Simulator: your net margin per item kept, returns included
How much do you really make on an item sold, once the commission, advertising, shipping and the round trips of returned items are paid for? This simulator does the calculation with your figures. The pre-filled values are an example, to be replaced with yours.
What the simulator calculates To keep one item at a return rate r, it takes on average 1 / (1 − r) shipments and r / (1 − r) returns. At a 50% return rate, each item kept has needed two shipments and one return. Every cost per shipment and per return is therefore brought back to the item the customer actually keeps. It is this net margin that should be compared from one channel and one country to another, not the return rate alone.
Your figures
20% in France, 19% in Germany. €
Fee tables recorded on 13 October 2026 from the official seller pages. For Amazon, Otto, About You and Allegro, the rate depends on the price after discount and is recalculated when you change it. Not included: About You payment fees (not published), Etsy’s $0.20 per listing, subscriptions. % of the price incl. VAT
Enter 0 for your own site. The calculation assumes the commission is refunded on returns; if your marketplace keeps part of it, increase the cost per return. €
Order fees, payment fees, subscription spread per sale. € per shipment € per return
Enter 0 if the customer pays for the return. € per return
Published order of magnitude for transport and processing only: €2.85 per item (Bamberg, 2021), excluding loss of value. % of items
Yours, by channel and by country. See our measurements below. % of net revenue ordered
Returned orders were paid for in advertising too: the calculation takes this into account. %
The result
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The same product at different return rates
All your settings are kept; only the return rate changes. This is the row that shows why a low-priced product does not survive a channel with many returns.
How to read the result
Net margin per item kept is what remains once the customer has kept the item. If it is negative, every sale costs you money, even when revenue is growing.
The maximum discount is the promotion beyond which you sell at a loss, given your returns. It is calculated before the sales, not after.
The minimum price shows the effect of the product's value: shipping, return and processing costs are fixed per shipment, so they weigh much more on a €30 item than on a €150 item. The higher a channel's return rate, the more only high value-added products stay profitable there.
Our measurements for the return rate
Over the twelve months to 13 October 2026, a fashion brand we work with, sold on its own site and on a fashion marketplace, saw an average of 21.3% of its items returned on its own site and 72.3% on the marketplace. The breakdown by country is in our article on return rates by country and by channel.
The limits of this calculation It is an average model, per item: it replaces neither your accounts nor a product-by-product analysis. It assumes the commission is refunded on returns and advertising is proportional to revenue ordered. The fee tables offered are those published on 13 October 2026; your contract may set other rates. No data you enter leaves your browser.
FAQ
How many shipments does it take to sell one item at a 50% return rate?
Two shipments and one return on average. With a return rate r, an item kept requires 1 / (1 − r) shipments: 1.25 at 20%, 1.43 at 30%, 2 at 50%, 3.33 at 70%.
Why do low-priced products cope badly with returns?
Because shipping, returns and processing cost roughly the same whatever the price of the item, and they multiply with the number of round trips. On a high value-added item, they remain a small share of the price; on a low-priced item, they can exceed the margin.
Is the data I enter stored?
No. The calculation runs in your browser; nothing is sent or kept.
Can Dotsland help me do this calculation by product and by channel?
Yes. We rebuild with you the margin per order once returns are deducted, channel by channel. Get in touch.