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whatnot live show break-even calculator

Giveaways, boosts and supplies are spent before the first bid. See how many orders cover them, how many more pay your hours, and whether you're on pace.

What you sell

Region

Where most of the night's orders land. Coins and pallets pay 4%.

$
%

Average item cost as a share of its price.

%

Share of orders refunded. Assumes the item is gone.

%

Processing applies to the tax too.

Shipping

$

Processing applies to it.

What the show costs
$
$

You pay it. Giveaways carry no fees.

$

Charged after the show, outside the weekly report.

$

Packaging, sleeves, the pizza.

Your time
h
$

What an hour should earn after everything. 0 for break-even.

During the show

Enter orders so far to see the pace you need.

Orders to break even

7

Covers $62.00 of giveaways, boosts and supplies at $8.86 an order. Then 9 more to earn $75.00 for 3 hours.

Orders to target
16
Per hour needed
5.3/hr
Gross needed
$320.00
Net per order
$8.86
Fixed costs
$62.00
Margin per order
44.3%

What the orders have to cover

  • Giveaways$32.00
  • Boosts$20.00
  • Supplies$10.00
  • Target profit$75.00
  • To cover$137.00

The average order

Sale price
$20.00
Commission and processing (13.3%)
-$2.67
Cost of goods (40%)
-$8.00
Net if paid
$9.33
Refund allowance (2%)
-$0.47
Expected net per order
$8.86

Giveaways look free on the slip.

They carry no commission or processing. Each one still costs the item plus the label, taken from your balance when it runs. Give away more than you sell and the balance goes negative. The calculator books every giveaway as a fixed cost your paying orders cover first.

$89

Owed to whatnot by one seller after a night of giveaways and no sales.

How it is computed

One average order at published fees, divided into the night's upfront costs.

payout        = price - commission - processing - label_you_pay
net_if_paid   = payout - cost_of_goods              cost_of_goods = price x cogs%
refund_loss   = buyer_shipping + processing + label_you_pay + cost_of_goods
expected_net  = (1 - refund%) x net_if_paid - refund% x refund_loss

fixed_costs   = giveaways x (item + label) + boosts + supplies
target_profit = hours x target_per_hour

break_even    = ceil(fixed_costs / expected_net)
target_orders = ceil((fixed_costs + target_profit) / expected_net)

Fees use your region and category: 8% commission (4% for coins and pallets, 6.67% in the UK and EU) and 2.9% + $0.30 processing on everything the buyer paid. Orders round up: you can't sell half a card.

Questions sellers ask

What counts as a fixed cost for a show?
Anything you spend whether or not an order comes in: giveaway items and labels, boosts, packaging, the pizza. Inventory is booked per order as cost of goods, since you keep what doesn't sell.
Why does a giveaway cost more than the label?
The item is gone too, and nothing offsets it. A $3 pack with a $5 label is an $8 marketing spend, taken from your balance when the giveaway runs. Four a show is $32 your first paying orders must earn back.
Where do boosts show up?
In the Ledger and the monthly statement. Boosts, full-show promotions and Community Boosts hit your balance after the show, and the Weekly Orders Report leaves them out. Type your planned spend here.
How are refunds modelled?
Each refund reverses the payout and bills back the buyer's shipping and processing. The label is spent and the item is assumed gone. The refund rate spreads that loss over every order: 2% on $20 sales takes a few cents off each and adds a couple of orders to break-even.
Why profit per hour?
Your night is the scarce input. Profit per hour after everything tells you if Tuesday is worth repeating. Set the target to what your time earns elsewhere, and the calculator gives you the pace.
The result says Never. What now?
An average order loses money before any giveaway: fees, label and cost of goods exceed the price. Raise the average sale, move heavier items to buyer-paid shipping, or cut the cost share. More orders only lose faster.
Do tips count?
Tips are 100% yours, and the buyer pays the processing. The model leaves them out because you can't plan on them. Count them as upside.
How do I know my real average sale and refund rate?
From the Weekly Orders Report. Drop last week's file into the report analyzer for average sale, refund count and giveaway labels per show. Open the report analyzer.
Does the category matter?
Yes. Coins and pallets pay 4% commission instead of 8%. UK and EU pay 6.67% plus VAT, with 2.42% processing. The $1,500 cap only matters on big-ticket singles. Pick the category most orders will be in.
Does paying shipping myself change the answer?
Yes. Seller-paid shipping puts the whole label on you. A $7.75 label on a $20 sale takes the net from about $9 to under $2 and multiplies the orders you need. With a cap, the buyer pays up to the cap and you eat the rest. Switch the policy above to see the count change.

Plan the night, then see what happened.

whatROI reads the Weekly Orders Report and books giveaways, labels, refunds and boosts against each show. The next morning you see real profit per streamed hour.

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Fee schedule checked September 2026. Not affiliated with whatnot. Results are estimates. Your Weekly Orders Report and statements are the record.

The math, explained

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