Revenue looks great while profit quietly leaks. Learn how per-product COGS tracking reveals your true margin on every SKU.
Most online sellers know their revenue to the dollar and their true profit not at all. The gap is almost always inventory and cost of goods sold: counted wrong, timed wrong, or blended across products until no single SKU tells the truth.
Margin is per product, not per store
A store at 30% blended margin can hide a hero product at 55% and a dud at 4%. Without per-SKU cost of goods — unit cost, freight in, pick-and-pack, platform fees, ad spend — you will keep scaling the dud because its revenue looks great.
Three numbers to track monthly
- True per-unit margin: landed cost plus every selling cost, per SKU.
- Platform fees and shipping as their own lines: never buried in general expenses.
- Dead-stock value: capital trapped on shelves that should be cut or promoted.
From numbers to decisions
Once each product carries its real cost, decisions get simple: raise the price, renegotiate freight, cut the loser, double down on the winner. Clean inventory books turn gut calls into math.
