How this calculator works
Wholesale looks straightforward until the first stockist asks for your line sheet, and you discover your wholesale price needs to be about half of retail — and that half does not cover your costs.
That is usually a retail pricing problem rather than a wholesale one. This calculator shows your cost floor, the retailer’s ceiling, and the retail price that would satisfy both.
The formula
- Allocated unit cost = unit cost + order handling ÷ order quantity
- Your cost floor = allocated unit cost ÷ (1 − your target wholesale margin)
- Retailer ceiling = retail price × (1 − retailer’s required margin)
- A workable price exists only when floor ≤ ceiling
- Retail needed to satisfy both = floor ÷ (1 − retailer’s margin)
What to watch for
- Both constraints are always computed, whichever method you pick. A price set by discount or by the retailer’s requirement is still checked against your cost floor.
- When the floor sits above the ceiling, no price satisfies both parties. Raising retail is usually the fix — cutting your own margin rarely closes a gap of any size, and taking the order at a loss gets worse with volume.
- At a 35% wholesale margin and keystone retail, retail lands at roughly three times unit cost. That is the multiple to keep in mind when first pricing anything you might ever want to wholesale.
- Wholesale margins are normally lower than retail margins, and that is correct: there are no marketplace fees on an invoiced order, per-unit selling cost collapses, and marketing shifts to the retailer.
- Net 30 terms mean financing production before you are paid. That is a real cost, and a reason not to shave the margin to the bone.
Common mistakes
- Pricing retail at twice cost, which leaves no room for a stockist and rules wholesale out before you start.
- Accepting an order below your floor because the volume feels like progress. Volume multiplies a negative margin.
- Forgetting order-level handling, packing and line-sheet admin.
- Undercutting your stockists on your own storefront, which is the fastest way to lose the account.
- Assuming every retailer wants 50%. Galleries and consignment often need 60% or more.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate a wholesale price?
It has to clear two tests. Your cost floor is your allocated unit cost divided by one minus your target wholesale margin. The retailer ceiling is their retail price times one minus their required margin. If the floor is at or below the ceiling you have a workable range; if not, your retail price is too low to support wholesale at all.
What is keystone pricing?
Keystone means the retailer doubles the wholesale price to set retail — a 50% retail margin. It persists because 50% is roughly what a physical shop needs to cover rent, staff, shrinkage and unsold stock, so a useful planning assumption is that wholesale is about half of retail.
Why is my wholesale price higher than the retailer can pay?
Almost always because retail is set too low. Retail has to cover your costs, your margin, and the retailer’s margin. If you priced retail directly from your costs without leaving room for a reseller, there is no space left, and raising retail is normally the honest fix.
Should wholesale and retail margins be the same?
No. Wholesale margins are normally lower because orders are larger, per-unit selling costs fall, and marketing and customer service move to the retailer. A lower margin on much greater volume can be more profitable than retail, as long as it stays above your cost floor.
What is a reasonable minimum order?
Set it so the order covers your setup, admin, packing and invoicing time and still leaves your margin intact. Many makers use a higher dollar minimum for a first order and a lower one for reorders, since repeat orders skip the sampling and onboarding work.