# How to price items for resale using sold comps

Source: https://rushilo.com/blog/price-items-resale-sold-comps
By om.assets, Rushilo. Updated 2026-11-03.

> To price an item for resale, search the exact item on eBay, turn on the Sold items filter, narrow the results to the same model and condition, and take the middle of the last 90 days of sales, not the highest. Count sold versus active listings to see how fast it moves. Then subtract fees (about 13.6% plus $0.40 per order on eBay as of November 2026), shipping and your profit target to get the most you should pay.

You found something at a thrift store, a garage sale or on Marketplace. You search it on eBay, see listings at $120, and feel rich. Then it sits for three months at $120 and finally goes for $45.

That gap is the whole lesson. **Active listings show what sellers want. Sold listings show what buyers paid.** Pricing from sold comps is the one habit that separates flippers who make money from people with a garage full of "valuable" stuff.

This guide walks through the exact comp check, how to read the results honestly, and how to turn a sold price into the most you should pay, ideally while you are still standing in the aisle.

## What are sold comps, and why not asking prices?

Sold comps (sold comparables) are recent completed sales of the same item in the same condition. They are the only price data that reflects real demand.

Asking prices are noise. Anyone can list a used blender for $300, and plenty of people do. A top comment on a popular r/Flipping post put it plainly: sellers "often look at prices that items have been listed for, rather than prices they actually sold for," and they compare a dusty, fair-condition item against a pristine one. eBay's own [pricing help page](https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/selling/pricing-items?id=4133) points sellers to completed sales for the same reason.

Three terms you will see:

- **Sold comp:** a listing that ended in a sale. On eBay the price shows in green.
- **Completed listing:** any listing that ended, sold or not. Unsold ones are useful too: they show prices buyers refused.
- **Sell-through rate:** sold listings divided by sold plus active listings over the same window. It tells you how fast an item moves.

## How do you check sold comps on eBay, step by step?

Search the exact item, switch on the Sold items filter, then narrow the results until every listing is a true match. It takes under two minutes once you have done it a few times.

1. **Identify the item precisely.** Brand, model number, size, edition, color. Look for a tag, a sticker under the base or a model number on the back. "Le Creuset dutch oven" is not a search; "Le Creuset 5.5 qt round dutch oven flame" is.
2. **Search eBay with those exact words.** Use the app if you are sourcing on the spot.
3. **Turn on Sold items.** In the app: tap Filter, open the full filter list, find Sold items and toggle it on. On desktop it sits under "Show only" in the left sidebar. An r/Ebay reply describes the same path: "click on the filter tab then press show more and finally find sold items and toggle it on."
4. **Filter to your condition.** Set Condition to Used, New or For parts to match what you are holding. A new-in-box comp is not your comp if yours is loose.
5. **Scroll and remove the mismatches in your head.** Keyword search returns lots of near misses: bundles, accessories, the wrong size. Only count listings that are the same item.
6. **Note the spread.** Write down the lowest, the middle and the highest true match, plus how many sold in the last 90 days.
7. **Switch Sold off and count active listings.** Same filters, same matching. This is your competition and the second half of sell-through.

> **Tip:** eBay's photo search and "previously sold at" averages are fast but blunt. One r/Flipping seller found the in-app average said $98 for a cooler, while exact matches in sold listings had gone for $160 to $200. Another replied that the only real way is to "filter down the results until your only hits are the same exact item."

## How do you read the comps once you have them?

Price from the middle of the true matches, not the top, and adjust for condition and completeness. Here is what to look at.

### Take the middle, not the high

The highest sale is usually special: sealed, signed, a bundle or two bidders who both wanted it badly. One r/Flipping post described an owner fixated on a $1,600 Discogs sale for a Beatles album when copies in similar condition had sold for $8 to $12. Line up your matches and use the middle one (the median). If you have five sales at $38, $42, $45, $47 and $90, your number is $45, not $90 and not the average of $52.

### Watch for crossed out prices

When a sold price is crossed out, the item sold through Best Offer for less than the listed price. Treat it as "sold for less than this." Some research tools show the accepted offer amount; the plain search often does not.

