01Returned
eBay
Sold 2 September
Returned 4 September
After the return−£8.00
A WORKED EXAMPLE
Sold four times.
Still a £17 loss.
The final sale looked profitable. The full history tells a different story.
See how one coat’s purchase, returns and resale fit together. Every record below is fictional and available to download.
NAVY WOOL COAT
COAT-001Original purchase cost£10.00
Three returned sales−£24.00
Final sale, after its costs+£7.00
Profit across all four sales
−£17.00Same coat. Original cost counted once.
Calculated from the downloadable records
FICTIONAL DATA
Snapshot on 19 October 2026
GBP workspace One physical item per SKU
ONE ITEM, ONE CONTINUOUS RECORD
A return is part of the sale.
The refund does not erase the fees or postage. Restocking keeps the same item and the same original purchase cost.
02Returned
eBay
Sold 6 September
Returned 8 September
After the return−£8.00
03Returned
eBay
Sold 10 September
Returned 12 September
After the return−£8.00
04Kept by buyer
Vinted
Sold 14 September
No return recorded
After the £10 purchase cost+£7.00
−£8−£8−£8£7−£17
Check the amounts behind these results
Each returned sale
- Item price and customer shipping
- £22.00
- Marketplace fees
- −£2.00
- Outbound postage
- −£3.00
- Refund to customer
- −£22.00
- Fee credit received
- +£1.00
- Return postage
- −£4.00
- Loss on this attempt
- −£8.00
The coat returned to stock. Its £10 purchase cost remains with the item.
The final sale
- Item price and customer shipping
- £22.00
- Marketplace fees
- −£2.00
- Outbound postage
- −£3.00
- Original purchase cost
- −£10.00
- Profit on this attempt
- £7.00
This is the retained sale. The original purchase cost is charged here, once.
PURCHASED TOGETHER
One £30 lot.
Three separate items.
Each item keeps its share of the purchase cost. Split equally or enter your own exact allocations in the full tool.
£10 + £8 + £12 = £30
Navy wool coat
COAT-001
£10.00Oxford shirt
SHIRT-002
£8.00Denim jacket
DENIM-003
£12.00THE REST OF THE PICTURE
See what is still on the shelf.
Original purchase age stays visible after a return. Unknown costs remain unknown.
All five items
Age on 19 October 2026
| Item | Status | Days since purchase | Purchase cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navy wool coatCOAT-001 | Sold | 79 | £10.00 |
| Oxford shirtSHIRT-002 | Sold | 79 | £8.00 |
| Vintage denim jacketDENIM-003 | Returned · not restocked | 79 | £12.00 |
| Silk scarfSCARF-004 | In stock | 110 | Unknown |
| Cream knit jumperKNIT-005 | In stock | 101 | £6.50 |
02
Items still in stock£6.50 of known purchase cost, plus the scarf with its cost still unknown.
Listings still need a checkThe coat sold on Vinted, but its record still lists eBay. The tool flags this. It does not remove the listing for you.
THE COMPLETE DEMO
£3.50 came back.
£30 of purchase cost stayed sold.
The coat contributes a £17 loss. The other bundle sale contributes a £9.50 loss, including a damaged return that cannot be restocked.
Profit across the demo−£26.50
All five sale records and four returns included
CHECK IT YOURSELF
The records are yours to inspect.
Download the fictional inputs and the expected results. No checkout or account needed.
Free worked sample
One JSON inventory backup, expected results, the coat’s history and four CSV reports.
Sample data only. The paid application is not included.USE YOUR OWN RECORDS
A stock tracker.
Not another subscription.
Record purchases, allocate lots, sell items together, handle returns and keep a continuous item history. Download the application and use it in your browser.
- Your records stay in the browser tab
- Save and reopen your own JSON backups
- Export stock, sales, returns and history as CSV
- One currency per workspace, with no conversion
$19
One-time purchase · USD
View the full tool on ContraManual records. No marketplace connection or automatic listing changes. Not a tax or VAT calculation tool.