Max Buy
How to calculate the max buy price on a watch (with a worked example)
The max buy is the most you can pay and still hit your profit target. Here's the formula and a worked example.
Max buy price is the single most important number in flipping. It's the most you can pay for a watch and still hit your minimum profit after every cost. Decide it before you negotiate, and a lowball that beats it becomes an easy yes while anything above it becomes an easy no.
The formula
Max buy = expected sold price − marketplace fee (includes payment processing on eBay managed payments) − shipping & insurance − authentication (if any) − return reserve − service reserve − minimum profit.
Each subtraction is a real cost or a real risk you're pricing in. The reserves matter most: they're the money you set aside for the deals that go sideways, funded by the deals that don't.
A worked example
Say your sold comps put the realistic sale price at $1,800. On eBay, the final value fee applies to the full order — item, shipping charged to the buyer, and sales tax — so the real tiered fee comes to roughly $213 (not the flat 15% on the item alone that many guides quote). Add $35 shipping and insurance, a $54 return reserve (~3%), a $108 service reserve (~6%), and a $200 minimum profit target. Note: managed payments is included in the final value fee; there is no separate processing charge.
That leaves a max buy of roughly $1,190. If the seller is asking $1,000, you have room and a cushion. If they want $1,300, the deal doesn't clear — and no amount of excitement about the watch changes that. Walk, or renegotiate to your number.
Let the tool do the arithmetic
Doing this by hand for every lead is where flippers get lazy and overpay. Pro Wrist Flipper's Max Buy page runs the full cost stack from your comps and your selling channel, so the number is in front of you before you message a seller.
Frequently asked questions
What is a max buy price?
It's the highest price you can pay for a watch and still earn your minimum profit after all fees, shipping, reserves, and risk. It turns buying into a yes/no decision instead of a gut call.
How do you calculate max buy price on a watch?
Take your expected sold price (from sold comps) and subtract the marketplace fee (on eBay this covers payment processing too — no separate line), shipping and insurance, any authentication cost, a return reserve, a service reserve, and your minimum profit. What's left is your max buy.
What is a return reserve and why include it?
A return reserve is money set aside to cover the cost of a return or a partial refund. Including it (commonly a few percent of the sale) means one reversal doesn't wipe out the profit from the flip.
Should I ever pay above my max buy?
Almost never. The max buy already contains your profit and your risk cushion. Paying above it means betting that comps, fees, or your hold time will all break in your favor — which is how small bankrolls get wiped out.
Run the math before you buy.
Pro Wrist Flipper turns sold comps into a safe max buy, cleaner listings, and honest profit review.
Open the Flip Desk →