Pricing Without Quietly Losing Money: The Costs New Sellers Forget, Including Their Own Time
To price for real profit, include product cost, your time, packaging, shipping, ads and percentage platform fees. See the formula, a worked example in baht, and the mistakes that cause silent losses.
Has this ever happened to you? Sales are so good you can barely keep up with packing, but at the end of the month the money in your account has hardly moved. This is called “losing money quietly,” and it is very common among new sellers. It is not because you are bad at selling. It is because, when you set your prices, several costs were hiding where you could not see them on day one.
We will go through the costs one by one, give you a single formula that works on every platform, and walk through an example in baht from start to finish. Have the calculator on your phone ready.
What does your selling price need to cover?
Quick Answer: Your selling price needs to cover 6 things: product cost, your own time, packaging, shipping the shop pays, ad cost per order and platform fees, and still leave a profit.
| Cost | How to calculate per item |
|---|---|
| Product cost | Purchase price or raw materials, including inbound shipping when ordering stock, divided by the number of items |
| Your own time | An hourly rate you think is fair x time spent per item (making, packing, answering chats) |
| Packaging | Boxes, mailers, bubble wrap, tape, stickers, cards per order |
| Shipping the shop pays | 0 if the customer pays. If you offer free or subsidized shipping, it goes here |
| Ad cost per order | Total ad spend for the month divided by the number of orders you got |
| Platform fees | A percentage of the selling price, so it is handled separately in the formula |
The first five are “baht per item” figures, but the last one is a “percentage of the selling price.” This is exactly why the formula below has to use division.
What pricing formula works on every platform?
Quick Answer: Selling price = (total cost per item + desired profit) ÷ (1 − total fee percentage)
Broken down into simple steps:
- Add up the cost in baht per item (product + time + packaging + shipping the shop pays + ads)
- Add the profit you want per item, in baht
- Add up the platform fee percentages (the selling fee for your category + the payment transaction fee)
- Divide the result of step 2 by (1 minus the percentage from step 3, as a decimal)
- Round up to a nice-looking price
So why divide? If you add the percentage straight onto your cost, the platform still charges its percentage on the selling price, which is higher than your cost. The fee then eats a little more profit than you intended on every item. The more you sell, the more obvious that gap becomes.
A real worked example in baht
Quick Answer: The example product has a total cost of 90 baht per item, the desired profit is 30 baht, and total fees are assumed at 15.21%. The minimum selling price comes to about 142 baht, rounded up to 149 baht.
Let’s say we sell handmade baby bibs on a platform where this category has a 12% selling fee and a 3.21% payment transaction fee (made-up numbers to illustrate; see Seller Center for actual rates). The customer pays for shipping.
| Item | Baht per item |
|---|---|
| Fabric, thread, buttons | 45 |
| Your own time (20 minutes sewing and packing at 60 baht per hour) | 20 |
| Mailer, sticker, thank-you card | 10 |
| Average ad cost per order | 15 |
| Total cost | 90 |
| Profit you want | 30 |
| Total before fees | 120 |
Calculation: 120 ÷ (1 − 0.1521) = 120 ÷ 0.8479 ≈ 141.5 baht, rounded up to 149 baht
Checking back at 149 baht:
- Total fees of 15.21% ≈ 22.66 baht
- Leaves 149 − 22.66 = 126.34 baht
- Minus 90 baht in costs leaves a profit of about 36 baht per item
In reality, the payment transaction fee is charged on the total the customer pays including shipping, and some platforms add a per-order fee, so the real numbers may shift a little more. Rounding up is exactly how you leave room for that.
Do you need to recalculate for free shipping or discounts?
Quick Answer: Yes. Shipping the shop pays is an extra cost per item, and discounts make profit disappear faster than you think.
