Pricing the same watch for different sales channels

Most dealers sell through more than one channel: a marketplace or two, their own site or social accounts, and other dealers. It's tempting to set one price per watch and post it everywhere. But each channel takes a different cut, so a single price produces a different profit depending on where the watch happens to sell, and on a costly channel that difference can be most of your margin.

Every channel takes a different cut

The costs vary more than people expect. For watches, eBay charges a final value fee that steps down as the price rises (a higher rate on the first part of the price and lower rates above set thresholds), plus a small per-order fee.^[1] Chrono24's published commission for private sellers is a flat 6.5% of the sale price.^[2] Selling from your own site has no marketplace fee, but card processing still costs something; Stripe's standard US online rate is 2.9% plus 30 cents per charge.^[3] And a trade sale to another dealer, paid by wire, may cost nothing beyond your bank's charge.

Those differences all come out of the same place: the gap between the sale price and what you keep.

Work back from the profit you want

The reliable way to price across channels is to decide the profit you need on a watch first, then work out the sale price each channel requires to deliver it. That turns a vague "list it at about this much" into a specific number per channel, and it shows you plainly what each one is costing you for the reach it provides.

A watch that cost you $6,240 in total ($6,000 paid, $200 of prep, $40 to ship it in), with $60 shipping and $40 insurance to send it on. You want $1,200 of profit whichever way it sells.

Dealer to dealer (wire, no fees)

$7,540.00

Your own site (card processing)

$7,765.50

Chrono24, private-seller commission

$8,064.18

eBay, tiered final value fee

$8,131.86

Each line is the sale price that leaves exactly $1,200 after that channel's costs. On eBay, the fee at that price comes to $591.46 plus the per-order fee. The same profit needs almost $600 more on the costliest channel than on a trade sale.

Compare channels in the calculator by switching the channel and watching the numbers move.

Figures are illustrative, not market data or verified fees. Run your own numbers in the calculator.

What to do with the numbers

Once you can see what each channel needs, a few strategies open up:

• Price per channel. List a little higher where the fees are higher, so every sale clears your target. Buyers comparing across platforms may notice, so keep the gaps defensible.
• Use the costly channel for reach, the cheap one for margin. A marketplace listing can bring the inquiry that closes as a direct sale, where your costs are lowest.
• Know your floor on each. When an offer comes in, you need to know the lowest price that still works on the channel it came through, not a single number that's only right on one of them.

Buyer protection and returns cost something too

Fees aren't the only difference between channels. Marketplaces set their own rules on buyer protection, returns, and disputes, and those rules shape what a sale can cost you after the fact: a return you have to accept, return shipping you may pay for, or a watch tied up while a claim is resolved. A direct sale puts those terms in your hands, for better or worse. When you compare channels, weigh how often sales there tend to come back, not just the fee on the ones that don't.

Keep the rates current

Marketplace fees change, and promotions, store subscriptions, and payment choices can all move what you actually pay. Treat any published rate, including the ones above, as a starting point and check it against your own recent statements. The right channel price is only as good as the fee you plug into it. The channel fees guide covers each platform's costs in more detail.

Choosing where to sell compares the channels themselves, and cross-listing covers using several at once.