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Sell-through rate calculator: the formula, eBay sell-through and your break-even rate
· Nolyn research team
Sell-through rate tells you how much of the stock you had actually sold. This calculator gives the retail sell-through rate for a lot or a period, the eBay-style rate resellers read from sold and active listings, and the number most guides leave out: the sell-through you need before a lot stops losing money once the platform takes its fee. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing you type is sent.
How do you calculate sell-through rate?
Sell-through rate = units sold ÷ units available (opening stock plus units received) × 100. Sell 120 of 200 units in 30 days and the rate is 60%, with 80 units left that take another 20 days at 4 a day. What matters for profit is the break-even rate: unit cost ÷ what one sale brings in after fees. A $25 item that cost $8, on a platform that keeps 20% (Poshmark's rate at $15 and above, checked 2026-10-26), nets $20.00, so the lot breaks even at 40% sell-through and the 120 units sold have made $800.00 on all 200 units.
Calculate sell-through rate
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Opening stock plus units received in the period (or the size of the lot you bought).
Units sold in the same period, net of returns.
Used for the daily rate and the days to sell what is left.
What each unit cost you, landed (product, shipping to you, duty).
The average price a unit sells for.
The share the platform keeps, e.g. 20% on Poshmark at $15 and above. Use our fee calculators for the exact rate.
Optional: sold results for the item in the last 90 days, from eBay's sold listings or Product Research.
Optional: listings of the same item for sale now.
- Sell-through rate
- 60%
- Units left
- 80
- Units sold per day
- 4
- Days to sell the rest at this pace
- 20 days
- What one sale brings in after the fee
- $20.00
- Break-even sell-through rate
- 40%
- Profit so far (sales after fees − cost of all units)
- $800.00
- eBay-style sell-through: sold ÷ (sold + active)
- 60%
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The sell-through rate formula
Sell-through rate is the share of the stock you had that sold: units sold divided by units available, where units available is what you started the period with plus what you received during it. Retailers usually measure it weekly or monthly; a reseller can measure it per lot (a pallet, a thrift haul, a wholesale order).
With 200 units available and 120 sold in 30 days, the rate is 120 ÷ 200 = 60%. At 4 units a day, the 80 units left take another 20 days.
- Sell-through rate = units sold ÷ (opening stock + units received) × 100
- Units left = units available − units sold
- Days to sell the rest = units left ÷ (units sold ÷ days in the period)
- Some guides divide by opening stock only; if you received stock during the period, that overstates the rate.
Break-even sell-through: how much has to sell before a lot pays for itself
A high sell-through rate is not the same as a profit. What decides it is how much of the lot has to sell to pay back what you spent on all of it. Each sale brings in the price minus the platform's fee; divide the unit cost by that and you have the break-even sell-through rate. Everything sold above it is profit; anything you cannot sell is a loss you have already paid for.
At a 20% fee (Poshmark's rate at $15 and above), a $25 item nets $20.00. If it cost $8, the lot breaks even at 40%; if it cost $12, at 60%, and the last 40% of the lot is the whole profit.
| Lot | One sale after a 20% fee | Break-even sell-through | Profit at 60% sell-through (100 units) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost $4, price $15 | $12.00 | 33.3% | $320.00 |
| Cost $8, price $25 | $20.00 | 40% | $400.00 |
| Cost $12, price $25 | $20.00 | 60% | $0.00 |
| Cost $3.50, price $9.99 (flat $2.95 fee under $15) | $7.04 | 49.7% | $72.40 |
Break-even sell-through = unit cost ÷ (price after the platform fee). The last row uses Poshmark's flat $2.95 fee for sales under $15 (29.5% of $9.99) instead of 20%. Shipping labels, returns and your time are not included.
eBay sell-through rate (sold vs active listings)
Resellers use sell-through differently: not for their own stock, but to judge how fast an item sells on eBay before they buy it. eBay's Product Research tab in Seller Hub shows a sell-through rate for items sold in the last 90 days, but eBay does not publish the formula (help page checked 2026-10-28).
The common hand calculation is sold listings ÷ (sold + active listings). 45 sold and 30 active gives 45 ÷ 75 = 60%. Some resellers divide sold by active only (45 ÷ 30 = 150%); the two numbers are not comparable, so say which one you use. Count the same item, condition and period on both sides, and remember that one listing with quantity 10 counts once.
- eBay-style sell-through = sold listings ÷ (sold + active listings) × 100
- Sold ÷ active (the other version) above 100% means more sold than are listed now
- Compare the same search, condition and time window
What is a good sell-through rate?
There is no single good number: it depends on the period, the margin and how long you can wait. A one-month sell-through of 40% on a lot with a 33% break-even is a profit; 70% on a lot with a 60% break-even barely pays. Compare your rate with your own break-even rate and with the same item's rate in earlier periods, not with a number from another business.
For eBay-style rates, a higher share sold means faster turnover for that item. When the sold-listings count is small (a handful of results), the rate moves a lot with one sale, so look at the count as well as the percentage.
How to use sell-through to decide what to restock or mark down
Count units available and sold
For the period or the lot: opening stock plus units received, and units sold net of returns.
Work out the break-even rate
Divide the unit cost by the price after the platform fee.
Compare the two
Above break-even, the rest is profit; well below it with little time left, cut the price or bundle.
Before you buy, check the market's rate
Use sold vs active listings for the same item, and check prices on the marketplaces you sell on.
Questions
What is the sell-through rate formula?
Sell-through rate = units sold ÷ units available × 100, where units available is opening stock plus units received in the period. 120 sold out of 200 is 60%.
How do you calculate sell-through on eBay?
eBay's Product Research shows a sell-through rate for the last 90 days but does not publish its formula. By hand, resellers divide sold listings by sold plus active listings: 45 sold and 30 active is 60%. Some divide sold by active only (150% in the same example), so the two numbers are not comparable.
What is a good sell-through rate?
One above your break-even rate. Break-even sell-through = unit cost ÷ price after fees: a $25 item that cost $8 on a platform keeping 20% breaks even at 40%. A 60% rate on that lot is a profit; the same 60% on items that cost $12 only pays back the lot.
What is the difference between sell-through rate and inventory turnover?
Sell-through is the share of available units that sold in a period (a percentage). Inventory turnover is how many times the average inventory sold over a period, usually a year: cost of goods sold ÷ average inventory. Our reorder point calculator covers days of inventory on hand.
Does sell-through include returns?
Use units sold net of returns, so a returned unit counts as available again rather than sold.