Maths question

A[L]C

A[L]C

A[L]C

Soldato
Joined
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Maidenhead
Hi all,

I can't for the life of me work out what the calculation for these would be.

1) If you purchased an item and you want to sell it, but the selling fee is 5%, how do you calculate what is the minimum price you should sell it for to break even?

2) Knowing the selling fee is 5%, based on an identified selling price, what is the highest price you should buy at to make a profit.

Thanks
 
I don't think so... using that, if an item was 1200, *1.05 = 1260, but if you sold for that you'd only get 1197.
 
This sounds like somebody's maths homework, but I'll answer with an explanation so that you understand why. ;)

Break even is where the selling price minus 5% equals the purchase price. So lets call P the purchase price and S the selling price. Now we can put it in a formula:

S - 0.05S = P
(0.05 is 5%)​

Lets simplify that:

0.95S = P
(1S minus 0.05S = 0.95S.)​

Lets put it in the terms you want by putting the numbers on the other side. Which we do by dividing both sides:

S = P/0.95.​

So there you have it. Your break even selling price is the purchase price divided by 0.95. So if you bought something for £100, your selling price would have to be £105.26 not to lose money.

EDIT: Let me know if any of that isn't clear and I'll happily explain any of those steps in more detail. If you have understood it properly, then you already know the answer to your second question.
 
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Aedus said:
Item cost * 1.05, no? Or am I being really stupid? Seems too easy.
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This is incorrect, because the 5% should be worked out from the selling price, not the buying price.

So this would be wrong:

Minimum sale price = Item Cost x 1.05

because you are working out percentage from buying price, whereas it should be worked out from selling price.

This would be right:

0.95 x Sale Price = Buy Price

because you are working out percentage from selling price.

At least I think that's right!!
 
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Greebo said:
Aw you gave him your working out..................:p
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Well, if this is someone's homework assignment, just giving them the answer is actively harmful long-term. If they're just curious, then the working out is what they're really after. And if they're trying to become a market trader then they need all the help they can get. ;)

You'll note I declined to answer the second question. If they've understood the answer to the first they already know it. If they don't know it, then they haven't understood what's been given so far.
 
Thanks. I'm messing around with trading in Fifa, so not homework :D. Workings is great as that's what I needed to put it in excel.
 
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A[L]C said:
Lol indeed you have. Not that I've spent the morning getting excel to scrape futbin for the current lowest player prices :o
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I need to find a way to gamify over-throwing governments or colonising Mars, or something... :)
 
H4rm0ny was right, but people with no maths ability will probably not get it. :D

The simple explination is divide your cost price by your % cut(so in this case the 95%), then multiple by 100 to achive the break even price.
This was the basics for selling on ebay when you have all sorts of fees and postage costs to check. Ebay fees and paypal fees on top.
And buying and selling items on WOW AH. :D
 
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