How to track resale fees, refunds, and returns
A sale is more than the price on the listing. Marketplace fees, payment fees, shipping, packaging, refunds, and returns all change what you keep. Recording each one once, in the right place, keeps the profit for every sale accurate.
Before you record a sale
Open the marketplace's sale details or payout summary before you enter anything. Note the price the buyer paid, any shipping the buyer paid, each fee the marketplace charged, your own shipping and packaging costs, and any refund or return that has happened so far. Then choose the sale type that matches what the statement shows.
Choose how to record the sale
FlipKeep records a sale in one of three ways:
- A gross sale without costs. Use it when you only need to record the price.
- A gross sale with costs. Enter the price the buyer paid, then add each cost you paid to complete the sale.
- A net payout. Enter the final amount the marketplace paid you. Its fees are already deducted, so do not enter them again. You can still add seller shipping, packaging, and other costs that the payout did not include.
Record each cost once
In a gross sale, you can record these costs:
- Marketplace fee
- Payment fee
- Seller shipping
- Packaging
- Seller tax
- Other cost
Each seller expense reduces profit once. If the buyer paid for shipping, record it as buyer shipping instead. It increases what you received, so it is not a cost.
Use fee presets for your own rates
A fee preset stores the rates you use on a platform: a marketplace percentage, a fixed marketplace fee, and an optional payment percentage. When you apply a preset, FlipKeep fills in the fee fields, and you can change them before you save.
Fee presets are your own numbers, not official schedules. FlipKeep does not download fee tables from marketplaces, so update a preset when a platform changes its rates. Check the final fee on each sale against the statement the marketplace gives you.
Track partial refunds
A partial refund returns part of what the buyer paid. Record it against the sale. You can record more than one partial refund, but the total cannot exceed the proceeds that remain. The item stays sold, and the original sale stays in the history.
Track full returns
A full return sends the sale back. When you record one, choose what happens to the item:
- Back to In Stock. The item can be sold again.
- Removed, or damaged and removed. The item leaves available inventory. Damaged items need a short reason note.
Return costs are handled separately. Return shipping, repairs, and restocking are seller costs, and they reduce profit. If the marketplace or payment provider gives back a fee on the return, record the recovered amount, because it increases the result. Fees you do not recover stay as recorded on the original sale, so FlipKeep does not subtract them twice.
After a return, the item can be sold again. FlipKeep then records a new sale and keeps the original sale, the return, and the later sale in the history.
A worked example
This example uses made-up numbers. You bought an item with an allocated cost of 40.00 and sold it for 100.00. The buyer paid 8.00 for shipping. The marketplace fee was 13.00, you paid 8.00 for shipping, and packaging cost 1.00.
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sale price | 100.00 |
| Add buyer-paid shipping | 8.00 |
| Subtract marketplace fee | 13.00 |
| Subtract seller shipping | 8.00 |
| Subtract packaging | 1.00 |
| Subtract item cost | 40.00 |
| Realized profit | 46.00 |
Suppose the buyer later receives a partial refund of 20.00. Realized profit falls to 26.00 once that refund has been paid out.
Common questions
Should I record the gross price or the net payout?
Use the mode that matches what you see. If the marketplace shows the amount paid to you after its fees, use a net payout. If you want to see each fee separately, use a gross sale. Recorded correctly, both methods give the same profit.
Does a pending refund count?
No. A pending refund does not change the result until the money has been returned.
What happens to the original sale after a return?
It stays in the history. FlipKeep records the return separately, and any later sale of the same item is recorded as a new sale.
Do returns change my inventory?
A partial refund leaves the item sold. A full return sends the item back to In Stock or removes it, depending on the option you choose.
Track your next flip in FlipKeep
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