Dime Sale Calculator

A dime sale (or dimesale) is a selling tactic that entices customers to buy a product quickly before the price increases. In a dime sale, the seller sets a base price that lasts until X units are sold. After X units have been sold, the cost per unit increases by y dollars for each additional unit sold, until some maximum price is reached. Traditionally, X = 1 and y = $0.10, hence the name "dime sale."

A dime sale with a low starting price discourages potential customers from mulling over their decision to purchase something. Buyers know that if they hesitate, the price will go up while they wait. Not only do dime sales generate quick sales, but they also create extra interest in a product, since people like to observe how the price changes.

The calculator on the left will tell you how much money you will make from a dime sale when you enter the starting price, the increment, number of sales before the first price jump, the price cap, and the total number of units sold.

You can use the calculator to find the revenue of an existing dime sale, or to figure out the best pricing strategy for your own dime sale. You can also use the dime sale strategy calculator if you haven't decided on the base price or increment. Some examples are worked out below.

Example 1: Judy is selling an ebook and sets the price at $4.95. To attract more customers and make more money, she uses the dime sale marketing tactic. After 20 ebooks have been sold, the price will increase by $0.10 until it reaches the maximum price of $9.95. How much revenue will Judy earn from selling 200 ebooks?

Using the calculator above, input 4.95 for the starting price, 0.10 for the increment, 20 for the number of units to be sold before the first price increase, 9.95 for the maximum price, and 200 for the total number of ebooks sold. This produces $1767.50 in ebook earnings.

To figure the average earnings per item, divide the revenue by the number of items sold. In this example, $1767.50/200 = $8.8375 per ebook.


Example 2: Judy is not satisfied with earning $8.8375 per ebook after 200 sales; she would like her per-item earnings to be at least $9.25. She also knows from previous experience that $9.95 is the maximum price she can charge. This means she must raise the increment, raise the starting price, and/or decrease the number of ebooks sold before the price jumps.

If she changes the increment to $0.20 and the starting price to $5.50, her total sales will be $1855.80. And since $1855.80/200 = $9.279, her goal will be met.

Alternatively, she can set the price jump immediately after the first book sells instead of waiting for 20 books to be sold. With this strategy, her total sales will be $1862.50, or $9.3125 per unit. This also allows Judy to meet her goal.

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