Price per piece formula
That is the landed cost. The true cost adds what each sale carries on top of it:
And the selling price grosses the margin up for what the marketplace takes:
Worked example
The numbers pre-filled in the calculator: 200 sarees bought for ₹60,000, ₹2,400 inbound shipping, ₹3 packaging per piece, a 5% returns buffer, a 40% target margin. Example values, not a rate card.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Price per piece (landed) | (60,000 + 2,400) ÷ 200 | ₹312.00 |
| True cost per piece | (312 + 3) × 1.05 | ₹330.75 |
| Target to keep per piece | 330.75 × 1.40 | ₹463.05 |
| List at (0% commission, ₹0 shipping) | (463.05 + 0) ÷ 1 | ₹463.05 |
Enter your category’s commission and the outbound shipping your panel charges, and the last row changes to the price that actually lands the ₹463.05 in your account. Source for every figure in this table: arithmetic on the example lot above, 30 Sept 2026.
What to include in the cost per piece
Sellers under-price because they count the supplier invoice and nothing else. Everything below is part of what a piece cost you before it sold, and each line has a field in the calculator.
- Purchase cost: the supplier invoice for the lot, including the GST you paid if you cannot claim it back.
- Inbound shipping: transport from the supplier or market to you, including the auto and the loading charge if you paid them.
- Packaging per piece: polybag, tag, tape, a printed label. Small per piece, large over a lot.
- Returns buffer: the share of orders that come back. Read it from your own panel for the last month; a return usually means you pay the shipping both ways and the piece may not be resellable.
- Marketplace commission and outbound shipping: not part of cost per piece, but part of the price. They come off the listing price, which is why the calculator grosses them up in the last step.
Mistakes that show up at settlement
- Margin on cost, applied to the listing price. A 40% margin on a ₹330 cost is ₹132; a listing at ₹462 with a 20% commission (an example figure, not any marketplace’s rate) leaves ₹370, not ₹462. Gross up for commission or the margin is not there.
- Forgetting the returns buffer. At a 5% return rate on the example lot, that is ten pieces of every two hundred whose shipping you pay twice.
- Pricing from the lot, not the piece. Two lots at different prices and different sizes compare only on cost per piece after shipping.
- Using last season’s commission. Rate cards change by category and by month. The calculator asks for yours because it cannot know it; the marketplace calculators on this site carry dated rate cards.
GST and the listing price
Marketplace listing prices in India are shown inclusive of GST, so the tax is inside the price the buyer sees and comes out of what you receive. The rate depends on the HSN code of the item and, for garments, on its price band. This page does not print rates because they differ by item; use the HSN code finder for the code and rate for what you sell (selling sarees? see the saree HSN code), and enter the same rate on the listing and the invoice so the two match.
How to compare wholesale deals
Two lots with different prices and different lot sizes are compared on price per piece after shipping, not on lot price. Put each lot through the calculator with its own inbound shipping; the one with the lower true cost per piece is the better deal, provided you can sell the larger count before the season turns.
Price per piece for Meesho and Flipkart sellers
The marketplace calculators carry the dated rate cards and compute the net per order for a given listing price; this page runs the other way, from cost to the listing price that protects your margin. Use them together:
- Meesho commission calculator: net per order at a listing price, with the current Meesho rate card.
- Flipkart commission calculator: the same for Flipkart categories.
- Shipping cost calculator: the outbound shipping figure to enter above.
Selling on WhatsApp or Instagram with no commission? Leave commission at 0 and outbound shipping at what your courier charges. See the marketplace pages for each platform’s fees and rules.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate price per piece?
Divide the total cost of the lot by the number of pieces. With shipping included: (purchase cost + inbound shipping) ÷ pieces. The calculator above does this and then adds packaging and a returns buffer to give the true cost per piece.
Should I include shipping in the price per piece?
Yes. Inbound shipping is part of what each piece cost you. In the example lot, ₹2,400 of shipping on 200 pieces adds ₹12 to every piece.
How do I go from cost per piece to a selling price?
Decide the margin you want over true cost, then gross it up for what the marketplace takes: selling price = (true cost × (1 + margin) + outbound shipping) ÷ (1 − commission). Enter your category’s commission from your seller panel; the calculator does the rest.
Where do I find my Meesho or Flipkart commission?
In your own panel: Meesho Supplier Panel → Payments → Commission for your category; Flipkart Seller Hub → Rate card. Rates differ by category and change over time, so this page does not print them. The Meesho and Flipkart commission calculators on this site carry dated rate cards.
What is a returns buffer and why add it?
A share of orders come back and their shipping is usually charged to you. Adding the return rate you see in your panel to the cost per piece prices that loss into every sale instead of discovering it at settlement.