How to Price Your Products in Rand (and Still Make Money)

Most small shops price too low because they forget the costs that aren't on the receipt. A simple way to work out your real cost, your margin and a price that holds up, VAT included.

The most common pricing mistake we see isn't charging too much. It's charging too little, because the price only covers the stock. Then delivery, fees, packaging and your own time eat the profit, and a busy month somehow leaves you with less money.

Here's a simple way to price properly.

Step 1: Work out your real cost per item

Add up everything it takes to sell one unit:

Materials or stock. What you paid for it, including your own delivery to get it.
Packaging. Box, tissue, tape, a sticker, a thank-you card.
Payment fees. Your payment provider's fee on the sale.
Platform fees. On ShopEazy that's 3.5% of each online sale on Starter, 2.8% on Growth and 2.1% on Scale.
Your time. If it takes you an hour to make, that hour has a price.

Delivery is separate: most shops charge it at checkout. If you offer free delivery, add it to the cost here.

Step 2: Choose your margin

Margin is the share of the price you keep after costs.

Price = cost ÷ (1 − margin)

For a R120 cost and a 50% margin: R120 ÷ 0.5 = R240.

A 50% margin sounds greedy until you remember it has to pay for your rent, your phone, your plan, your marketing and the stock that doesn't sell. Handmade and boutique goods often need more. Reselling goods, less.

Don't confuse margin with markup. Adding 50% to R120 gives R180, which is only a 33% margin.

Step 3: Check it against the market

Look at what similar products sell for. If you're much cheaper, people may assume it's worse quality. If you're much dearer, your photos, story and service have to show why.

Step 4: Make the price look right

Round to a clean number. R249 or R250 both work; R247.38 doesn't.
Charm pricing works, within reason. R199 reads cheaper than R200.
Bundle to lift the order value: three for R600 instead of R220 each.
Use a compare-at price honestly, only when the item really sold for more before.

VAT: when it applies and how to show it

If your business is registered for VAT, the prices you advertise must include VAT at 15%, and you should say so. Showing a price "excl. VAT" on its own doesn't comply. Once your taxable sales pass R2.3 million in 12 months, you must register. See Starting to sell from home.

To find the VAT inside a VAT-inclusive price, divide by 115 and multiply by 15. R230 includes R30 VAT.

Not registered? Don't add VAT and don't show "incl. VAT". Your price is simply your price.

Step 5: Review every few months

Costs change. Load-shedding, courier price rises and supplier increases all creep in. Every quarter:

Recalculate your real cost per item.
Check your best sellers still make the margin you want.
Look at what's not selling. Is it the price, or the product?

Tools that help

In ShopEazy, add what each product costs you under Cost to you and the product shows your margin as you set the price. Your best sellers are in Insights.