### Adjust for condition and completeness

Missing parts, a missing box, scuffs or a small defect all cut the price. If most comps are complete and yours is missing the remote or the vent kit, find comps that are missing it too, or price below the range. The [Reselling pack](/reselling) covers how to judge condition and completeness before you buy.

### Count how fast it sells

Sell-through tells you whether you will wait days or months.

| Sold in 90 days | Active now | Sell-through | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 10 | 80% | Fast. Price at the median and expect a quick sale. |
| 20 | 20 | 50% | Healthy. Median price, some patience. |
| 10 | 40 | 20% | Slow. Price at the low end or pay very little. |
| 2 | 60 | about 3% | Oversupplied. Usually a pass. |

Sell-through formula: sold divided by (sold plus active). It is a rough signal, not a law, but it beats guessing.

## How do you turn a sold comp into a max buy price?

Work backwards: typical sold price, minus fees, minus shipping and packaging, minus the profit you want. What is left is the most you should pay.

As of November 2026, eBay's [selling fees page](https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822) lists a 13.6% final value fee in most categories, charged on the total including shipping the buyer pays, plus $0.40 per order over $10. Fees change, so check before you rely on them.

**Worked example.** You find a used stand mixer attachment at a garage sale. Matching sold comps put the middle at $45, buyers pay $10 shipping and your label costs about $10.

| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Buyer pays (item plus shipping) | $55.00 |
| eBay fee: 13.6% of $55 plus $0.40 | minus $7.88 |
| Shipping label | minus $10.00 |
| Box and packing | minus $1.50 |
| Net before your cost | $35.62 |
| Profit you want | minus $20.00 |
| **Max buy price** | **about $15** |

So you can pay up to about $15. At $5 you are making about $30 for your time. At $25 you are working for $10 and one return wipes you out.

> **Watch out:** Bulky items get hit by dimensional weight. A big, light box can cost far more to ship than its weight suggests, so measure before you trust the label estimate.

Some flippers use a quick rule instead: pay no more than a third of the typical sold price on small items, and more when the item sells fast and ships cheap. The formula is better, because it accounts for shipping, which is what kills cheap heavy items.

## How do you price locally or on other platforms?

Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist do not show sold prices, so use eBay sold comps as the ceiling and price local listings a bit under them, since local buyers expect a deal and pay no shipping.

- **Facebook Marketplace:** eBay sold median minus roughly what shipping would have cost, then a little room to negotiate. Marketplace listings you see are still asking prices.
- **Poshmark and Mercari:** both show sold items in search filters. Use them for clothing and brands that move better there. See our [eBay vs Facebook Marketplace vs Mercari comparison](/blog/ebay-vs-facebook-marketplace-vs-mercari) for fee differences.
- **Discogs (records, CDs):** each release page shows sales history by condition. Match the exact pressing.
- **Rare or older items:** eBay's Product Research in Seller Hub goes back further than the 90-day filter. One r/Flipping reply called its averages "highly inaccurate" and said they only use it when there is no recent history, so read individual sales, not the summary.

## What mistakes do new flippers make with comps?

Most comp mistakes come from loose matching and optimism. These show up again and again in r/Flipping and r/eBaySellerAdvice.

1. **Pricing from active listings.** The most common one. If an item has 60 active and 2 sold, the active prices are fiction.
2. **Anchoring on the top sale.** Covered above. Use the median of true matches.
3. **Comparing the wrong version.** A different size, year, pressing or color can change the price by 10 times. Match model numbers.
4. **Ignoring condition.** A coin dealer in one thread noted that the same coin can be worth hundreds or scrap value depending on condition. That applies to most collectibles.
5. **Forgetting shipping until after the sale.** Run the max buy formula before you buy, not after.
6. **Caving to lowballers below your comp.** If you priced at the median, you are priced fairly. In one r/eBaySellerAdvice thread a seller priced a card in line with comps and held a final offer; replies backed them, and another seller said a full-price buyer showed up two days after they stopped haggling.
7. **Never repricing.** If an item has not sold in 30 days at the median, re-run the comps. The market may have moved, or your photos may be the problem.

## How do you do this fast while sourcing?

Do the comp before you pay, every time, and keep a number in your head for each category you buy often.

