Why sellers work for zero
Many Ozon sellers face the same situation. They pay the marketplace commission, pay the supplier, pay for logistics, pay taxes, then start counting net profit - and there is none left. Everyone earned: the marketplace, the tax authorities, the suppliers, the logistics providers. The entrepreneur ends up with high turnover and zero or even negative net profit.
The usual reason is simple: sellers do not model their unit economics. They do not connect revenue, costs and other metrics into one picture. Below is how I would approach it at the start.
Meet the Ozon calculator
Ozon has a built-in tool called the Ozon calculator. Do not dismiss it: it now includes a net profit calculation that was added relatively recently. Previously it only handled basic metrics and basic profitability. Now you can be more precise about what you actually earn in net terms, while still working with your store's real numbers and dynamics.
A worked example
Suppose we want to sell a hypothetical product on Ozon: a high-pressure handheld shower head. A very simple item. Copy the product link and paste it into the product name field. The product loads and its parameters appear.
The algorithm pulls in sales data: a price of $6.40, weight of 0.5 kg, length, width and height. Dimensions and volume are available, but we can assume they are already calculated correctly.
Next comes a delivery example to the drop-off point, in units. Everything here can be configured and recalculated.
You can also review the cost breakdown: product price, Ozon remuneration, commission, acquiring, logistics, delivery to the pickup point, costs and the amount to be credited. The interesting part: this shower head potentially returns 30 percent net profit.
The newer calculator and its metrics
That is the older type of calculator. A more precise net profit calculation now lives directly in the Ozon interface. It includes two important inputs: the redemption rate and the tax rate.
Across Ozon the average redemption rate is around 90 percent. Some categories reach 98 percent, others sit at 85, 90 or 92, but the average is close to 90.
Finding your category in Ozon Seller
For maximum accuracy, go to your Ozon Seller account and open the category analytics tab. Find your category - in our case, shower heads. Type it in, select it and apply.
Redemption rate and tax
Here we need the redemption metric. For our example it shows 88 percent. Transfer that figure into the calculator.
Next, enter the profit tax rate you actually pay. It depends on your business structure and how you optimize taxes: some pay 4, 6, 8 percent, others 15 or 20. Use the rate you genuinely pay on this product. For the example, let us take 15 percent.
Cost of goods and expenses
The last input is the cost of goods. You can enter it as the cost of a whole batch: you imported a batch, paid a total sum, and the algorithm works out the per-unit cost. If you already know the unit cost, just type it in.
For our product, assume a unit cost of $0.58. This includes the item itself, delivery, packaging and so on.
Then marketing and other expenses. We budget around 5 percent. Five percent of $6.40 is about $0.32.
Monthly sales volume
Now the number of sales per month. Let us calculate for 100 units. If we want to sell 100 units a month, how much net profit will this product bring?
Results and a sanity check
With the redemption rate and tax entered, the calculator shows about $0.19 profit per unit sold. Across 100 units that is roughly $68 per month. If the product sells 1,000 units a month - and items like this do sell in the thousands - that becomes about $680 net, and so on.
It is worth double-checking whether the calculator captured everything. Remuneration: 40 percent, about $0.68. Acquiring: 1 percent. Then logistics, delivery to the pickup point, processing of returns and cancellations, reverse logistics, Ozon costs, cost of goods, profit tax and other costs such as advertising. Finally, profit as a percentage.
One caveat: I would question the 1 percent acquiring assumption. In practice acquiring is higher now and can reach 2 percent depending on the store. Be careful here. The difference between $0.07 and $0.13 affects the unit economics, but the product can still stay in net profit.
How accurate is the calculator, and where to optimize
The calculation is not sculpturally precise, but it reflects about 95 percent of the real profitability of the product and the store. From there you can look for a cheaper cost of goods, trim advertising spend from 5 percent to 3 percent (about $0.19 instead of $0.32), negotiate better delivery terms, find a more favorable supplier or bring in a larger batch. Each of these small percentages adds up to the final result.
I recommend working with the Ozon calculator now: it has become more accurate and more detailed than before. It does not capture every last detail, but it shows about 95 percent of the picture.
What to do
Use the Ozon calculator for a more precise net profit calculation, factoring in the redemption rate, taxes and cost of goods. Optimize expenses, find better suppliers and increase batch sizes to improve your margin.
