Calculate crafting profit after returns and tax

Start with one recipe and one selling plan

A price difference is not yet a profit. An Albion crafting decision connects a recipe, a city, a resource return rate, a station charge, and a way to sell the output. Changing one of these inputs can change the answer even when the item name stays the same.

For the worked example below, suppose one output consumes 16 units of a returnable material priced at 100 silver each, plus a non-returnable component priced at 400 silver. Assume a 25% resource return rate, a total station charge of 100 silver per craft, an output sale price of 2,500 silver, and a 4% sales tax. These are invented teaching inputs, not a live recipe, current market quote, or a claim about your character’s return rate.

We exclude journals, quality variation, transport, and listing setup or relisting fees in the first calculation so the effect of each assumption is visible. Add those costs and benefits when they apply to your actual route.

Apply returns only to eligible ingredients

For a returnable ingredient, the expected net consumption is recipe quantity × (1 − return rate). Here, 16 × 0.75 = 12 units, so the effective material cost is 1,200 silver. The 400-silver non-returnable component stays at its full cost. Applying the same discount to both would understate the total.

A station’s plot-tax input is not the same thing as the final charge for one craft. In AU, select the recipe and inspect the calculated station cost. Do not copy the 100-silver example charge into the plot-tax field and expect the same result.

Compare net revenue with effective cost

With a 4% sales tax, the assumed 2,500-silver sale leaves 2,500 × 0.96 = 2,400 silver. Subtracting the 1,700 effective cost gives an expected profit of 700 silver per output. This uses the stated selling plan; it does not promise that a buyer exists at that price.

Under the same assumptions but with no resource returns, cost rises to 16 × 100 + 400 + 100 = 2,100 silver. Profit falls to 300 silver. The return assumption accounts for the 400-silver difference; it is not an extra payment received after crafting.

If you list the item instead of filling a buy order, include any setup and relisting charges separately. For illustration, an additional charge of 2.5% of the 2,500 asking price would be 62.5 silver and reduce the 700 profit to 637.5. That percentage is an example input, not a statement of the current fee for every account.

Find the price at which the opportunity disappears

Ignoring the additional listing charge again, break-even sale price is effective cost ÷ (1 − sales tax). For this example, 1,700 ÷ 0.96 = approximately 1,770.83 silver. Below that sale price the modeled craft loses silver.

At a sale price of 1,800, net revenue is 1,728 and profit is just 28 silver. A small station-fee change, a missing component, or transport expense can wipe out that margin. This is why a high percentage return or a familiar item is not enough to justify a batch.

If the tax or fee calculation changes, recalculate the denominator. A 100% revenue deduction leaves no positive net revenue, so there is no finite break-even sale price for a positive production cost.

Budget for the first craft, not only expected consumption

The 1,700 effective cost is not necessarily the amount of silver needed to begin. You still need all 16 material units and the non-returnable component for the first craft, plus the station charge: 2,100 silver with these inputs. Returned resources arrive during production and can be reused or retained.

For a batch, decide whether you will buy all ingredients up front or reuse returns between crafts. Expected fractional returns are an average model; individual results, integer quantities, leftovers, and insufficient starting stock can affect how many crafts you complete.

Journals require a similar distinction. Their expected contribution can improve profitability, but empty journals may still require up-front silver. Do not count full-journal revenue twice if it is already included in the calculator’s displayed total.

Reproduce the reasoning in Albion Ultimate

Use the calculator to make the real recipe explicit, then test the assumptions most likely to change. Saving a result is useful for planning, but does not freeze the market price.

1. Open Crafting, search for the item, and select the exact recipe variant. Verify tier, enchantment, and components before entering prices.
2. Choose the production city and inspect the return rate. Match focus, daily bonus, tax, and station settings to the scenario you intend to execute.
3. Check ingredient observations and override stale or missing prices with values you verified in game. Do not interpret a missing price as zero.
4. Review the output-quality assumptions and journal contribution. Compare expected revenue with an executable selling price, not only an average.
5. Test a lower output price and higher input costs. Check market depth and starting capital before adding a batch to your saved planner.