What percent do you markup off the shelf parts & retail items on average?

[FatCat]

Specifically, I am wondering if everyone uses a flat percentage across the board or does it vary based on the item? Common items used in conjunction with signs that we aren't making - such as realtor frames, fence posts, yard sign stakes, bags of concrete, etc...

 

[Gino]

At least double it.

 

[Billct2]

Varies according to the item. Like a bag of concrete is cheap, but we have to spend the time to pick it up. Something that gets delivered to our shop by a vendor doesn't have any added cost. And more expensive an items can be way more profitable with a smaller percentage mark up.

 

[WhiskeyDreamer]

Double the cost. And when quoting a full job (design, sign, install), I tack on an extra 12% to the sign cost to make up for miscellaneous things like tape and squeegees and blades etc.

 

[JR's]

I wonder how much Walmart mocks their items up?
And how much does jewelry stores mark their items?

 

[Christian @ Visual Graphx]

We have a base of 30% but try to double when we can to cover incidentals, transport, hidden labor, etc.

 

[Gino]

I'm seeing a lotta miscellaneous costs for this and for that.....

Why not just add all of your items and include them all from tape, to pencils, to cement and any other incidentals and after adding everything up figure about 10% of the overall costs and add that onto the bottom line, before markups and that becomes your "S" factor.... short for sh!t factor. Make a minimum of say $50 for small jobs, but a job that will cost you outta pocket say $8,000 will come to $ 800 dollars. Now, add in your markups and whatnot and you have it. Your sh!tfactor can be anywhere from 5% to 20%, depending on what your local market will bear.

 

[unclebun]

I wonder how much Walmart mocks their items up?
And how much does jewelry stores mark their items?

Don't know about WalMart, but department stores mark most things up beyond keystone (which is 50%, or doubling cost) to as much as 80% on new fashions. Thus, when the season is over and they are offering those same fashions at 60% or 70% off, they are actually still making money.

 

[eahicks]

I wonder how much Walmart mocks their items up?
And how much does jewelry stores mark their items?

Jewelry stores are typically 4x markup. Your stores like Kay and Jared and the like....some are even more. You would be surprised how cheap all that jewelry really is (manuf. cost).

 

[Gino]

Don't know about WalMart, but department stores mark most things up beyond keystone (which is 50%, or doubling cost) to as much as 80% on new fashions. Thus, when the season is over and they are offering those same fashions at 60% or 70% off, they are actually still making money.

Ya wanna rethink this one again ?? 50% is not doubling something, it is half again more. 100% is doubling. Your keystone method is somewhat correct, but you double your cost, thus making a 50% gross profit by doubling your numbers, which is getting to be old in most retail.

 

[jwilde]

I think he's talking about a 50% mark-up not a 50% increase. A 50% mark-up is doubling by dividing your cost by .5 or 50% an 80% mark-up would be dividing by costs by .2. I will not sell anything lower than a 30% mark-up NOT 30% increase.

 

[ColorCrest]

Some previous answers only expressed differently…

BuyCost * CarryingCostMultiplier / Markup = ChargeOutPrice + tax, if any
$50 * 1.2 / .5 = $120.00 + tax, if any

Carrying Costs and Markup can vary for item and end-product / market.

 

[bob]

Never less than 100% and often more, depending.

 

[unclebun]

Ya wanna rethink this one again ?? 50% is not doubling something, it is half again more. 100% is doubling. Your keystone method is somewhat correct, but you double your cost, thus making a 50% gross profit by doubling your numbers, which is getting to be old in most retail.

MARK most things UP. Markup means you divide cost by the percentage markup.

 

[shoresigns]

I think he's talking about a 50% mark-up not a 50% increase. A 50% mark-up is doubling by dividing your cost by .5 or 50% an 80% mark-up would be dividing by costs by .2. I will not sell anything lower than a 30% mark-up NOT 30% increase.

You're confusing markup and margin. Markup is the same as an "increase", but markup is the term normally used. Using the term "increase" adds possible ambiguity, which is not a good thing when we're discussing numbers and math.

20% markup = 16.7% margin
50% markup = 33.3% margin
100% markup = 50% margin

Markup is also often expressed as a multiplier, i.e:
1.2 markup = 16.7% margin
1.5 markup = 33.3% margin
2.0 markup = 50% margin

If anyone doesn't understand those numbers, I can post some simple formulas, but this is really simple stuff.

 

[Gino]

MARK most things UP. Markup means you divide cost by the percentage markup.

Well, I'm no accountant, but no, that's not correct.

Are you trying to get the markup for 50% of your cost...... or the percentage of your margin ??

 

[unclebun]

The Markup percentage is the percentage of the selling price not represented in the cost of the goods. So if the markup is 20%, then 80% of the selling price is the cost. If your cost is $938, then $938/80% = $1172.50 would be the cost for a product with a 20% markup.

The contrasts with the gross Margin percentage, which is the percentage by which you increase the cost in order to find the selling price. If the margin were 20%, then you would calculate $938 * 120% = $1125.60 as the selling price.

This is different from the accountant definition of markup and margin, which is what jwilde was using. But accountants like to use different terminology. Try figuring out what debits and credits are on a balance sheet!

 

[unclebun]

Well, I'm no accountant, but no, that's not correct.

Are you trying to get the markup for 50% of your cost...... or the percentage of your margin ??

I'm trying to get the markup amount to be 50% of the selling price.

 

[rossmosh]

Generally speaking 2-3x cost. (100-200% markup). It may drop under 100% if it makes sense (bulk buys or expensive items that are low risk)