Flipping guide

Grand Exchange Margin Calculation

Margin calculation is the fundamental technique flippers use to size up an item before investing. By measuring the gap between an item's instant buy price and instant sell price, you get the "margin" — your potential profit per item — and a clear read on whether it's worth flipping.

The five-step process

1

Choose an item

Select an item you're interested in flipping. For beginners, items with medium volume and medium-to-high value typically work best — runes, common equipment, or resources are good starting points.

2

Find the instant buy price

First, find out how much it costs to buy the item instantly:

  1. Go to any Grand Exchange in OSRS
  2. Search for your chosen item
  3. Set the price significantly higher than the market price (e.g. +20%)
  4. Buy just one item
  5. The price you paid is the instant buy price

Example

If the market price of a Dragon Scimitar is 60,000 gp, offer something like 72,000 gp for 1 item.

3

Find the instant sell price

Next, find out how much you'd get when selling the item instantly:

  1. Take the item you just bought
  2. Create a new sell offer
  3. Set the price significantly lower than the market price (e.g. -20%)
  4. Sell the one item
  5. The price you received is the instant sell price
4

Calculate the margin

Now that you have both prices, you can calculate the margin:

Margin = Instant Buy Price − Instant Sell Price

Example calculation

  • Instant buy price: 65,231 gp
  • Instant sell price: 63,842 gp
  • Margin: 65,231 − 63,842 = 1,389 gp
5

Account for GE tax

Since the introduction of the Grand Exchange Tax (2% of sale value), you need to factor this into your margin calculations:

True Margin = Instant Buy Price − Instant Sell Price − GE Tax

GE Tax = Sell Price × 0.02

Continuing our example

  • GE tax: 63,842 × 0.02 = 1,276 gp
  • True margin: 1,389 − 1,276 = 113 gp

Tips for successful margin checking

  1. 01

    Update regularly

    Margins change constantly due to market fluctuations. Check margins regularly, especially for volatile items.

  2. 02

    Margin vs. volume

    High-margin items often have low trading volume. Consider both factors when choosing items to flip.

  3. 03

    Start small

    When testing a new item, start with a small quantity to minimize risk until you understand its margin behavior.

  4. 04

    Use GE Watch

    Use our historical data to identify items with consistent margins and good trading volume.

Flipping profit calculation

Once you've found a good margin, you can calculate your potential profit:

Total Profit = Margin × Quantity

Remember that this is the theoretical maximum. In practice, your buy and sell offers may not fill at the exact prices you discovered during margin calculation.