Three pricing mistakes the numbers expose
Most pricing errors are not about the product. They come from applying one figure to a catalogue where the cost, the route and the payment method all change the answer.
2 min read · Kairós Shop, Portugal
Pricing from the average
The catalogue average cost is €56.56. A common shortcut is to add a quarter: €56.56 × 1.25 = €70.70, rounded to €70. At €70 a Free plan fee is €2.50 and Portuguese online shipping €5.15, so €70 − €56.56 − €2.50 − €5.15 = €5.79.
That is 8.3% of the price, before advertising, packaging or tax. The shortcut fails not because the markup is small but because it ignores two costs that do not scale with the product.
One price for every route
Shipping ranges from €4.83, inside Spain and paid online, to €7.48 from Spain to Portugal with cash on delivery. The difference is €2.65 per order, 8.8% of a €30 sale and 3.8% of a €70 one.
If you publish a single price and sell into both countries with both payment methods, you are accepting the worst case in the price and losing margin in the best. Decide which routes you actually support, then price for those.
Treating a €10 item like a €30 item
The minimum fee of €2.50 is 25% of a €10 sale, 8.3% of a €30 sale and 3.6% of a €70 sale. Add €5.15 of Portuguese online shipping and a €10 order leaves €2.35 before the product cost, against €22.35 on a €30 order.
The bands make this concrete: 18,319 of the 57,707 products cost under €10, and those are the ones where a fixed fee takes the largest share. Price them with the fee as a percentage in front of you, not as an afterthought.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I add to the average cost?
There is no rule here, only arithmetic: add the fee, the shipping of your route and the margin you want, then check the result against similar listings. On a €56.56 item, €70 leaves €5.79 after fee and Portuguese online shipping.
Should the price be the same in Portugal and Spain?
The shipping is not the same, so the same price means a different margin: €22.35 in Portugal paid online against €21.05 from Spain to Portugal. A single price is a choice with a cost, not a neutral default.
How do I price a product under €10?
Start from the fee: €2.50 is a quarter of a €10 sale. Add the shipping of the route and the product cost, and the price usually has to sit above the band or the item has to travel in a basket with something else.
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