How to check if your wholesale prices are still profitable in 2026

Here's something I see all the time. A brand sets their wholesale prices, gets their first stockists, and then... doesn't touch the numbers again for two or three years.

Meanwhile, supplier costs go up, packaging gets more expensive, wages change and energy bills do whatever they like. And yet the price list stays exactly the same.

Maybe it’s because the costs mostly creep up a few pence here and there, so you think you can absorb them, and that it’s not that bad, but when it comes to wholesale, this can make all the difference. I’ve literally spent days negotiating 5p price differences before.

If that sounds familiar, this post is for you. Before the silly season starts, and Christmas orders start coming in, it's worth taking an hour to actually check whether your wholesale prices are still working for you.

Why now?

Depending on what products you make, June and July kick off the winter buying season, when products are selected. So changing them in September would actually be kinda annoying for retail buyers. 

Plus, the further we get into the season, the busier you will get. So, before summer, it's the perfect time to make any price adjustments you need to make.

Reviewing your pricing now, before the rush, means you can make any adjustments calmly rather than in a panic. And if everything checks out, you'll go into the busy period with a lot more confidence.

Step 1: Go back to your cost price

This is where most pricing reviews need to start. Your cost price is the foundation of everything and if it's out of date, everything built on top of it is off too.

Run through each of the costs that go into making your product: materials, components, packaging, labels, labour, shipping from your suppliers. Even the small things like the glue dot, the tissue paper, the ribbon. It all adds up, and it's all worth checking.

Ask yourself honestly: have any of these costs increased since you last set your prices? If your main supplier put their prices up six months ago and you absorbed it without adjusting your wholesale price, you're now making less than you think.

(If you're not sure what should be included in your cost price, I've written a full breakdown here: What to include in your wholesale cost price.)

Bonus if you discovered that you now order in much bigger quantities and therefore you get better prices from your supplier. If you have made a significant jump and haven’t renegotiated with your suppliers, this is also the perfect time to reach out to them and ask about any volume discounts.

When you do this, make sure you have the data. This is how much I used to take, and now I take/spend x with you, that’s a x percent growth, and currently my sales are tracking x percent up so this is likely to continue to go up. 

Step 2: Check your wholesale margin

Once you've got an accurate cost price, it's time to look at what's actually left over.

Your wholesale margin is the difference between what you sell to a retailer and what it costs you to make. As a rough benchmark, most UK retailers expect to buy at a mark-up of 2.4 to 2.5, which means if your product retails at £20, they'd expect to pay around £8 to £8.33 wholesale.

That wholesale price needs to cover your cost price and leave you with something left over. If it doesn't, you've got a problem worth solving now rather than later.

Here's a simple way to check. Take your wholesale price and subtract your cost price. 

Whatever's left is your contribution margin per unit. Multiply that by the number of units you typically sell wholesale in a month. Is that number actually covering the time and resource you're putting in?

Step 3: Apply a proper wholesale price formula

There are a lot of the pricing formulas floating around online will tell you to simply double your cost price to get your wholesale price, and double it again for your RRP. I'd steer clear of this approach.

It oversimplifies something complex and it doesn't account for where your product sits in the market, who your ideal customer is, or what your competitors are charging.

A better starting point is to work backwards from your RRP. What does your product need to retail at for it to feel right to your ideal customer? Is that in line with other brands in your space? 

Take some time to check that in with your competitors and see what they are doing.

Then check: does dividing that RRP by 2.4 or 2.5 give you a wholesale price that still leaves you a healthy margin after costs?

If the answer is no, you have a few options. You can look at reducing costs (volume buying, supplier negotiation), you can review your RRP, or you can look at which products are genuinely worth wholesaling and which aren't.

Step 4: Work out where you actually stand

This is the bit most people skip, because doing the maths properly feels a bit terrifying. But knowing your numbers is genuinely one of the most useful things you can do for your business.

You don't need a spreadsheet PhD for this. What you need is a clear picture of your cost price, your wholesale price, your margin per unit, and how that stacks up across your range.

