What is landed cost?

Landed cost is the total it costs to get an item into your hands, ready to resell. It's your winning bid + buyer's premium + sales tax + shipping or freight (or pickup cost) + any repairs — the single most important number to compute before you bid, because it's what you compare against resale value.

The formula

Everything except the winning bid is easy to forget, and every one of them comes out of your margin. On surplus lots the two that surprise people most are the buyer's premium and logistics (freight or the fuel and time on a pickup-only lot).

Why it's the number that matters

Your profit is resale value − landed cost − resale fees. If you bid against an item's retail price and only add up the costs afterward, a "bargain" can quietly become a loss. Compute landed cost first, compare it to real sold comps, and set a maximum bid that keeps the gap positive.

Related terms

Buyer's premium · Sold comps · Profit gap · Full glossary