How to Price a Sofa Cover: From Factory Cost to Amazon Profit Calculator

The scene: a profitable-looking product that loses money

A new seller finds a sofa throw on Amazon at $29.99. They find a factory that quotes $7.80 per piece. They open a calculator: $29.99 − $7.80 = $22.19 “profit” per unit. They order 500 pieces. The shipment lands. After the first month, the account balance is red.

That math is not a profit calculation. It is a daydream.

The gap between a factory quotation and the money in your Amazon account contains at least ten deductions. This post shows each one, in order, and the questions you should ask before you place a PO.

Why the old way fails

The old way compares the wrong two numbers.

The selling price is what one customer pays. The factory price is what one supplier quotes. Between them sits freight, customs, exchange-rate loss, Amazon referral fees, FBA fees, advertising spend, returns, defective units, storage fees, and the cost of your own time.

New sellers ignore these because they do not see them on the day of the PO.

Freight quotes arrive separately. FBA fees appear later. Advertising costs feel controllable until they are not. Returns feel rare until they hit 5%. Each deduction looks small. Together, they eat the entire margin.

The fix is not a better factory price. The fix is a full deduction chain that runs from the factory quotation to the net deposit in your currency.

Five levels of the real cost structure

Level 1: What the factory price actually contains

The factory price is not one number. It is a bundle:

– fabric material cost
– cutting, sewing, and trimming labor
– packaging (poly bag, carton, label)
– factory overhead and margin
– the commercial terms you agreed on

It also depends on quantity, size, and material. A chenille throw and a faux-fur throw do not cost the same to weave. A 180 × 230 cm throw and a modular 60 cm seat pad do not cost the same to cut.

BOYA’s internal quote catalog holds 942 price records for sofa-scene products: 442 sofa pads, 367 sofa throws, 96 fitted sofa covers, and 37 mixed throw/pad records. These are internal references, not a public price list. Every single record is marked “currency not stated in the original source.”

That note matters to you.

A raw price number without currency, quantity, Incoterm, packaging, and validity is not a quotation. It is a guess. If a supplier sends a screenshot of a workbook instead of a controlled quotation, you cannot build a reliable Amazon calculation on it.

Level 2: Landed cost — the journey to your market

You are not buying at the factory gate. You are buying at your destination. The distance between those two points is the landed cost:

– ocean or air freight, divided across your shipment
– customs clearance and destination fees
– inland delivery to Amazon or your warehouse
– currency conversion and transfer charges

Every one of these changes with port, carton dimensions, and currency. None of them appears on the factory quotation.

Ask for the Incoterm before you compare two supplier prices. Compare FOB to FOB, CIF to CIF. Never compare FOB with CIF and call it a price difference.

Level 3: Amazon-side fees

Amazon charges two main fees:

– Referral fee: typically 15% of the sale price for home textiles.
– FBA fulfillment fee: calculated from dimensions and weight. A sofa throw is bulky, light, and awkward — the worst combination for dimensional-weight fees.

If you ship to Amazon, add storage fees. A slow-selling sofa throw that takes up shelf space will quietly drain the account with monthly storage charges.

Level 4: Selling-side costs that are in no official calculator

– Advertising: new listings rarely rank without PPC. At a 25% ACOS, one quarter of your gross revenue disappears.
– Returns: textiles are returned for color mismatch, size confusion, and “didn’t fit my sofa.” A 5% return rate is normal for an early listing.
– Defectives and promotions: coupons, deals, and multi-pack discounts all reduce real revenue.
– Prepaid packaging, labels, inserts: small per-unit costs that add up.

These are not optional. They are structural costs of launching a new textile brand on Amazon.

Level 5: The reorder decision

Once the full cost structure is visible, you can decide which variable to fix:

– raise the price until net income meets your target
– lower advertising cost per sale
– reduce returns by improving the listing
– change size, material, or packaging to cut FBA fees
– or accept that the current SKU is unviable and switch before you reorder

The factory price is one lever. It is rarely the lever that turns a losing SKU into a winning one. But it is the easiest one to mis-evaluate — which is exactly why you need a quotation basis you can trust.

Proof: run an illustrative calculation

Every number below is hypothetical. This is a teaching example, not a BOYA quotation.

