How much can you really earn with products under 10 euros?
"You're not making any money with those prices" is the phrase we hear most often, and it's doubly wrong: it miscalculates the margin and it miscalculates the time. An item under €10 has a higher margin percentage than almost everything else in the store, and above all turnHere's the full count, with the actual numbers from our catalog.
The account on one piece
You pay 2 euros for an item. You display it at 5.90 including VAT, which net of VAT makes 4.84. The margin is 2.84 euros per item, that is, 59% of the net selling priceWith a full three-times markup (exposed at 7.20), it rises to 67%. These are percentages that are almost never seen above 20 euros: the more the item costs, the more the markup compresses, because the customer knows its value.
The count on time, which counts more
The margin per item doesn't pay the rent: it's the margin per meter of shelf space over the year. Twenty three-euro items that come out in a week yield more than one sixty-euro item that comes out in three months, given the same amount of space. The right question isn't "How much do I make on this?" but "How many times a year does this shelf get emptied and refilled?" The range under ten euros is the most volatile, which is why it supports small shops, where every meter has to work.
The capital that you don't tie up
Con articoli sotto i 3 euro all'ingrosso, 150 euro di ordine ti danno decine di referenze da provare. La stessa cifra su prodotti da 20 euro ti da' sette pezzi e nessuna informazione. Comprare basso e frequente vuol dire che l'errore costa quanto una prova: se una referenza non gira la sconti e chiudi, senza esserci rimasto sotto. È il modo in cui abbiamo imparato a gestire i nostri negozi, dopo esserci rimasti sotto abbastanza volte.
Where the margin is lost, when it is lost
Three points, always the same. First: the calculation based on the price including VAT—the true profit is the price divided by 1.22. Second: invisible costs—shipping, labeling and repair time, breakages, end-of-season sales—these aren't insignificant costs on low-priced products. Third: the wrong price range—an item at 5.40 sells less than the same one at 4.90, and at that point the margin is eaten up by the end-of-season discount. Choose the price range first, then check that the markup is appropriate.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is it better to have a few expensive products or many cheap ones?
It depends on your traffic, but in a local store, the low-end segment almost always wins: more receipts, higher turnover, less idle capital. Expensive items make sense as window displays, few and far between.
Is 67% margin realistic?
It's simple: with a markup three times the price you pay, the margin on the net selling price (including VAT) is 67%. What varies are the management costs, which depend on your store, not the product.
How do I know how much to top up?
Each listing in the dedicated catalog already contains the recommended retail price. This helps you see the margin BEFORE ordering, not after the shelf is full.