Technically, we call this a “Unit Economic Analysis,” but in trying to keep this blog as clear of finance-speak as we possibly can, let’s just call it “Grading a SKU.”
Let’s get started.
Step 1:
From your Seller Central account, go to Reports > Fulfillment > Fee Preview and download the Amazon Fee Preview Report.
This report provides you with the following:
- A list of your active SKUs under the header “sku” in Column A
- Your current sales price for each SKU, under the header “sales-price” in Column H
- The estimated Amazon commission on one unit, under the header “Est-fee-total” in Column S
- A bunch of other information you can delete or ignore!
Step 2:
In your favorite spreadsheet app, add a new column to the right called “COGS Per Unit,” and add your landed COGS for each unit. (Need help figuring out COGS for each of your SKUs? Read our blog post on “How do I calculate COGS in my Amazon Business?”)
Step 3:
Starting with your Sale Price, subtract your Estimated Fee Total and your COGS to get your Gross Profit. (Example: If your sales Price is $100, your Estimated Fee Total is $25 and your COGS is $25, then your Gross Profit on that SKU would be $50.)
Step 4:
From here, determine your Gross Profit Percentage by dividing your Gross Profit by your Sale Price. (In Row 4 of this example, that would look like this: $47.57/$149.60 = 31.75% Gross Profit.)
Step 5:
Next, add your advertising cost for that SKU in a new column. (Shown here as “Ave Ads”). If you don’t have the ability to split up your advertising cost by SKU, you can also use an average.
Step 6:
In the next column, subtract Ave Ads from your Gross Profit to get your final number. Let’s call this Seller’s Discretionary Income (SDE). SDE is the amount you have left over once you have bought, advertised and sold your products. Turn that number into a percentage by dividing your SDE amount by your sale price. (So, in Row 4 of this example, it would look like this: $32.57/$149.60 = 22% SDE).
As you can see, in Row 5, the seller is actually losing .37 every time he sells a unit of his SKU. Ouch. But wait, there’s more…
Step 7:
Add a column for “Number of Units Sold in the Past 30 Days.” Then multiply that number by your SDE on that product and you’ll get your Total SDE on that SKU from the past 30 days.
As you can see, when this seller finishes grading this SKU, he find he has lost .37 cents on 1250 sales! That’s $462.50 in lost profit. Just by nixing that underperforming SKU, this Amazon seller could scoop nearly $500 right back into his pocket.
I hope this example has illustrated why it’s absolutely vital to know the health of your individual SKUs.
Software for Grading Amazon SKUs
Now that you’ve manually assessed the health of your SKUs you may want to continue to monitor them. Fortunately, software like Helium 10, Sellics and Managed by Stats (to name just a few) will do this for you automatically so you can spend your time on more profitable business to-dos.
What’s next?
Seller Accountant Founder Tyler Jefcoat recommends that you spend no more than 40-45% of each SKU’s sales price on COGS and advertising.
If you are spending slightly more than that, consider strategies like negotiating with your supplier or freight hauler to lower your SKU’s COGS. (Remember, COGS are all the costs you incur to get your product to the buyer.) But if you are spending much more than 50% of each SKU’s sales price in COGS, it may be time to write that SKU off before it drags your entire bottom line down with it.
Also, set a performance goal for each ASIN. Carefully monitor its profit, target ad spend, and target monthly sales. This will allow you to keep an eye on a slow performer or nip it in the bud before it can become a losing SKU.
How do you monitor the health of your SKUs? Have you ever found a SKU dragging your bottom line down with it? Let us know in the comments!