Selling to retailers is a different game from selling direct to consumers. When a buyer places a purchase order, you are not just picking one price — you are building a ladder: your cost, your wholesale price, the retailer's margin, and the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) that ends up on the shelf. Set any rung wrong and the whole margin collapses, or your product sits on a shelf at a price shoppers will not pay.
This wholesale calculator turns a single landed cost into the full B2B pricing ladder in one step. It computes your wholesale price, the MSRP a retailer should print on the box, the MOQ volume-discount tier for the order quantity, and the exact order total. Because wholesale markup and retailer margin are two different percentages that people constantly confuse, the calculator keeps them separate and shows both.
How to Use
- Enter the Unit Cost (Landed Cost) — your fully-loaded cost for one finished unit, including materials, direct labor, packaging, inbound freight, and any import duties. Using only the factory price will understate your true cost.
- Set the Wholesale Markup on Cost. This is the percentage you add to your cost to arrive at the wholesale price you charge the buyer. A 50% markup is common for branded goods; private-label and commodity buyers often push for tighter marks.
- Set the Retailer Margin (MSRP). This is the gross margin a retail buyer expects to earn when they resell your product. The calculator backs into the MSRP so the retailer actually clears that margin: MSRP = wholesale price divided by (1 minus the margin).
- Type the Order Quantity the buyer is asking for. The engine matches it to an MOQ tier and applies the matching volume discount automatically.
- Read the result card: your base wholesale price, the suggested MSRP, the active MOQ tier and discount, the discounted per-unit price, the order total, and your gross profit per unit after the discount.
Wholesale Price vs Retail MSRP: The Two Formulas
Most pricing mistakes come from treating markup and margin as the same number. They are not, and this calculator keeps them apart on purpose.
Wholesale price from your cost uses a markup on cost:
wholesalePrice = cost × (1 + markup%)
If your landed cost is $10 and you apply a 50% markup, your wholesale price is $10 × 1.50 = $15 per unit.
Retail MSRP from your wholesale price uses the retailer's margin — and because margin is figured on the selling price, you must divide, not multiply:
retailMSRP = wholesalePrice ÷ (1 − margin%)
If the retailer wants a 50% margin and your wholesale price is $15, the MSRP is $15 ÷ 0.50 = $30. Notice the gap: you mark cost up by 50%, yet the retail price is 3× your cost. That is normal in B2B — the retailer's 50% margin absorbs the difference, and that is exactly why dividing by (1 − margin) is the correct move instead of simply doubling the wholesale price.
MOQ Tier Pricing
Wholesale buyers expect bulk discounts, and tiers let you reward large orders without eroding margin on small ones. This calculator applies a standard four-band schedule based on order quantity:
- Below MOQ (under 50 units): the order does not meet the minimum. The calculator flags it so you can decide whether to quote, raise the MOQ, or charge a small-order fee.
- Tier 1 (50–199 units): base wholesale price, 0% volume discount.
- Tier 2 (200–499 units): 5% off the wholesale price per unit.
- Tier 3 (500+ units): 10% off the wholesale price per unit.
The effective per-unit price is the wholesale price times (1 − tier discount), and the order total is that effective price times the quantity. Your gross profit per unit is then the discounted wholesale price minus your landed cost — so you can see exactly how much margin a deep Tier 3 discount leaves you.
Examples
Example 1 — Standard reorder. A buyer places 100 units of an item that cost you $10, with a 50% wholesale markup and a 50% retailer margin. Wholesale price = $15.00, MSRP = $30.00. The quantity of 100 lands in Tier 1 (0% discount), so the effective unit price stays $15.00 and the order total is $1,500.00, leaving you $5.00 gross profit per unit.
Example 2 — A big Tier 3 order. You land cost at $20, apply a 40% markup, and keep the retailer at a 50% margin. Base wholesale = $28.00 and MSRP = $56.00. The buyer asks for 1,000 units, which triggers Tier 3 and a 10% volume discount. The effective unit price drops to $28.00 × 0.90 = $25.20, and the order total is $25,200.00. Your gross profit per unit shrinks to $5.20, but the total profit across 1,000 units is $5,200 — far more than a single small order.
Example 3 — Pricing for a large production run. When landed cost itself is very high (for example, $1,000,000 worth of components in a contract-manufacturing scenario), the same formulas scale without distortion: a 50% markup yields a $1,500,000 wholesale price and a $3,000,000 MSRP at a 50% retailer margin. The calculator handles six- and seven-figure cost magnitudes the same way as a $10 item, so you can use it for both sample pricing and full container quotes.
FAQ
How do I calculate wholesale price from cost?
Multiply your landed cost by (1 plus your markup percentage). For a $10 unit cost and a 50% markup, the wholesale price is $10 × 1.50 = $15. The markup is always applied to your cost, not to the final retail price.
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Markup is profit divided by cost; margin is profit divided by the selling price. A 50% markup on a $10 cost gives a $15 wholesale price, but that $5 of profit is only a 33% margin on the $15 price. This is why the calculator asks for them as two separate inputs: your markup sets the wholesale price, and the retailer's margin sets the MSRP.
How do I set the MSRP from my wholesale price?
Divide your wholesale price by (1 minus the retailer's desired margin). If your wholesale price is $15 and the retailer wants a 50% margin, the MSRP is $15 ÷ (1 − 0.50) = $30. Do not just double the wholesale price — dividing by (1 − margin) guarantees the retailer actually clears their target margin at that shelf price.
What is a typical wholesale markup?
Branded consumer goods commonly use a 50% markup on cost at the wholesale level, while commodities, textiles, and highly competitive categories may run 20–40%. Premium or differentiated products can support higher marks. The right number is whatever keeps your wholesale-to-retail ladder profitable at the MOQ tiers buyers expect.
How do MOQ volume discounts work?
Tiers reduce the per-unit wholesale price as the order quantity grows. A common schedule is 0% under the MOQ, 0% for the first tier, then 5% and 10% at higher bands. The calculator picks the tier from the order quantity, applies the discount to the wholesale price, and multiplies by quantity for the order total.
What happens if I quote a price below my cost?
Entering a negative or zero cost returns an error, because a wholesale price built on a negative or zero cost is meaningless. Always price from a realistic landed cost that includes freight and duties; if a buyer demands a lower landed price, negotiate the cost of goods itself rather than marking below cost.
Disclaimer
This wholesale calculator is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, accounting, pricing, or tax advice. Results are estimates based on the markup, margin, cost, and quantity you enter; actual wholesale agreements, MSRP policies, and tier discounts vary by industry, channel, and negotiation. Always confirm your landed costs and final margins with a qualified accountant or pricing professional before signing a purchase order.