Illustrative calculation — a sofa throw priced at $29.99 on Amazon

| Line (all USD) | Amount |
|—|—|
| Amazon selling price (target) | $29.99 |
| Factory unit price (hypothetical FOB quotation) | $7.80 |
| Freight, customs, inland delivery per unit | $1.60 |
| Landed cost per unit | $9.40 |
| Amazon referral fee (15%) | $4.50 |
| FBA fulfillment fee (hypothetical) | $7.10 |
| Advertising (hypothetical ACOS 25%) | $7.50 |
| Returns and defect reserve (5% of revenue) | $1.50 |
| Total deductions after price | $20.60 |
| Net per unit at $29.99 | −$0.01 |

The seller thought they were earning $22.19 per unit. The reality is a loss.

Here is the simplified math. Variable fees (referral 15% + advertising 25%) take 40% of every dollar. Fixed costs are $9.40 landed cost + $7.10 FBA + $1.50 return reserve = $18.00 per unit.

– Break-even price = $18.00 ÷ 0.60 = $30.00
– Price for a 15% net target = $18.00 ÷ 0.45 = $40.00

Same product, same cost structure: the break-even price and the target-margin price are far apart.

Now compare the levers. Improving the factory price from $7.80 to $7.00 saves $0.80 per unit. Cutting ACOS from 25% to 18% saves $2.10. Redesigning the pack so FBA drops by $1.50 saves $1.50. The smallest lever here is often the factory price itself.

What you can rely on — and what must stay conditional

BOYA can verify the exact product situation for your project, but several facts are conditional by nature.

– For an exact BOYA item confirmed in stock, the normal dispatch target is within 3 days. This is a ship-out target, not arrival time.
– For customized products, sample making normally takes about 5 days.
– After sample and specification approval, customized bulk production normally takes about 10–15 days before dispatch.
– Zero MOQ can apply to eligible stock items only. Custom projects are quoted per order.
– sample options subject to SKU and project confirmation are subject to eligibility and shipping confirmation.
– Any certificate or test report must be verified per SKU and per target standard.

Dispatch time is not delivery time. International transit is a separate step.

One more reality check: BOYA’s own internal catalog contains blanks, zero placeholders, inconsistent weight units, and at least one formula error. The 942 records are a reference pallet, not a clean price list. That is why a controlled, project-specific quotation is the only safe basis for your Amazon calculator.

Action: build a quote basis before you price the listing

Do not anchor your Amazon price to a single factory number. Build the full deduction chain for your specific SKU first. Then ask the factory to confirm the price basis: currency, MOQ, Incoterm, packaging, and validity.

DM “PRICE-CALC” with your target product form (sofa throw, sofa pad, fitted cover, or cushion piece), target size, material or feel, estimated quantity, destination country, and deadline. BOYA will confirm whether the style is available from ready stock or needs customization, and prepare a project-specific quotation with the basis you can actually enter into your profit calculator.

FAQ

Why won’t you just send a price list?

A raw price list without currency, MOQ, Incoterm, packaging, and validity cannot support an Amazon profit calculation. The internal catalog contains 942 records; they are reference pallets, not quotations. A controlled, project-specific quotation is the only safe basis for a pricing decision.

What is the minimum order quantity for sofa covers?

It depends. For eligible stock items, zero MOQ can apply. For customized sizes, materials, colors, or packaging, MOQ is confirmed per project. There is no universal MOQ.

Can I get a sample before I calculate my price?

Samples are subject to eligibility and shipping confirmation. For customized products, sample making normally takes about 5 days. For a confirmed ready-stock item, dispatch normally targets within 3 days. Confirm the exact item and destination before relying on any timeline.

How long does bulk production take?

For customized products, bulk production normally takes about 10–15 days before dispatch after sample and specification approval, subject to the current production schedule. Dispatch is not arrival; international transit is separate.

Can BOYA match another supplier’s lower price?

Price matching is the wrong starting point. Compare the quote basis: currency, material specification, size system, weight, quantity, Incoterm, packaging, and quality documentation. A lower number without a basis is not comparable.

BOYA Textile — sofa-focused home textiles and OEM/ODM support from Haining, China. Ask us to verify the exact SKU, stock, MOQ, testing and production schedule for your project.

Part of the Risk & Buying Decisions series

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Product family: Sofa Throw Covers

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