A displayed position value and the proceeds estimated from selling that position answer different questions. One is a valuation. The other asks how much buying interest is available for the quantity you want to sell.
For an immediate sale estimate on Polymarket’s international order book, look at the bid side and the quantity available at each price. A price without a size is not enough to estimate the proceeds for an entire position.
This guide uses a fictional two-level book to make the calculation transparent. It does not describe a live market, an executable quote or a TickBetter feature.
Keep four amounts separate
| Amount | Question it answers |
|---|---|
| Displayed valuation | What value is being shown for the position? |
| Estimated gross sale proceeds | What would the selected quantity bring in against the assumed bid depth, before fees? |
| Assumed fees | What fee amount has been included in the calculation, and on what basis? |
| Estimated net proceeds | What remains after subtracting those assumed fees? |
Do not assume a displayed valuation is a commitment to buy your entire holding at its implied price. This article also does not assume how a particular portfolio screen calculates that value.
For introductory mechanics, start with how to read the Polymarket order book. The official prices and order-book documentation provides the underlying bid-depth context.
Worked example: 1,000 shares across two bid levels
Hypothetical snapshot timestamp: 2026-09-07 at 12:00:00 UTC. All quantities, prices, displayed values and fees below are invented for illustration. They are not historical market data.
Assume you hold 1,000 shares of one outcome. For comparison, suppose a portfolio screen displays $600 for that position—equivalent to $0.60 per share. That is an example input, not a claim about the screen’s valuation method.
Now suppose the bid side contains:
| Bid price per share | Shares available at that level | Shares used in the estimate | Estimated proceeds |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0.59 | 400 | 400 | $236.00 |
| $0.57 | 600 | 600 | $342.00 |
| Total | 1,000 | 1,000 | $578.00 |
The calculation assumes all displayed quantities remain available and the sale reaches both levels. It does not model a particular order type or promise those fills.
Step 1: Estimate gross proceeds
Calculate each level separately, then add the results:
(400 × $0.59) + (600 × $0.57) = $236 + $342 = $578.
Multiplying all 1,000 shares by the highest bid of $0.59 would produce $590. But this fictional book has only 400 shares of buying interest at that price. That shortcut overstates the example’s gross estimate by $12.
Step 2: Calculate the weighted-average sale price
Divide estimated gross proceeds by the quantity being sold:
$578 ÷ 1,000 = $0.578 per share.
This is a size-weighted estimate. It is not the highest bid, and it is not a guaranteed execution price.
Step 3: Show the fee assumption explicitly
For arithmetic only, assume a $2 total fee for the hypothetical sale. This is an invented flat amount, not a Polymarket fee rate, fee formula or statement that a fee applies to every market.
Estimated net proceeds = $578 − $2 = $576.
For a real estimate, verify the applicable fee treatment rather than carrying over this teaching assumption. If fees are unknown, label net proceeds as unresolved or conditional instead of silently assuming zero.
Step 4: Compare like with like
| Measure | Example amount |
|---|---|
| Displayed position valuation | $600 |
| Estimated gross sale proceeds | $578 |
| Explicitly assumed fee | $2 |
| Estimated net proceeds | $576 |
The $24 difference between displayed value and estimated net proceeds has two components in this example: $22 between valuation and gross proceeds, plus the $2 assumed fee.
It is not evidence of a platform defect or an unexplained charge. The figures use different inputs and answer different questions. It also is not a profit-or-loss calculation: the example supplies no acquisition cost.
What if the visible bids do not cover the whole position?
Suppose you want to estimate a sale of more shares than the available snapshot covers. Do not assign the uncovered quantity the last visible price merely to produce a complete number.
Instead, report:
- The quantity covered by the observed bids.
- The gross estimate for that covered quantity.
- The quantity with no supported estimate.
- That whole-position proceeds cannot be established from the available snapshot.
A partial-depth estimate should not be labeled a full-position cash-out value.
A timestamped estimate is still not a fill
The calculation describes the assumed book at a particular moment. If the prices or quantities available when an order is processed differ from those inputs, the result can differ too. The order’s price constraints also matter: this arithmetic does not authorize or guarantee selling at every level shown.
Before relying on an estimate, check:
- Position: Is the market, outcome and share quantity correct?
- Side: Are you using bids for the sale estimate?
- Depth: Does the observed quantity cover the amount you intend to sell?
- Time: When was the snapshot taken?
- Fees: Are they verified, explicitly assumed or unknown?
- Labels: Are displayed value, gross estimate and net estimate clearly separated?
The useful comparison is not simply “portfolio number versus cash-out number.” It is a transparent calculation with a quantity, a timestamp, depth assumptions and an explicit treatment of fees.
TickBetter is PRE-ALPHA and currently in development. This educational example is not a live exit preview, quote or execution service.