What the comparison measures
Each lot starts with its hammer bid. The calculator adds the buyer’s premium, estimated tax, and fixed acquisition costs to produce landed cost. It then discounts the full resale estimate by the recovery percentage and selling fees. The difference between those net proceeds and landed cost is expected profit.
Gross resale at 100% recovery is the money the inventory might produce if every modeled item sells at the entered value. Recovery is the haircut for damaged, missing, slow, duplicated, returned, or unsellable inventory. Do not put the same loss in both fields.
Profit and ROI answer different questions
Expected profit answers how many dollars the lot may add. ROI answers how hard the acquisition money works. A larger lot can produce more cash profit while earning a weaker return on every dollar committed. The tool highlights both leaders instead of hiding that tradeoff behind one invented score.
Worked comparison using the starting values
The sample assumes an 18% premium, 6% tax on hammer plus premium, and 14% selling fees. These are examples, not typical rates.
The electronics lot has the largest gross resale estimate but does not lead the comparison. Its higher hammer price and weaker modeled recovery consume most of the apparent upside. The furniture group nearly breaks even, but one loading charge, damaged piece, or price reduction could turn it negative.
How break-even recovery exposes fragile lots
Break-even recovery is the share of the full resale estimate required for net proceeds to cover landed cost after selling fees. If the result is above 100%, the entered deal cannot break even under the assumptions. If the expected recovery barely clears break-even, there is little room for condition surprises or price reductions.
For the sample tool pallet, break-even recovery is about 61.8% and expected recovery is 75%. The furniture group needs about 59.8% recovery and assumes 60%. Those two lots may show positive profit, but their margins of safety are very different.
Use auction-specific terms for every lot
- Compare lots from the same auction or with matching premium, tax, and selling-fee assumptions. For different terms, compare them separately. Use the premium, tax treatment, payment surcharge, documentation fee, and removal rules posted for that auction.
- Put freight, fuel, tolls, loading, rigging, packaging, and other known acquisition costs in fixed costs.
- Build gross resale from recent sold prices for matching condition and completeness—not current asking prices.
- Lower recovery when inspection is limited, inventory is untested, duplicates are heavy, or demand is slow.
- Add labor or carrying cost elsewhere if it materially affects the decision; this comparison does not estimate either.
Use the Auction Bid Strategy Calculator after selecting a lot to turn the final budget into a fee-adjusted bid ceiling. Use the Auction Shipping Cost Calculator when pickup and shipping costs are still uncertain.
Frequently asked questions
Should I choose the lot with the highest expected profit?
Not automatically. Profit measures dollars; ROI measures return relative to capital committed. Cash limits, resale time, condition risk, and pickup constraints can make the smaller profit more attractive.
What is break-even recovery?
It is the percentage of the entered full resale value that must actually be recovered, after selling fees, for proceeds to equal landed acquisition cost.
Where do pickup and shipping costs go?
Enter freight, pickup, loading, documentation, payment, and other known acquisition costs in each lot’s fixed costs field. A quote does not prove an auction allows that fulfillment method, so verify the auction terms.
Why does the tool not pick one overall winner?
A single score would hide the difference between cash profit and return on capital. The calculator names both leaders and leaves condition, timing, and operational risk visible for the bidder’s judgment.