Set a max buy price before the sales weekend

A percentage off tells you how much the seller cut. It does not tell you if the price works for you. Your maximum buy price does.

Published 2026-10-30, updated 2026-10-30.

Do this sum at home, before Black Friday on Friday 27 November or Cyber Monday on Monday 30 November, while nothing is counting down. Then a deal is a yes or a no, not a feeling.

A worked example

These example numbers are made up. You expect an item to sell for $60.00. The marketplace fee is 13% ($7.80), shipping to the buyer is $6.00 and packaging is $1.50. That leaves $44.70 to cover the item and your profit.

You want at least $12.00 profit. The most you can pay is $44.70 − $12.00 = $32.70. At that price your profit is $12.00, which is about a 37% return on cost.

Hold deals up against the number

A deal at $27.99 plus $3.99 shipping costs $31.98 in total. That is under $32.70, so it meets the target, with $0.72 to spare.
A deal at $29.99 plus $4.99 shipping costs $34.98 in total. That is over $32.70, so it misses the target, even if the page shows a large discount. Skip it, or accept a smaller profit knowing that is your choice.

Notice that the shipping you pay is part of the cost. This is why the total, not the tag, is the number to compare.

Test it with a lower sale price

The $60.00 is your estimate, not a promise. Run the sum again with a sale price a little lower and see how far your maximum falls. If a small drop in the sale price wipes out the profit, the margin is thin and the item is riskier than it looked. Holiday listings often compete with many similar ones, so a cautious estimate is sensible.

Make a sheet for the weekend

Write the maximum next to each product on your list: name, exact model, expected sale price and maximum buy price. When a deal appears, check the exact product, add shipping, and compare. Anything over the number waits for the next sale.

What this leaves out

Sales tax, returns, advertising and your time are not in the sum. Nothing here promises a sale at the price you expect, or any profit at all.

Put your own figures into the maximum buy price calculator. For the steps around buying, see the sales weekend sourcing checklist.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday sourcing checklistWhat to settle before the sales, what to check while you buy, and what to do when the orders arrive.
Break-even and the most you can pay for an itemWork backwards from the price you expect to sell at to the most you can pay.
Maximum buy price calculatorThe most you can pay for an item and still hit your profit or return-on-cost target.
Resale profit and ROI calculatorProfit, return on cost and break-even price for a resale, with the marketplace fee you enter.