Fatwa #312166 December 2014United Kingdom
What will constitute a reasonable profit?
Question
If I buy a product for £5.99 at the wholesalers and on the product the original manufacturers have written on it RRP £7.99 - I then sell it for £9.99 and with it offer free delivery, is this permissable or is it not permitted to sell above the RRP? If I was to sell it at the stated RRP exactly I would be selling the product at a loss, the only way I can make a profit is to increase the price to account for my added costs of delivery (which the customer does not pay additional to the item, thus is included within the price increase) to render a sufficient profit. Please can you elucidate the laws regarding "market price", "RRP" and what constitute reasonable profit for a non-essential item. The items in question are "Perfumes, electronic equipment, books and childrens sweets"
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
It is permissible for you to sell an item at a higher price than the RRP price. You may take your expenses into consideration when putting a price on the commodity.[1]
A reasonable profit is a margin that evaluators consider to be within the normal range of sale for that commodity. [2][3]
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Immad Bin Arshad
Student Darul Iftaa
California, USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net
[1] النهر الفائق شرح كنز الدقائق (3/ 454)
المساومة وهي التي لا التفات فيها إلى الثمن الأول
[2] المحيط البرهاني في الفقه النعماني (7/ 146)
وأما لا يسعر لما روي أن السعر قد غلا بالمدينة فطلب من النبي عليه السلام أن يسعر فأبى وقال: «إن الله تعالى هو المسعر القابض الباسط الرازق» ، وفي حديث الحر قال: «الله تعالى يخفض ويرفع وإني لأرجو أن ألقى الله تعالى وليس لأحد منكم عندي مظلمة» ؛ ولأن الثمن حق البائع؛ لأنه يقابل ملكه
[3] الدر المختار وحاشية ابن عابدين (رد المحتار) (5/ 143)
قَوْلُهُ: هُوَ مَا لَا يَدْخُلُ تَحْتَ تَقْوِيمِ الْمُقَوِّمِينَ) هُوَ الصَّحِيحُ كَمَا فِي الْبَحْرِ، وَذَلِكَ كَمَا لَوْ وَقَعَ الْبَيْعُ بِعَشَرَةٍ مَثَلًا، ثُمَّ إنَّ بَعْضَ الْمُقَوِّمِينَ يَقُولُ إنَّهُ يُسَاوِي خَمْسَةً، وَبَعْضُهُمْ سِتَّةً وَبَعْضُهُمْ سَبْعَةً فَهَذَا غَبْنٌ فَاحِشٌ؛ لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَدْخُلْ تَحْتَ تَقْوِيمِ أَحَدٍ بِخِلَافِ مَا إذَا قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: ثَمَانِيَةً وَبَعْضُهُمْ تِسْعَةً وَبَعْضُهُمْ: عَشَرَةً فَهَذَا غَبْنٌ يَسِيرٌ