance, end-of-season markdown allowance, shoplifting and shrinkage allowance, loyalty discount allowance, your own time, and monthly costs such as rent, staff wages, ads and photos. Each one is a row in the Clothing boutique preset, so you only fill in the amounts.
How do I know if a product is losing money?
Compare the selling price with the total cost, including the share of the price taken by fees. If the price is lower than that total, the product loses money. Catalog check does this for a whole product export and marks every item that loses money or has a thin margin.
Can I check my whole catalogue?
Upload a CSV in Catalog check to find products priced below cost.
Can I keep prices consistent across sizes?
Save one calculation and use the SKU to match it to each product.
Is the CostCal Pro calculator free for clothing boutiques?
Yes. The Free plan never expires and needs no card. It includes the exact price calculation, 5 saved calculations, 5 PDF reports and a catalog check of up to 50 products. Paid plans start at $49 a year and add more saved calculations, CSV import, store connection and API keys.
Last reviewed 2026-11-11. Example figures are illustrations, not advice.
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