Quick answer: Wholesale pricing starts from your full unit cost and works up. Divide the unit cost by (1 minus your target margin) to get a base wholesale price. Check it against the retail price with keystone math (retail at double wholesale), then set lower dealer, distributor and volume tiers that never drop below a margin floor.
Last updated: November 5, 2026.
A wholesale price is the price a manufacturer, wholesaler or distributor charges another business for goods it will resell or use. That entry covers the definition and how wholesale compares with retail. This guide covers the work that comes after: the formulas, a worked example you can copy with your own numbers, and how to turn one price into a set of account and volume tiers that a Shopify B2B store can actually run.
Every number below belongs to one hypothetical product, so you can follow a single price from cost to tier.
Step 1: Find the full unit cost
Every wholesale pricing formula divides or multiplies a unit cost, so a missing cost line ends up as a margin you never see. Count what one unit really costs you to make or buy and ship out the door. Your cost of goods sold is the start, and a share of overhead finishes the job.
For the example product:
- Materials: $6.00
- Labor: $2.50
- Packaging: $0.75
- Overhead share: $1.75 (monthly overhead of $3,500 spread across 2,000 units)
Unit cost: $6.00 + $2.50 + $0.75 + $1.75 = $11.00.
Which costs belong in the number is your call. You can stop at the product cost or also load inbound freight, storage and the cost of serving the account. What matters is that you pick a method and use the same one for every product, because each tier you set later inherits it. If overhead moves, every price built on it moves too.
Step 2: How to calculate wholesale price with a margin target
The most direct wholesale price formula starts from the margin you want to keep:
- Wholesale price = unit cost / (1 - target margin)
With a 40% target margin: $11.00 / (1 - 0.40) = $11.00 / 0.60 = $18.33.
Check it: $18.33 - $11.00 = $7.33 of gross profit, and $7.33 / $18.33 = 40.0% of the selling price. The formula holds.
The target margin is a business decision, and the formula only does the arithmetic. To compare targets, change the divisor. A 30% margin divides by 0.70 and gives $15.71. A 50% margin divides by 0.50 and gives $22.00. A wholesale price calculator runs the same arithmetic, so you can do it in a spreadsheet before you commit to a number for every account.
The other common route is cost-plus pricing, which adds a markup to the cost:
- Wholesale price = unit cost x (1 + markup)
Both work, but they answer different questions. The next section puts numbers on the difference.
Margin vs markup: the gap that costs you 11 points
Markup divides profit by cost. Margin divides the same profit by the selling price. The markup vs margin entry has the full conversion, and the short version is:
- Markup to margin: margin = markup / (1 + markup)
- Margin to markup: markup = margin / (1 - margin)
Here is why it matters. Say your finance team wants a 40% margin, and someone in sales prices the product with a 40% markup instead:
- 40% markup: $11.00 x 1.40 = $15.40. Profit is $4.40, and $4.40 / $15.40 = 28.6% margin.
- 40% margin: $18.33, as above. That same price is a 66.7% markup (0.40 / 0.60 = 0.667).
The two "40%" prices are $2.93 apart per unit, and the markup version lands 11.4 points short of the margin target. Pick one measure, write it on the price sheet, and make every tier use it.
Keystone pricing and the retail check
Once you have a cost-based number, check it against the shelf. Keystone pricing is one quick test. Shopify describes it as "setting the retail price of a product at double the wholesale price," which means the formula runs backward from retail:
- Keystone wholesale price = retail price / 2
Suppose comparable products sell for $35.99 on the shelf. Keystone gives $35.99 / 2 = $17.995, or $18.00. At that price the retailer keeps $17.99 per unit, a 50.0% margin.
Now compare it with Step 2. Your cost-based price was $18.33, which keystone would push to a $36.66 shelf price, above where the category sells. At $18.00 your own margin is $7.00 / $18.00 = 38.9%, a little under the 40% target.
That is the real decision in wholesale pricing: hold the margin and accept a higher shelf price, take the lower margin, or take cost out of the product. Shopify's own guide lists the trade-off plainly, noting that keystone "doesn't account for factors like competition, demand, or perceived value."
For the rest of this guide, the base wholesale price is $18.00.
MSRP, MAP and your wholesale price
MSRP, the manufacturer's suggested retail price, is the number you publish next to your wholesale price. In the example, an MSRP of $35.99 sits above a wholesale price of $18.00. MSRP vs wholesale comes down to who pays it: the reseller pays wholesale, and MSRP is the price you suggest the reseller charge its own customer.
The key word is suggested. The Federal Trade Commission's guidance on supply-chain pricing says: "A dealer is free to set the retail price of the products it sells." It also says a manufacturer "may stop dealing with a retailer that does not follow its resale price policy," and that "Competitors at each level of the supply chain must set prices independently."
