What’s a Good Profit Margin on Liquidation Pallets?

‘Good’ depends on category, but as a general benchmark, most experienced resellers consider a net margin (after pallet cost, shipping, and fees) of 25% or higher to be a solid result, with 40–50%+ considered a strong outcome on a well-sourced lot.

Margin Benchmarks by Category

• General merchandise: 25–40%
• Home and kitchen goods: 25–45%
• Tools: 30–50%
• Electronics: 30–50% (higher variance)
• Apparel: 20–40%

How to Calculate Your Real Margin

Subtract pallet cost, shipping, and selling platform fees from your total resale revenue, then divide by total revenue to get your net margin percentage. Track this every time you buy — it’s the only way to know which sources and categories are actually working for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I include my time in margin calculations?

It’s worth tracking separately as an hourly rate, since two pallets with the same dollar margin can take very different amounts of sorting and listing time.

Why do margins vary so much between sellers in the same category?

Sourcing quality (manifest accuracy, condition grading honesty) and selling skill (pricing, photography, multi-channel listing) explain most of the variance between sellers working the same category.

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