Reviewed 2026-09-30 · quarterly cycle
Budget ladder: what a haul looks like at three price levels
At this budget, how much of it survives contact with shipping and tax?
| Tier | Goods budget | Shipping | Tax | Shipping and tax share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower tier | $157.50 | $20.40 – $78.00 | $31.50 – $31.50 | 10% – 29% |
| Entered budget | $350.00 | $20.40 – $78.00 | $70.00 – $70.00 | 5% – 16% |
| Higher tier | $665.00 | $20.40 – $78.00 | $133.00 – $133.00 | 2% – 9% |
- Lower tier
- Goods $157.50; shipping $20.40 – $78.00; tax $31.50 – $31.50; total $209.40 – $267.00.
- Entered budget
- Goods $350.00; shipping $20.40 – $78.00; tax $70.00 – $70.00; total $440.40 – $498.00.
- Higher tier
- Goods $665.00; shipping $20.40 – $78.00; tax $133.00 – $133.00; total $818.40 – $876.00.
Shipping assumed at published ranges per kilogram for United Kingdom; tax at 20%–20% of goods value. Chargeable weight uses the sneakers volume hint divided by a 6,000 divisor.
Inputs and defaults
- Budget in US dollars (default 350, range 50 to 2000)
- Category (default sneakers; eight categories)
- Destination region (default United Kingdom; six regions)
- Preferred item count (default 3, range 1 to 20)
How it computes
- The budget is split into three tiers: 45 percent, 100 percent and 190 percent of the entered figure.
- For each tier, the typical chargeable weight for the category is multiplied by the item count, and shipping plus tax is estimated as a range from published line ranges and destination tax ranges.
- The share of each tier consumed by shipping and tax is reported, and a line connects the three tiers so the change in that share is visible rather than described.
What you get out
- The budget ladder: three proportional bars with a connecting line showing how the shipping share moves
- Three receipts, one per tier, listing what fits in the goods, what shipping and tax take, and where that tier breaks
Boundaries and failure behaviour
- A budget below 50 returns a message that it is under the tool minimum.
- A budget above 2000 is clamped to the maximum with a note explaining the clamp.
- An item count whose implied weight exceeds 30 kilograms returns a note that the count is outside normal parcel sizes.
- Every tier is labelled as an example configuration built for illustration, never as a recommendation.
Used with
Background reading: Sneaker hauls: box weight versus shoe weight