How to Start Selling Wholesale as a Brand
Before your first retailer order, a brand starting wholesale needs to settle eight things. These are a wholesale price that leaves you margin at keystone, a low opening minimum, prepayment for new accounts, the right tax registrations, a line sheet, a way to reach buyers, a list of ten target stores, and basic fulfillment and returns rules.
This guide is for brands that sell their own product to retailers. It is not for resellers who buy in bulk.
Key takeaways
- Price: set wholesale at keystone (about half of MSRP), then check your margin against landed cost.
- Minimums: keep the opening order small.
- Terms: new accounts prepay. Offer net 30 once they reorder and pay on time.
- Legal: get an EIN where required and a seller's permit, and collect resale certificates from buyers.
- Line sheet: the document retailers order from.
- Channel: direct outreach, trade shows or a marketplace.
- First ten: a short list of stores that fit, pitched one at a time.
- Fulfillment: packing, shipping and a defects policy, settled before the first order ships.
How should a brand set wholesale prices?
Work backwards from the retail price. Keystone pricing is the usual convention: the wholesale price is half the suggested retail price (MSRP), and the retailer doubles it on the shelf. Then check your margin against landed cost, meaning production, freight, duties and packaging per unit. If keystone leaves too little, raise the retail price, cut costs or keep that product out of wholesale.
| Worked example | Per unit |
|---|---|
| Suggested retail price (MSRP) | $60 |
| Wholesale price (keystone) | $30 |
| Landed cost | $12 |
| Your gross profit | $18 (60% of wholesale) |
For tiers, price breaks and how to present prices, see the wholesale price list guide. If duties are moving your landed cost, see how tariffs affect wholesale pricing.
What minimums and payment terms should a new brand set?
The opening minimum is the smallest first order a store can place. Keep it low, because the buyer is taking a chance on a line they don't know. Craft Industry Alliance, summarizing Faire's guidance, put opening minimums for small lines with few SKUs at around $100–150. Some brands also set a lower reorder minimum or a per-style unit minimum. Raise your minimums once you have sell-through numbers to show. Also decide whether styles ship in case packs (fixed multiples, such as six units) or prepacks (a fixed size mix). Both make packing simpler, but both raise the cost of a first order.
For terms, ask new accounts to prepay or pay by card, and offer net 30 once a store reorders and pays on time; how to set net 30 terms covers the details. Agree on markdown requests in advance too, because some retailers ask brands for money back when product doesn't sell.
What do you legally need to sell wholesale in the US?
Rules vary by state, so confirm the details with your state tax agency.
| Item | What it is | Do you need it? |
|---|---|---|
| EIN | Federal tax ID, free from the IRS | Yes if you have employees; partnerships, corporations and LLCs generally need one (IRS) |
| Seller's permit | State sales tax registration | Most states require one before you can accept resale certificates |
| Resale certificate | A form a retailer gives you so it doesn't pay sales tax on goods it will resell | You collect these from buyers and keep them |
| Business license | Local or state operating license | Depends on your city, county and state |
An EIN doesn't make a sale tax-exempt; the buyer's resale certificate does. For what makes a certificate valid and how long to keep it, see sales tax and resale certificates.
What goes on a wholesale line sheet?
A line sheet is the document retailers order from, listing each style's image, style number, colors, sizes, wholesale price and MSRP, plus your minimums, delivery windows and terms. See what a line sheet is for the full field list and how to make a line sheet for a template. In Brandboom, line sheets are built from your product data, and buyers can order from them directly. Plans start at $50/month for the Basic plan (see all plans).
How do you find and land your first ten accounts?
Most new brands start with independent stores, where one buyer can say yes to a small first order. Reach them through direct outreach, trade shows or a wholesale marketplace, which takes a commission but brings retailers to you; the wholesale marketplaces guide compares them.
Treat outreach as a short project: list about 30 stores that fit your price point and customer, cut it to the ten best, find each buyer by name, and send a short, personal pitch with your line sheet link. How to find wholesale buyers covers building the list, and how to pitch a wholesale buyer covers the email and follow-ups. After the first order, ask how it's selling and offer a reorder in season.
What fulfillment basics should be ready before the first order ships?
- Stock or a firm date: inventory for the delivery window you promised, or a clear production date.
- Packing standards: how you label, bag and box units, and whether you ship in case packs.
- Shipping terms: who pays freight and how it appears on the invoice.
- A defects and returns policy: in an r/smallbusiness thread, one reply warned that a single bad batch nearly wiped out a wholesaler. Decide in advance whether you will replace, credit or refund.
- An order log: what shipped, what's owed and when each store is due for a reorder.
Brandboom can keep much of that order log for you. You create the invoice from the completed order and buy a Shippo label from that invoice. With a valid tracking number, Brandboom tracks the shipment for most carriers, and the brand and the buyer see the same delivery progress. Both sides can see what's been paid and what's still owed, and Order History records each change to the order.
FAQ
When should a new brand offer net 30 terms?
After a store has placed a first order on prepayment or card and then reorders and pays on time. Net 30 means the retailer pays within 30 days of the start date your terms name, usually the invoice or ship date, which is a real cash-flow cost for a brand with few accounts. Put terms in writing on your line sheet and invoices, and see how to set net 30 terms for credit limits and late payments.
Should a new brand start on a wholesale marketplace?
A marketplace can bring you retailers you couldn't reach alone, and it handles discovery and ordering in one place. The trade-off is a commission on each order and less control over how your line is shown. Many brands use a marketplace for discovery, then use their own line sheets and ordering for accounts they find directly. Our marketplaces guide compares the main options and their fees.
What documents do retailers expect from a new brand?
At minimum, retailers expect a line sheet with wholesale prices, MSRP, minimums and delivery windows. They also expect your payment, shipping and returns terms in writing, plus a short reseller application to fill in and return with their resale certificate. Some brands also use a simple wholesale agreement. Small-business owners on Reddit listed the same set when someone asked what to prepare for a first wholesale launch.
Do I need an LLC to sell wholesale?
No. You don't have to form an LLC to sell to retailers, and sole proprietors sell wholesale too. The registrations that matter for selling are usually a seller's permit and, where required, an EIN. An LLC or corporation can limit personal liability and change how you're taxed, so ask a CPA or business attorney which structure fits before your first order ships.