A practical workflow
Follow the guide step by step
- 01
Estimate monthly sales
Use rank history, competitor sales signals, and your own data to estimate how many units sell each month.
- 02
Calculate days of supply
Divide your planned quantity by monthly sales to find how long the stock will last.
- 03
Add storage cost
Multiply the expected hold time by the storage assumption for the unit size.
- 04
Consider cash tied up
A slow seller delays the return of cash you could reinvest.
- 05
Reduce the quantity
If supply exceeds your target, order fewer units or negotiate smaller lots.
Why slow sellers erode profit
Storage costs accrue until the unit sells, and bigger units cost more to hold. A product with a decent margin on a fast sale can have little left after several months.
Margin Seller includes hold-period storage and seller-entered sell-through in the estimate, so the result reflects how long you expect to hold stock.
Hold-time rules
Set a maximum hold time for each product type and size your orders so the expected months of cover stays within it.
Review aging stock on a regular schedule and decide whether to discount, remove, or keep holding it.
Set a hold-time rule
Decide the longest hold time you accept for a product type, then size orders to that limit.
Review aging stock regularly and decide whether to discount, remove, or continue holding it, using the same profit threshold you applied when you bought. Treat the result as a planning estimate, and confirm current marketplace rules and fees before you place an order.
- Set a maximum hold time.
- Order to expected sell-through.
- Review aging inventory on a schedule.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
How much stock should I buy?
Start with a quantity you expect to sell within your target hold time, then reorder after seeing real sales.
Where does sell-through data come from?
You enter it from your own research; Margin Seller does not retrieve seller-account or sales data.
How does storage time affect profit?
Every month adds storage cost and delays cash.
Ready to check a listing?
Put the assumptions to work.
Bring the visible listing facts and your own costs into a product audit before you commit to inventory.