MAP pricing, the minimum advertised price, controls the advertised price rather than the selling price. The FTC notes that "The law allows a manufacturer considerable leeway in setting the terms for advertising that it helps to pay for."
For the price sheet, that means three numbers per SKU: what each tier pays, the MSRP you suggest, and any MAP you set for advertising under a MAP policy. Keep them in one place so they change together.
This section is general information, not legal advice. Consult counsel before you set resale, advertising or tier policies.
Set wholesale price tiers by account type
If you sell to retail accounts, dealers and distributors, each group needs its own price. Build every tier from the base price, then check each against a margin floor.
Start with the floor. If you will never sell below a 20% margin, the floor price is $11.00 / (1 - 0.20) = $11.00 / 0.80 = $13.75.
Then set the tiers:
- Retail account (base wholesale): $18.00. Margin 38.9%.
- Dealer, 10% off base: $18.00 x 0.90 = $16.20. Margin $5.20 / $16.20 = 32.1%.
- Distributor, 20% off base: $18.00 x 0.80 = $14.40. Margin $3.40 / $14.40 = 23.6%.
The distributor tier has to leave room for the distributor too. If the distributor resells to retailers at your $18.00 base, it keeps $3.60, or 20.0% of its selling price. Lower that tier and you move closer to your own floor. Raise it and the distributor's margin shrinks.
Different prices for different buyers carry rules of their own. The FTC's Robinson-Patman guidance says "Price discriminations are generally lawful, particularly if they reflect the different costs of dealing with different buyers," and it lists as one defense that "the price difference is justified by different costs incurred by the seller in manufacture, sale, or delivery (e.g., volume discounts)." Write down the reason for each tier, and ask counsel before you rely on it.
For more patterns, such as contract and customer-specific pricing, see B2B ecommerce pricing strategies and how ERPs decide matrix and contract prices.
Add volume breaks without breaking the floor
Tiered pricing by quantity sits on top of account tiers. The buyer earns a lower unit price by ordering more. Tie the breaks to how the product ships. If it ships in cases of 12, sell in multiples of 12 and set the breaks on case counts.
For the retail account, with a 12-unit MOQ and a 12-unit increment:
- 12 to 23 units: $18.00. Margin 38.9%.
- 24 to 95 units, 5% off: $18.00 x 0.95 = $17.10. Margin $6.10 / $17.10 = 35.7%.
- 96 units and up, 10% off: $16.20. Margin 32.1%.
The dealer can take the same 10% break at 96 units: $16.20 x 0.90 = $14.58, a 24.6% margin and still above the $13.75 floor.
The distributor cannot. A 10% break on $14.40 gives $12.96, below the floor. The deepest break that tier can carry is $13.75, which is $13.75 / $14.40 = 0.955 of its price, or about 4.5% off.
Run every tier and every break against the floor before anything goes live. One spreadsheet column with the margin formula catches it. For case packs and order minimums on Shopify, see wholesale order minimums and case packs.
How wholesale price tiers run on Shopify B2B
Shopify B2B carries both kinds of tier natively. Shopify's help center says "Shopify B2B is available on the Basic, Grow, Advanced, and Shopify Plus plans," and its plan comparison lists quantity rules and quantity price breaks on Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus.
Catalogs carry the account tiers. "You can use B2B catalogs to choose which products and prices to offer your B2B customers," and inside one "You can include or exclude products, apply percentage price adjustments, and set fixed prices." A dealer catalog with a 10% decrease and a distributor catalog with a 20% decrease mirror the tiers above. "A fixed price overrides the catalog's percentage adjustment for that product or variant."
Plan limits shape the tier count. "On the Basic, Grow, and Advanced plans, you can assign up to 3 active catalogs across all your B2B markets." "On the Plus plan, you can also assign catalogs directly to company locations," and "Each company location can have a maximum of 25 catalogs assigned to it."
Overlapping catalogs follow a precedence rule. When a product has prices in more than one catalog that applies to a customer, Shopify says "the lowest price doesn't always apply." "A catalog assigned directly to the customer's company location takes precedence over market catalogs," and "Among market catalogs, the more specific matching market takes precedence." If the catalogs assigned directly to the same company location include the same product at different prices, the store displays "the lowest price for that item, not including quantity rules or volume pricing breaks."
Volume pricing and quantity rules handle the breaks. "You can add up to 10 price breaks per product which are applied to each variant." Minimum, maximum and increment rules set the case logic, and "Price break quantities must be greater than the minimum order quantity" and "a multiple of the increment that you set in your quantity rules." In the example, breaks at 24 and 96 both clear a 12-unit minimum and increment.
