Postage
Working out profit when the buyer pays postage
"The buyer pays postage" sounds like postage can't affect your profit. In practice it often does — through fees, under-charging, packaging and size bands. The right way to record it depends on whether the postage money actually passes through you.
5 min read · Updated 31 October 2026
Two common ways postage works
Platforms handle postage differently, and the options can change over time, so check what happens on your own sales. Broadly, there are two patterns:
- Postage is paid to you. The buyer pays you for the item plus postage, and you pay the carrier yourself. The postage money is part of your revenue, and your label is a cost. Depending on the platform, fees may be worked out on the total including postage.
- Postage is paid through the platform. The buyer pays for postage at checkout and you're given a prepaid label. The postage money never reaches you, so it's neither revenue nor cost for you — but packaging and any drop-off travel still are.
Pattern 1: postage paid to you
Treat the buyer's postage payment as income and your label as an expense. If you charge less than the label costs, you're quietly subsidising every sale.
- Item price
- £18.00
- Postage charged to buyer
- £3.50
- Gross revenue
- £21.50
- Fees charged to you (from your sale record)
- −£2.80
- Postage label you bought
- −£3.10
- Packaging
- −£0.25
- What you paid for the item
- −£4.00
- Sale profit (before overheads and tax)
- £11.35
The £2.80 fee is a placeholder, not a real eBay or Vinted rate.
Pattern 2: postage paid through the platform
Leave postage out of both sides. In the RSUK Profit Calculator, enter £0 for postage charged and £0 for your postage cost, and record packaging separately.
- Item price
- £18.00
- Postage (paid by buyer to the platform)
- not your money
- Gross revenue
- £18.00
- Fees charged to you (check your payout)
- −£0.00
- Packaging
- −£0.25
- What you paid for the item
- −£4.00
- Sale profit (before overheads and tax)
- £13.75
Fees shown as £0 for illustration. Always use the figures from your own sale.
Traps that eat into postage
- Size and weight bands: a chunky knit or a pair of boots can tip a parcel into the next band. Weigh and measure the packed parcel before you set the postage price.
- Packaging: mailing bags, boxes and tape add up over a month. Track them.
- Fees on postage: on some platforms, fees apply to the whole amount the buyer pays. Check your fee breakdown.
- Returns: if you accept returns or a sale goes wrong, return postage may come out of your pocket.
- Drop-off trips: if you drive to a drop-off point, that's a real cost of selling.
Try it with your own numbers
Free, no sign-up, nothing stored.
Take it further
Track postage properly on every sale
The Profit & Records Kit separates buyer-paid postage, your postage and fees on every sale, and shows the profit on each one.