Maximum Buy Price Calculator

How to use the max buy price calculator

1. Marketplace preset: pick the marketplace where you will sell the item, not where you buy it. It fills Marketplace fee and Fixed fee per order. OLX has no preset, because its Annex 6 gives no rate for "Zapłać, jeśli sprzedasz"; choose Custom and enter the percentage and any fixed part you were charged.
2. Fill in Price you expect to sell at, Shipping you pay and Cleaning, repair, packaging.
3. Set Minimum profit you accept and Minimum ROI you accept. The prefilled values are placeholders, not recommended targets.

The calculator runs exactly this:

ROI is profit ÷ what you pay for the item, as in the resale profit calculator.

Decision rule: if "Pay no more than" is zero or negative, walk away.

Worked example: boots resold on Allegro Lokalnie

Choosing a conservative expected sale price

Enter the price you would accept if the item had to go, not the one you hope for. Choosing between fast sale and max profit explains the levels:

• Many close, recent comps: enter fair value, the median of comparable items that left the market.
• Few or scattered comps: enter the fast-sell level, near the cheapest quarter of comparable asks.
• Only live asks: don't use them; an ask is not a sale price.

Example: the boots with two sale-price guesses.

Trust the hopeful price, pay 121.64 zł, sell at 180 zł, and you make 36.14 zł (29.7% ROI): below both floors.

Target profit, margin or ROI

The profit floor protects your time; the ROI floor protects your cash. They give the same maximum when "left after fees and costs" = minimum profit × (1 + ROI) ÷ ROI.

Example: 40 zł and 60% floors cross at 106.67 zł. Above that, the ROI floor sets the maximum (expensive items); below it, the profit floor does (cheap items).

The calculator has no margin field, so convert your target: minimum profit = target margin × expected sale price. Example: a 25% margin on a 180 zł sale means entering 45 zł.

Set the floors from your own records: note the profit and ROI of past flips that weren't worth the effort, and set both floors above them. For slow items, the reselling ROI calculator shows ROI per 30 days held.

Fees and shipping in reverse

Selling side: these go into the calculator. Allegro's Lokalnie fee page (checked 13 September 2026) lists 7.9% of item value for Kup teraz and auctions, 4.9% in Elektronika, and 0 zł for local listings. Vinted's Polish and UK price lists show no seller commission, so enter 0%. For tiered fees, see the marketplace fee calculator.

Buying side: take these off the result. "Pay no more than" is your total cost to get the item, so subtract delivery to you and any travel. On Vinted, also subtract the Buyer Protection fee the buyer pays on top: "usually" 5% + 2.90 zł per the Polish price list, varying with the item, order value and order type.

It assumes the "usual" rate, charged on the item price alone; checkout shows the real fee. Example: boots bought on Vinted with an assumed 12 zł delivery: (98.61 − 12 − 2.90) ÷ 1.05 = 79.72 zł at most.

For cross-platform flips, see marketplace arbitrage.

Using the number when negotiating

To leave room for a counter-offer that meets you halfway, open at no more than 2 × your maximum item price − the asking price. Example: asking 120 zł, maximum 90 zł, so open at 60 zł or less. If the rule gives zero or less, make one offer at your maximum or move on.

• Work out your maximum item price, after buying costs, before the first message
• Counter-offer above your maximum: decline, or make one final offer at your maximum
• Never raise the expected sale price to make a deal fit
• Allegro Lokalnie auction (7 days, per its Sprzedaj teraz page): top bid = maximum − your buying costs

Why buying rules beat gut feel

A maximum worked out per listing creeps up when a listing looks exciting. Set it once per category: write down minimum condition, assumed sale price and both floors. Setting buying rules has templates, evaluating a deal in 60 seconds adds demand and condition checks, and the product sourcing guide ties them together.

Common mistakes: using the buying platform's preset, offering the full maximum before subtracting buying costs, and leaving Cleaning, repair, packaging at its placeholder.