1. Compare two quotes
Start with two complete quotes. All ten offer amounts start blank and must be entered; unknown amounts never become zero. Choose Load example to use the invented case below, Compare quotes to calculate, or Clear to remove all amounts and results. Any edit removes the previous comparison.
Preparing comparison controls. The method and worked example below remain available.
2. Use the same whole-order basis
Both alternatives must cover the same goods and quantity. Every input is a total for selling those goods as one order. There is no quantity multiplier or per-unit calculation. Different bundles, different quantities and splitting one alternative across several orders fall outside this comparison.
- Item subtotal
- The whole-order item amount after the offer discount and before selling fees. Exclude sales tax and other pass-through money you would not retain.
- Retained shipping receipt
- Shipping or handling money you would retain from the sale. Keep it separate from the cost of the shipping label and packing.
- Shipping and other selling costs
- Enter the whole-order shipping and packing cost, then any other selling costs you have chosen to include. Do not repeat fees, shipping or acquisition amounts in another field.
- Optional common acquisition cost
- Your allocated total acquisition cost for those same goods. It is subtracted once from each alternative. Leave it blank if unknown; enter 0 only when you know it is zero. The tool does not allocate a purchase lot's cost for you.
Use gross retained receipts before the entered costs. An already-net payout has had some deductions applied. Entering it as the item subtotal and then entering those deductions again would subtract them twice. Reconstruct the appropriate receipt and cost totals from the source records before comparing.
Back to contents3. Enter the complete fee quote once
The fee input is a dollar total for that particular order under that alternative. Include applicable selling, payment, percentage-derived, fixed/order and other fees, including taxes on fees when applicable. Count each charge once. There is no separate fixed-charge add-on in the calculator.
Obtain the total from your applicable quote and terms. A fee's calculation base may differ from the receipts you retain. The tool does not infer that base, choose a marketplace rate or calculate a fee from the item subtotal.
A total quoted for one alternative cannot be assumed to stay unchanged at another price or under different order terms. Update the quote before changing the corresponding amounts here. The comparison does not solve for a minimum offer, target price or counteroffer.
Back to contents4. Read the arithmetic
- Receipts before entered costs = item subtotal + retained shipping receipt.
- Entered selling costs = total quoted fees + shipping and packing cost + other nonduplicated selling costs.
- Proceeds after entered selling costs = receipts − entered selling costs.
- After entered acquisition cost = proceeds − common acquisition cost, only when that cost is supplied.
- Difference between entered alternatives = A's proceeds after entered selling costs − B's.
A positive difference means A is higher on this entered-proceeds measure, a negative difference means A is lower, and zero means equal. A common acquisition cost is subtracted from both alternatives, so it leaves the difference unchanged. A missing acquisition cost suppresses after-acquisition amounts without turning it into zero.
Negative proceeds and negative after-acquisition amounts remain visible. The numbers do not select an alternative or establish complete business profit.
Back to contents5. Worked example: equal receipts, different entered costs
These invented alternatives cover the same goods and quantity as one order. The fee amounts are hypothetical total quotes, including any applicable order charges once; they are not marketplace presets or current rate claims.
Scroll the table horizontally on a narrow screen to read both alternatives.
| Input or result | Alternative A | Alternative B |
|---|---|---|
| Item subtotal | $120.00 | $115.00 |
| Retained shipping receipt | $0.00 | $5.00 |
| Total quoted fees, including any fixed/order charges once | $18.40 | $12.50 |
| Shipping and packing cost | $8.00 | $10.00 |
| Other nonduplicated selling costs | $2.00 | $1.50 |
| Receipts before entered costs | $120.00 | $120.00 |
| Entered selling costs | $28.40 | $24.00 |
| Proceeds after entered selling costs | $91.60 | $96.00 |
| Common entered acquisition cost | $80.00 | $80.00 |
| After entered acquisition cost | $11.60 | $16.00 |
A's entered selling costs are $18.40 + $8.00 + $2.00 = $28.40, leaving $91.60. B's are $12.50 + $10.00 + $1.50 = $24.00, leaving $96.00.
A − B = −$4.40. Subtracting the common $80.00 acquisition cost gives $11.60 and $16.00; their difference is still −$4.40. If that acquisition cost were unknown, those two after-acquisition results would not be calculated.
6. Know the limits
- Enter nonnegative USD amounts with at most two decimal places. Conventional grouped commas are accepted; currency symbols, negative inputs, exponent notation and fractional cents are rejected. Extra decimal places are rejected rather than rounded.
- Each input is limited to $21,474,836.47 and at most 30 characters after edge spaces are trimmed. Computed totals can exceed one input's limit. The arithmetic uses integer cents; negative computed results remain visible.
- All ten offer amounts are required. Explicit 0 is allowed; blank or malformed required amounts block the comparison. A malformed optional acquisition cost also blocks it. There is no partial result.
- Only entered receipts and costs are included. Market prices, sale likelihood, returns, future financing, tax treatment, unentered costs and available cash are outside the comparison.
- No marketplace fee policy, complete-profit calculation or offer recommendation is supplied. Reviewing these hypothetical quotes does not create or change records.
7. Keep the supporting evidence
Keep the quote, its date and its order basis with your review notes. Use the sold-price evidence guide to assess price evidence and the payout reconciliation guide to distinguish actual settlement receipts from deductions. For a supplier purchase, the reseller buying checklist covers a broader inventory review.
Back to contents8. Source and scope
eBay's selling-fee guidance describes sale-based and per-order fee components and exceptions. That complexity is why this comparison asks for your applicable whole-order fee quote. It does not copy fee rates or infer your account's terms.
The worked example is invented. The calculator supplies arithmetic for entered alternatives, with no marketplace or bank connection and no automatic purchase decision.
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