For thrift, vintage and second-hand shops
Price second-hand finds so sourcing and cleaning are paid for
Every piece has a different cost and a different clean-up. Enter what you paid and the time you spend, and price each find to earn.
Quick answer: how should thrift, vintage and second-hand shops price a product?
Add every cost, then the fees that take a share of the price, then choose your margin. For vintage denim jacket that works out at $38.32, leaving $21.07 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 purchase price and you have never counted unsold stock allowance or platform listing fee, 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 purchase price by 55% gives a price of $10.85. After the other costs and the fees taken from that price, the sale loses $2.85, not the $21.07 you planned. The same costs priced properly give $38.32.
Illustration with the example costs below. Your numbers will differ.
Where thrift, vintage and second-hand shops usually lose money
One-off pieces
Price each find from what you paid, then save it.
Your time
Sourcing and cleaning take hours. Add them as a cost.
Unsold pieces
Add an allowance so the pieces that never sell are paid for.
Example: Vintage denim jacket
These costs go in. The price comes out of the same engine the app uses.
- Purchase price$7.00
- Cleaning and repair$2.00
- Sourcing time$3.00
- Tag and bag$0.30
- Card terminal fee2.9% of price
- Unsold stock allowance10% of price
- Profit you want55% margin
Sell it for
$38.32
Profit per sale $21.07 on a total cost of $17.24.
What thrift, vintage and second-hand shops 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 thrift, vintage and second-hand shops 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 thrift, vintage and second-hand shops
Choose this business type in the calculator and these cost lines appear. You only fill in the amounts.
- Purchase price
- Cleaning and repair
- Sourcing time
- Tag and bag
- Photography and listing time
- Dry cleaning
- Card terminal fee
- Unsold stock allowance
- Platform listing fee
- Returns allowance
- Rent or stall fee (monthly)
- Staff wages (monthly)
- Storage (monthly)
- Listing and ads (monthly)
- Storage unit (monthly)
- Rails and display (monthly)
What thrift, vintage and second-hand shops get with CostCal Pro
The pricing maths is free. Paid plans add bulk tools and store connections.
Exact selling price
FreeEnter the purchase 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 thrift, vintage and second-hand shops ask about pricing
How do I price vintage denim jacket?
Add every cost (purchase price, cleaning and repair, sourcing time, tag and bag, card terminal fee, unsold stock allowance), then choose the profit margin you want. With these example costs and a 55% margin, vintage denim jacket should sell for $38.32, which leaves $21.07 profit on a total cost of $17.24. 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 $12.30, the percentage fees are 12.9% of the price and the margin is 55%. 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 thrift, vintage and second-hand shops often forget?
The easiest to miss are unsold stock allowance, platform listing fee, returns allowance, your own time, and monthly costs such as rent or stall fee, staff wages, storage. Each one is a row in the Thrift / vintage / second-hand shop 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 list on Depop or eBay?
Switch the platform preset to include marketplace fees.
Can I price a bundle?
Add one line per item and the bundle price is solved.
Is the CostCal Pro calculator free for thrift, vintage and second-hand shops?
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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