Watch the fixed-price switch. "After you apply volume pricing to a product the price becomes fixed," and "Any overall adjustment discount set on the catalog won't apply." In the dealer catalog, that means entering $16.20 as a fixed price for any product that gets volume breaks, or the 10% decrease no longer applies to it. Shopify lets you set volume pricing in the admin "or by importing a CSV," which is the practical route for a large price list.
For the full store setup, see Shopify for wholesale, and for per-account and volume pricing in more depth, Shopify B2B pricing.
Where the price master should live
If your tier prices already live in an ERP, retyping them into Shopify catalogs means keeping two price lists in step by hand, and every price change has to be made twice. Keeping the ERP as the price master and syncing prices into Shopify avoids that.
Uncap Connect is a Shopify-to-ERP integration app with native support for B2B companies, locations, catalogs, price lists and payment terms. It syncs customer-specific pricing and tax rules, and pricing moves the moment it changes rather than in an overnight batch. Uncap Connect starts at $8,000 for onboarding and then a flat $390 per month.
Some prices never fit a catalog: a project bid, a one-off contract, a buyer asking for a number before committing. Uncap Quotes applies negotiated prices, tiers and volume breaks automatically, with pricing pulled from your ERP or Shopify price lists.
For the bigger picture of selling to businesses online, see wholesale ecommerce, or how Uncap works with wholesale brands and distributors.
Account-tier pricing in practice, and where to start
Two published Uncap projects show the pattern.
Kooks Headers & Exhaust evolved "into a multi-channel manufacturer serving both retail enthusiasts and wholesale distributors." Uncap built "Secure B2B portals with custom pricing, account management, and streamlined reordering," with an ERP integration where "Real-time inventory synchronization keeps stock and pricing accurate across every channel." Read the Kooks case study.
For Canon Medical Systems USA, account tier drives how each new account is set up: "Shopify Flow applies default price lists, catalogs, net payment terms, and purchasing parameters to new or approved company profiles based on account tier, removing manual setup and human error." Read the Canon Medical Systems case study.
The formulas fit on one page. The hard part is the decisions around them: which accounts get which tier, where the floor sits, which system owns the price, and how many catalogs your Shopify plan allows. Getting those wrong after launch means repricing live accounts.
Uncap Blueprint is a $7,500 fixed-price, 4-week Shopify migration engagement that covers solution architecture and an ERP integration audit before anything is built. If you want a second set of eyes on your price tiers and how they will run on Shopify B2B, Talk to Our Experts.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I charge for wholesale?
Charge at least your full unit cost divided by (1 minus your target margin), then check the result against the retail price. For a product that costs $11.00 with a 40% margin target, that is $18.33. If keystone math (retail at double wholesale) puts the shelf price above what the category sells for, lower the price, accept a thinner margin, or cut cost.
How much is the wholesale price of a product?
It depends on the seller, because each seller sets its own wholesale price from its costs and margin target. Keystone pricing is the common reference point: Shopify describes it as setting the wholesale price at half of the retail price. A product that sells for $35.99 on the shelf would carry a keystone wholesale price of about $18.00.
How do I calculate a 20% margin?
Divide the cost by 0.80. A product that costs $11.00 needs a price of $11.00 / 0.80 = $13.75 to earn a 20% margin, because the $2.75 profit is 20% of $13.75. A 20% markup gives a different number: $11.00 x 1.20 = $13.20, which is only a 16.7% margin.
What are the 5 C's of pricing?
This guide uses its own five C's for wholesale pricing, not a standard list: cost (your full unit cost), customer (what each account tier will pay), competition (where the category's shelf price sits), channel (the margin each reseller needs to keep) and compliance (resale, advertising and price-difference rules, checked with counsel).
What is keystone pricing?
Keystone pricing sets the retail price at double the wholesale price, so the wholesale price is half of retail and the reseller keeps a 50% margin. It is a quick way to check a wholesale price against the shelf. Shopify notes that keystone pricing does not account for competition, demand or perceived value, so treat it as a check on a cost-based price rather than the whole answer.
What is the difference between MSRP and wholesale price?
The wholesale price is what a reseller pays you; MSRP is the retail price you suggest the reseller charge its own customer. In the example, a reseller pays $18.00 and the MSRP is $35.99. FTC guidance says a dealer is free to set the retail price of the products it sells, so the reseller decides whether to follow your MSRP.
How many price breaks can a product have on Shopify B2B?
Up to 10. Shopify's help center says you can add up to 10 price breaks per product, applied to each variant. Break quantities must be greater than the minimum order quantity and a multiple of the increment in your quantity rules. Once volume pricing is applied, the product's catalog price becomes fixed and the catalog's overall percentage adjustment no longer applies to it.