Some products will have a stronger margin than others and that's completely fine. But if you've got hero products where you're barely breaking even at wholesale, that's worth knowing so you can act on it.

Make this easier with the wholesale margin price calculator

If sitting down with a blank spreadsheet fills you with dread, I've got something that'll make this whole process a lot simpler.

The wholesale margin price calculator is £37 and it does the heavy lifting for you. You plug in your costs and your prices, and it shows you exactly where your margins stand. No guesswork, no formulas to figure out, just a clear picture of what's actually going on with your pricing.

It's the fastest way I know to go from "I think my prices are probably fine" to actually knowing.

A quick note on putting your prices up

If you've done this review and realised your prices need to go up, first of all, that's a good thing to know, and second, it's okay to do something about it.

A price increase doesn't have to be dramatic, and it doesn't have to be across your whole range (unless it’s needed of course). Give your existing stockists notice. Be straightforward about it.

Buyers understand that costs go up. What they don't appreciate is being surprised. A calm, clear email explaining the change, with enough lead time, is usually well received.

Pricing isn't something you set once and forget. It needs to move with your business, and spring/summer is a good time to make sure it still is.

If you want to dig deeper into how to think about wholesale pricing from the ground up, this post on how to set your wholesale prices with confidence is a good place to start.

And if you're ready to get the numbers right properly, grab the wholesale margin price calculator and do the review today while you've got the headspace for it.

FAQ:

How do I know if my wholesale prices are too low?

The clearest sign is that you're fulfilling orders but not feeling it in your bank account. If wholesale feels like a lot of work for very little return, that's usually a margin problem rather than a volume problem. Go back to your cost price, make sure it's accurate and up to date, and then check what's actually left after you subtract it from your wholesale price. If the answer makes you feel a bit queasy, your prices probably need to go up. Or you need to look at where you’re spending your money.

Digging into this with clients, we’ve uncovered that their tech stack was too costly, fulfilment costs too high, or that their packaging was killing their margins. If you uncover something similar, then address this first rather than putting your prices up.

And remember, you can not outsell poor margins in your business.

What's the difference between margin and mark-up in wholesale?

They're both measuring profitability but from different angles, and it trips a lot of people up. 

This can be talked about from your perspective and from the retail buyers perspective which makes it even more confusing. 

When it comes to markup, it usually refers to the difference between your wholesale price and your recommended retail price. And it then refers to how many times your wholesale price is multiplied to get to your recommended retail price. 

Margin is the percentage of your wholesale price that the buyer gets to keep. So the difference between your wholesale price and the recommended retail price in percentage.

A 2.5 mark-up works out to roughly a 60% margin. Retailers tend to talk in mark-up, so it's worth knowing both.

If we were to work together, we would also be talking about your profit margin, which is the difference between your cost price and the wholesale price or retail price, minus any added cost like commission. 

How often should I review my wholesale prices?

At least once a year, and ideally whenever a supplier puts their prices up. Most brands review in January or ahead of a new season. The problem is that cost increases tend to creep in gradually and it's easy to absorb them quietly without realising how much they've added up. Building in a regular pricing review, even just a quick one, means you're not finding out you've been undercharging six months down the line.

Can I put my wholesale prices up without losing my stockists?

Usually, yes, as long as you handle it well. Give existing stockists enough notice, be straightforward about the reason, and make the increase feel considered. Most buyers understand that costs go up. If you're worried about a specific stockist, it's always worth having a conversation with them directly before the new prices go live.

Some big retailers will make you commit to prices for a buying season, so always check your prices before agreeing to a set price for the season.

Do I need a wholesale price calculator?

You don't strictly need one, but it makes the process a lot quicker and removes the room for error that comes with doing it manually. A good wholesale price calculator lets you see your margins clearly across your whole range, so you can spot straight away which products are working hard for you and which aren't pulling their weight. If you've been putting off reviewing your prices because the maths feels like a faff, a calculator is usually what turns "I'll do it eventually" into actually doing it. You can grab mine for £37 here: wholesale margin price calculator.