"How much?" is the most common message any vendor gets. If you price too low, you work hard and make nothing. If you price by guessing, you can't explain your price when a customer pushes back. This guide gives you a simple formula you can use for small chops, perfume oils, cakes, clothes, hair, almost anything.
Important: all the naira figures below are made-up examples to show the maths. They are not market prices. Use your own receipts.
The formula
Price = (Product cost + Packaging + Overheads share + Your labour + Profit) + payment fee, with delivery charged separately
Let's break that down.
1. Product cost
Everything that goes into one unit: ingredients, fabric, oil, hair, bottles. If you buy in bulk, divide. For example, if one bulk purchase makes 16 bottles, divide the bulk cost by 16.
2. Packaging
Boxes, nylon, stickers, ribbons, cake boards, perfume boxes, thank-you cards. Small items add up fast. Count them per order.
3. Overheads share
Costs you pay whether or not you sell: gas or fuel for the generator, data, phone bills, market transport, the ring light you bought. Add up a month's overheads and divide by how many orders you usually do in a month. That's what each order has to carry.
4. Your labour
This is the one most vendors skip. Decide what an hour of your time is worth and multiply by the hours the order takes, including shopping, baking or sewing, packaging and answering DMs. If you don't pay yourself, your business is borrowing from you.
5. Profit
Profit is what's left for the business after you've paid for everything, including yourself. It's what lets you restock, survive a slow month and grow.
Markup vs margin (they're not the same)
- Markup is profit as a percentage of cost. Cost ₦10,000, sell ₦13,000 → 30% markup.
- Margin is profit as a percentage of the selling price. Same example → ₦3,000 ÷ ₦13,000 ≈ 23% margin.
If you want a specific margin, use: Price = Cost ÷ (1 − margin). For a 25% margin on a ₦30,000 cost: ₦30,000 ÷ 0.75 = ₦40,000.
Don't forget payment fees
If customers pay you by card or bank transfer through a payment gateway, the gateway takes a fee. As an example, Paystack's published pricing for local transactions in Nigeria is 1.5% + ₦100, with the ₦100 waived on transactions under ₦2,500, and fees capped at ₦2,000 per transaction. International cards are 3.9% + ₦100.
To pass the fee on without losing money, use: Price to charge = (Amount you want + ₦100) ÷ 0.985 (for local payments of ₦2,500 and above, below the cap).
If customers pay by direct bank transfer into your account, there's no gateway fee, but always confirm the money in your bank app before releasing goods. See our guide on fake alert scams.
Worked example 1: a small chops tray (example figures)
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | ₦12,000 |
| Packaging (tray, foil, stickers) | ₦1,800 |
| Overheads share (gas, data, transport) | ₦1,200 |
| Labour (3 hours at ₦1,000/hour) | ₦3,000 |
| Total cost | ₦18,000 |
| Profit you want | ₦6,000 |
| Amount you want to receive | ₦24,000 |
If the customer pays through Paystack: (₦24,000 + ₦100) ÷ 0.985 ≈ ₦24,467, so round up to ₦24,500. Check: 1.5% of ₦24,500 is ₦367.50, plus ₦100, so the fee is ₦467.50 and you receive ₦24,032.50. ✅
Worked example 2: perfume oil, 6 ml (example figures)
- Bulk oil: ₦45,000 fills about 16 bottles of 6 ml → ₦2,813 per bottle.
- Bottle, label and box: ₦700.
- Total cost per bottle: ₦3,513.
- Selling price: ₦6,000 → profit ₦2,487, about 41% margin.
A Paystack payment of ₦6,000 would cost 1.5% (₦90) + ₦100 = ₦190 in fees, so decide whether to absorb it or price at ₦6,200.
Worked example 3: an 8-inch celebration cake (example figures)
- Ingredients ₦22,000 + box and board ₦3,000 + gas/electricity ₦2,500 + labour (4 hours at ₦2,000) ₦8,000 = ₦35,500 cost.
- For a 25% margin: ₦35,500 ÷ 0.75 = ₦47,333 → round to ₦48,000.
Delivery: charge it separately
Delivery costs change with distance, traffic and fuel prices, so don't bury them in your product price. Publish delivery fees by zone (for example "Mainland zone A", "Island", "Outside Lagos") and update them when riders' prices change. Customers argue less when the item price and the delivery fee are shown separately.
Make your price easy to see
Half of "How much?" DMs disappear when prices are visible. Two free ways to do that:
- Make a clean price-list image for your WhatsApp Status or Instagram with our free Price List Maker.
- Create a WhatsApp order link for each product, so customers tap and the order message is already typed, with the WhatsApp Order Link & QR Generator.
Or let PlugPage put all your products and prices on one page, with an order button on each.
Quick checklist
- List the product cost per unit (divide bulk buys).
- Add packaging per order.
- Add your monthly overheads ÷ monthly orders.
- Pay yourself: hours × your hourly rate.
- Add profit, or use Price = Cost ÷ (1 − margin).
- Add the payment fee if you use a gateway.
- Charge delivery separately, by zone.
- Review prices whenever your supplier's prices change.
Sources
- Paystack, "Pricing" (Nigeria local and international transaction fees, ₦100 waiver under ₦2,500, ₦2,000 cap).
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Platform rules and fees change; check the linked official sources for the latest. PlugPage is not affiliated with Google, WhatsApp, Meta, Paystack or the other companies mentioned.