Bought a box, a bundle or a wholesale lot? Split what it cost across the items, see what the whole lot should make, and the most it was worth paying.
| Item | Cost each | Profit |
|---|---|---|
| Jacket | £22.67 | £16.48 |
| Jeans × 3 | £9.07 | £19.78 |
| T-shirts × 6 | £3.02 | £13.19 |
Guide
If a £60 lot holds one £45 jacket and nine £6 T-shirts, an even split says each item cost £6, which makes the jacket look like a huge win and the T-shirts look like break-even. Splitting by expected selling price gives each item a share of the cost that matches its value, so every sale shows a fair profit.
Fuel, entry fees at a car boot, postage on the lot and buyer's premium at an auction are part of the cost. Add them as extra costs and they are shared out too.
Before you bid, add up what the items should sell for, take off selling fees, and halve it to double your money. That is the most the whole lot is worth to you, and the calculator shows it.
For tax you need to know what each item you sold cost you. A consistent split, kept from the day you buy, is far easier than reconstructing it at year end.
Either divide the total cost by the number of items (even split), or give each item a share in proportion to what it should sell for (value split). The value split is fairer when items are worth very different amounts.
Tax authorities expect a reasonable and consistent way of costing your stock. Splitting a bulk purchase by relative value is a common approach. Keep the receipt for the lot and the split you used.
Use the even split for now, or a rough estimate from recently sold listings. You can change the split later as long as you keep it consistent.
No. Leave out items with no resale value: their share of the cost goes to the items you sell, which is what really happened.
Enter a job lot once in ProfitClerk: it spreads the cost across the items, and every sale shows its true profit, even years later.
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