Launch & growth
A new listing doesn't earn anything until it has stock, reviews and a ranking, and you pay for all three before the first real month of profit. This adds them up so you know the number before you place the order. Everything runs in your browser; nothing you enter leaves this page.
Where the budget goes
biggest first
Compare scenarios
change one thing, keep everything else
By price
| Price | Inventory | Reviews | Ranking | Budget | Payback |
|---|
Your current value is in red. Payback = budget ÷ monthly profit goal, in months at goal pace.
Tap any in the calculator to jump to its explanation here.
What you enter
What the customer pays for one unit. Price sets everything else here: what a launch unit costs, how many units you need, and what stock costs.
↑ back to the calculatorThe share of the price you keep after product cost, marketplace fees, fulfillment and ads. A $20 item that leaves you $6 is a 30% margin.
Not sure? The return cost calculator works out profit per order.
↑ back to the calculatorWhat the listing should make each month once it's ranked and selling steadily. The calculator works backward from it: goal ÷ (price × margin) is the number of units you need to sell each month.
↑ back to the calculatorHow many reviews the listing needs before shoppers pick it over the listings around it. Look at the first page for your main keyword: if the sellers there have 300–1,000 reviews, 20 won't hold up.
↑ back to the calculatorModerate is the model I've used: product cost at 30% of price, two months of stock, 40% of launch buyers reviewing, launch units counted at full price, and one month of target revenue for the ranking push.
Aggressive is a lean budget that assumes the launch goes well. Defensive plans for slow reviews, a longer climb and more stock. Change any assumption and it becomes Custom; your custom numbers are remembered in this browser.
↑ back to the calculatorWhat one unit costs to make and land in stock (product, packaging, freight, duty) as a share of the sale price. 25–35% is common for private label on Amazon.
↑ back to the calculatorHow much your first order covers, counted in months of goal-pace sales. Running out while the listing is climbing costs you the rank you paid for, so most launches order at least two months.
↑ back to the calculatorOf the units you move through launch programs, how many come back as reviews. 40% means 2.5 launch units per review. Amazon Vine usually does better; ordinary discounted sales do much worse, often in the low single digits.
Stay inside marketplace rules: Vine and Early-Reviewer-style programs are allowed; paying for or requiring reviews is not.
↑ back to the calculatorWhat each launch unit costs you beyond the product itself: the coupon, deep discount or free unit, as a share of the price. 100% counts each one as a full-price giveaway, which is the cautious way to budget it. The product cost of these units is already in inventory.
↑ back to the calculatorAd spend and promotions to move the listing up to where it sells at goal pace, measured in months of your target revenue (goal ÷ margin). One month is a reasonable starting point; crowded categories take longer.
↑ back to the calculatorWhat you get
Inventory plus early reviews plus the ranking push: the cash to have on hand before the listing earns its goal. Below it you'll see how many months of goal profit it takes to earn it back.
↑ back to the calculatorProduct cost for your first order: the months of stock you chose at goal pace, plus the launch units used for reviews.
↑ back to the calculatorLaunch units needed (reviews ÷ review rate) × price × launch discount. This is usually the biggest piece, and the one most launches underestimate.
↑ back to the calculatorYour target monthly revenue × the months of ranking push. It grows with your goal: a bigger goal means a higher rank to reach, and a higher rank costs more to get to.
↑ back to the calculator