Free calculator

Amazon FBA price check, including inventory

The FirstPass Memo Amazon FBA price check is a free tool that shows an FBA listing's multiple as listed, the multiple once inventory is counted, and how many months of sales the stock covers. FBA listings often quote a price "plus inventory", so the multiple on the page is lower than the cash you hand over.

Runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to us or anyone else.

How it works

Cash at close = asking price + inventory (if extra)
All-in multiple = cash at close ÷ (monthly profit × 12)
Months of stock = inventory ÷ monthly cost of goods sold

Inventory is not free money. You can sell it, but you also need to keep roughly that much stock on hand to keep the business running, so the cash stays tied up for as long as you own it. Compare FBA listings on the all-in figure.

Months of stock tells you whether the inventory figure makes sense. Far more stock than the supplier's lead time needs can mean slow-moving or dated products. Far less means you place a large order soon after closing.

Worked example

A composite listing, not a real one: an FBA brand asking $120,000 plus $30,000 of inventory at landed cost, with $3,500 of monthly profit and $6,000 a month of cost of goods sold.

The listing's multiple is 2.86×. Counting stock, you pay $150,000 at close, a 3.57× multiple and 42.9 months of payback. The stock covers about 5 months of sales, which is worth checking against the supplier's lead time.

Questions to send the seller

How much inventory is included in the price, and how is it valued?
Per unit, what are landed cost, fulfilment fees, storage fees, returns and ad spend?
Have stock-outs happened in the last 12 months, and did they hurt rankings or sales?

Frequently asked questions

How should inventory be valued?

At landed cost: what the stock cost to make and ship to Amazon's warehouses, not its retail price. Ask for an inventory report by SKU and check for products that sell slowly or have been discontinued.

Is inventory usually included in an FBA asking price?

It varies by marketplace and by listing. Read the listing carefully, ask the seller to confirm in writing, and make sure the purchase agreement says how stock is counted at closing.

Why is profit before or after inventory purchases important?

A seller who stops reordering can show a higher profit for a few months while selling down stock. Ask for cost of goods sold and inventory purchases by month, so you can see whether profit includes the cost of restocking.

Get the Amazon FBA and FBM seller checklist

Join the FirstPass Memo waitlist and the next page gives you the Amazon FBA and FBM seller question checklist (web page and PDF) straight away, along with the other free files: seller question checklists for eleven business types, the 72-hour vetting plan and a deal-tracker spreadsheet. Nothing is emailed; you download them on the page.

We will write when paid memos open, and occasionally before. Unsubscribe any time by replying "stop" to hello@firstpassmemo.com. Looking at a live listing priced $10k–150k? Apply for a free beta memo instead; its confirmation page has the same downloads.

This calculator does arithmetic on the figures you enter. It is not investment, legal, tax or valuation advice, and it does not check whether a seller's figures are true.