Using the same example, say the shop pays 35 baht for shipping (a made-up number; real shipping costs vary by courier and can change, for example Flash Express announced a temporary 3-baht-per-item increase from 1 April 2026):
- Total before fees = 120 + 35 = 155 baht
- Selling price = 155 ÷ 0.8479 ≈ 182.8 baht, so you need to set about 189 baht
If you keep selling at 149 baht but offer free shipping, your profit drops from 36 baht to about 1 baht. That is the real “selling well but no money” problem. Most small shops fix it like this: set a minimum order for free shipping, sell in sets of 2 to 3 items, or offer free shipping only on products with enough profit margin.
What mistakes make you lose money quietly?
Quick Answer: Not counting your own time, calculating fees on cost instead of selling price, copying competitors’ prices, forgetting damaged and returned goods, and not updating prices when platforms raise fees.
- Not counting your own time. The day you need to hire someone to help pack, the shop loses money immediately.
- Adding the percentage to cost instead of dividing as in the formula.
- Copying competitors’ prices. Big shops buy stock cheaper, or may sell at a loss to push volume.
- Forgetting damaged goods, returns and freebies. Allow around 3 to 5% of cost for these.
- Not reviewing prices when fees change. Platform fees in Thailand have risen steadily for several years (the Bangkok Post reported several rounds of increases in 2024, and Matichon reported a new round in 2026).
- Rounding prices down to look cheaper. For example, calculating 142 but setting 139. Always round up.
- Not separating shop money from household money, so you never know your real profit. Start with DIY bookkeeping for an online shop.
How much should you charge for your own time?
Quick Answer: There is no fixed number. Start with the hourly rate you would be willing to pay if you hired someone else to do the same work, then time how long each item really takes.
Many moms feel guilty adding their own time, because “I’m doing it while the baby naps anyway.” But nap time is the most expensive time of your day. Time yourself on 5 items, take the average, and put it in the formula. If you want to make better use of that time, read Time management for mom business owners, using energy windows.
If the price is too high to sell once you include your time, that is very valuable information too. You may need to find a faster way to make it, sell in sets, or switch to a different product. That is still better than discovering later that you have been working for free for months.
Does one price work on every platform?
Quick Answer: Not always. Fees differ by platform and by category, so calculate a minimum price separately for each platform.
FlowAccount’s 2026 summary shows that selling fees for regular shops on Shopee and Lazada fall in a similar range (around 7 to 17% depending on category), but the details differ, such as per-order fees and add-on programs. If you sell on both, read Opening a Lazada shop for beginners to see the differences. And if you are still planning your starting budget, How much does it cost to open an online shop will give you the big picture.
A good price is not the cheapest price. It is the price that lets you keep selling for a long time without working for nothing. Set one that lets you rest easy, too.
Questions parents ask
01How do I price a product so it makes a profit?
Add up all costs per item (product, time, packaging, shipping the shop pays, ad cost per order), add the profit you want, then divide by (1 minus the platform fee percentage). That gives you the minimum selling price that still leaves the profit you intended.
02Why divide by 1 minus the fee instead of just adding the percentage?
Because the platform charges fees on the selling price. If you add the percentage to your cost, the price comes out slightly too low, and the fee eats more of your profit than you expect. Dividing gives the correct number.
03Do I need to count my own labor?
Yes, you should, even if you make things yourself at home. If you do not count your time, the day you sell so well that you need to hire help, the shop will lose money immediately. Use an hourly rate you think is fair, divided by the time spent per item.
04Can I just price the same as competitors?
You can look at competitors' prices to understand the market, but do not copy them, because every shop's costs and fees are different. Calculate your own minimum price first, then compare.
05I ran a free shipping promotion and lost money. How do I fix it?
Shipping the shop pays must be included in your cost per item. If your selling price cannot absorb it, set a minimum order for free shipping, sell in sets, or join free shipping programs only for products with enough profit.
06Should my prices end in 9?
You can if it suits your brand, but round up from the minimum price you calculated, not down. For example, if you calculate 142 baht, set 149 baht, not 139 baht.
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