Guide ยท Published on February 23, 2026
How to calculate real landed cost per product
If you only use supplier purchase cost to set your price, the margin you see can be misleading. Landed cost gives you real SKU cost once the product is ready to sell, including logistics, duties and import taxes.
What landed cost is and why supplier cost alone is misleading
Landed cost is the full accumulated cost of moving a product from origin to point of sale. When you only look at the supplier invoice, you miss key cost layers that fully change profitability: freight, customs costs, insurance, fees, duties and import VAT.
This gap usually appears weeks later, when final margin does not match expectations. That is why ecommerce teams with strong volume often end with lower-than-expected profit: pricing was calculated on incomplete cost.
How to allocate per unit without losing control
The base is simple: add direct and indirect shipment costs and allocate them across units. If you run multiple SKUs, define one consistent allocation rule (by unit, weight, volume, or value) and keep it stable to avoid inconsistent decisions.
Practical formula by SKU
Landed cost per unit = (Total supplier cost + Freight/logistics + Duties + Import VAT) / Units
Quick example
| Concept | Value |
|---|---|
| Total supplier cost | 8.000 EUR |
| Total freight/logistics | 1.600 EUR |
| Duty (8%) | 768 EUR |
| Import VAT (21%) | 2.170,56 EUR |
| Units | 800 |
| Landed cost per unit | 15,67 EUR |
Landed Cost Calculator by SKU
Complete the fields to calculate real unit cost, estimated total cost, and margin with your selling price.
Mini pricing simulation
Select a strategy to autofill selling price and recalculate margin.
What you think vs reality
| What you think | Reality |
|---|---|
| Unit cost (expected): 0.00 EUR | Unit cost (real): 0.00 EUR |
| Expected margin: 0.00% | Real margin: 0.00% |
| Minimum price (expected): 0.00 EUR | Minimum price (real): 0.00 EUR |
| Risk: hidden costs not visible | Risk: controlled with real cost |
What changes with duties, taxes and multiple documents
In import operations, SKU cost is not static. Duties can change by tariff code, applicable VAT can change by tax regime, logistics can vary by season, and exchange rates move. If that context updates late, published prices start from outdated data.
The core issue is not spreadsheets by themselves. The issue is working across multiple files, versions and criteria. With large catalogs, multi-supplier documents and mixed currencies, Excel workflows become fragile for SKU-level traceability.
Margynn fits as an operational layer that centralizes documents, cost, inventory and pricing in one flow. It does not replace your commercial strategy, it makes execution more reliable because pricing starts from real cost instead of assumptions.
Common mistakes that destroy margin
- Setting selling price from supplier cost only.
- Not allocating logistics and customs by SKU.
- Applying duties/VAT with inconsistent rules across shipments.
- Mixing currencies without a consistent exchange rate.
- Updating the catalog without recalculating landed cost.
- Launching promotions without checking updated real margin.
Minimum operational checklist
- Centralize purchase, logistics and taxes in one source.
- Define one allocation rule by SKU and keep it stable.
- Recalculate costs when duty, VAT or exchange rate changes.
- Validate real margin before publishing or promoting.
Recommended internal reads
To complement this topic, review how to avoid inventory errors when importing supplier catalogs .
Move from estimates to prices with real margin
When SKU cost is clear, better negotiation and pricing decisions stop being a bet.