The maker's costing glossary
Wholesale vs Retail
Two prices for two kinds of buyer — and both must still profit.
Retail is the price you charge end customers; wholesale is the lower price you charge shops that resell your work. Wholesale is typically around half of retail (so the shop can double it), which means it only works when your true cost is comfortably below that wholesale price. Get your costs wrong and wholesale becomes charity.
Why it matters
Wholesale can grow a maker business fast — or bury it. Because the price is roughly half of retail, a cost you underestimated turns every wholesale order into a loss at scale. Knowing your real COGS is what makes wholesale a growth channel instead of a trap.
How to calculate it
Work up from a true unit cost. Set a wholesale price that still leaves you a healthy margin, then set retail at roughly double wholesale (keystone). If a viable wholesale price would sit below your cost, the product isn't ready for wholesale.
Wholesale ≈ retail ÷ 2 (keystone) — only if cost allows a profit
Example
An item costs you $22 to make. Wholesale at $45 still gives you good margin; retail lands near $90. If your cost were $50, that $45 wholesale would lose money on every unit.
In practice
Makers often start retail-only, then add wholesale once their costs are dialed in. The ones who add wholesale first, before knowing COGS, are the ones who 'get big orders' and go broke.
Common mistakes
- Offering wholesale before you know your true cost per unit.
- Discounting retail to a wholesale price without checking it still profits.
- Forgetting that wholesale margins are thinner, so cost errors hurt double.
How CrafterBy handles it
CrafterBy lets you set wholesale and retail prices side by side on a real cost, so you can see the margin on both before you commit to a stockist.