Overview

A cost model that sets the maximum bid, ACoS ceiling and TACoS target for the Amazon account. Every advertising threshold used in the account is calculated from this model rather than taken from a category benchmark.

Objective

Establish spend limits derived from the product P&L so that bid decisions can be checked against a figure instead of judged by eye.

Cost breakdown

Component Value Note
Sale price $29.99 Uniform across the core catalogue
Referral fee -$4.50 Amazon commission at 15%
FBA fulfilment -$3.86 Pick, pack and ship
COGS, lead SKU -$5.50 Landed cost per unit
Contribution margin $16.13 Earned per sale before advertising

Derived limits

Break-even ACoS: margin divided by price, 53.8%.

Break-even cost per order: $16.13.

Clicks required per order: 1 divided by 5.1% account conversion rate, 19.6 clicks.

Maximum bid per click: $16.13 divided by 19.6, or $0.82.

Thresholds applied

Metric Threshold Basis
TACoS 15% Ad spend against total sales, used as the headline figure
ACoS 40% target, 52% ceiling Ceiling set below the 53.8% break-even
CPC $0.80 The $0.82 maximum, rounded down
Conversion rate 5.1% Account average, used to convert cost per order into cost per click

My Role