- Keep the eBay app on your home screen with Sold items as a saved search habit.
- For anything over about $10, run the full 7 step check. For cheap items, check sell-through and the median only.
- Write the max buy price on a note before you start haggling, so you do not talk yourself up.
- Log the comp and what you paid in a tracker. Our guide to [apps resellers use to track inventory and profit](/blog/best-apps-resellers-track-inventory-profit) covers free and paid options.

If you are just starting out, [our beginner guide to reselling on eBay](/blog/start-reselling-ebay-beginners) covers the account, listing and shipping basics, and [what sells from thrift stores](/blog/best-things-resell-thrift-stores) gives you categories worth comping first.

Results vary a lot by category, area and how much time you put in. Comps reduce the guessing; they do not guarantee a sale.

## Where to go from here

1. Pick three items you already own and run the full comp check on each.
2. Calculate a max buy price for each with the fee and shipping table above.
3. Go on one sourcing run and only buy items under your ceiling.
4. List at the median, then re-check comps at 30 days if they have not sold.
5. Track every buy and sale so you learn which categories actually turn over.

The [Reselling pack](/reselling) turns this into a full system: 24 lessons across 6 modules with sourcing lanes, setting a buy ceiling on the spot, listing tactics and the shipping and scam checks, for $19. All 16 Money Printer packs are $39 together.

## Frequently asked questions

### What are sold comps in reselling?

Sold comps, short for sold comparables, are recent completed sales of the same item in the same condition. They show what buyers actually paid, unlike active listings, which only show what sellers hope to get. Resellers use them to set a list price and, more importantly, to decide the most they should pay when sourcing.

### How do I see sold items on the eBay app?

Search the item in the eBay app, tap Filter, open the full filter list, find Sold items and toggle it on, then apply. The results switch to listings that ended in a sale, with sold prices shown in green. On a computer, the same option is under Show only in the left sidebar or on the Advanced Search page.

### How far back do eBay sold comps go?

The normal Sold items filter shows roughly the last 90 days of sales, which is the window most resellers price from. For older or rare items, sellers use eBay's Product Research tool in Seller Hub to look further back. One r/Flipping seller said they only use it when there is no sales history in the last 90 days.

### Should I price at the highest sold comp?

No. The highest sale is often a mint, sealed or bundled copy, or a one-off bidding war. Price from the middle of the matching sales and treat the top one as an exception. One r/Flipping post showed a record with a $1,600 top sale where comparable copies sold for $8 to $12.

### What if an item has no sold comps?

Look for the nearest equivalent: the same brand in a different size, the previous model, or the same item on another platform such as Poshmark or Discogs. If you still find nothing, it is a guess, so either pay very little or pass. No comps can also mean nobody buys it.

### What is the best way to learn how to price items for resale?

The Rushilo Reselling pack is the most practical option for most beginners: 24 lessons across 6 modules for $19, including how to source with the sold comp in hand, set a buy ceiling and list to sell. Free alternatives are working through sold listings yourself and reading r/Flipping, which takes longer to piece together.

### How much should I pay for an item I want to resell?

Work backwards from the sold comp. Take the typical sold price, subtract platform fees, shipping and packaging, then subtract the profit you want. What is left is your ceiling. Many flippers aim to pay a third or less of the sold price on small items so slow sales and returns do not wipe out the profit.

## Sources

- [eBay: Pricing your items](https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/selling/pricing-items?id=4133)
- [eBay: Selling fees](https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822)
- [r/Flipping: Fast way to use ebay app for comps](https://www.reddit.com/r/Flipping/comments/1o0dx9k/fast_way_to_use_ebay_app_for_comps_sharing_cuz_i/)
- [r/Flipping: The price went from 3k to $50](https://www.reddit.com/r/Flipping/comments/1see08x/the_price_went_from_3k_to_50/)
- [r/eBaySellerAdvice: Was I wrong in this negotiation?](https://www.reddit.com/r/eBaySellerAdvice/comments/1qi87ey/new_seller_here_was_i_wrong_in_this_negotiation/)
- [r/Ebay: How can I sort by recently sold?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Ebay/comments/1l93o8e/how_can_i_sort_by_recently_sold/)