Wholesale price lists can look confusing when products are sold by the dozen rather than individually. The listed price may refer to a complete trade pack, while the retailer still needs to calculate the cost of each saleable item.
Understanding dozen pricing makes it easier to compare products, set selling prices and estimate the potential profit from your order.
How Does Dozen Pricing Work?
A dozen contains 12 saleable units. When a wholesaler prices a product by the dozen, the listed amount normally covers all 12 units in that pack.
For example:
- Wholesale price: £6 per dozen
- Number of units: 12
- Unit cost: £6 ÷ 12
- Cost per unit: 50p
Some products may be available in half-dozens, mixed packs or larger quantities. Always check whether the quantity refers to individual products, product cards or packs containing several accessories.
For example, one saleable card might contain four hair elastics. A dozen would provide 12 cards for the shop to sell, not just 12 individual elastics.
Hair accessory wholesalers commonly sell trade products in multiples such as dozens or half-dozens, although pack structures vary between suppliers.
What Does “60/80 Doz” Mean?
A price written as “60/80 doz” usually indicates that two dozen prices apply across a product selection. For example, products may cost £6 or £8 per dozen depending on the design, size or finish.
Using those figures:
- £6 per dozen equals 50p per unit
- £8 per dozen equals approximately 67p per unit
It does not usually mean that you will receive 60 or 80 products.
Wholesale notation is not completely standardised, however. Some suppliers use shortened figures to represent pence per card, with “doz” showing that products must be ordered in multiples of 12. Always check the price key, invoice or product description before placing an order.
How Do I Work Out the Unit Cost?
Use this simple calculation:
Dozen price ÷ 12 = unit cost
If a dozen costs £9.60:
£9.60 ÷ 12 = 80p per unit
Remember to include any additional costs when assessing the true cost of the product, including delivery charges, packaging and VAT that cannot be reclaimed.
How Do I Calculate Markup?
Markup measures how much you add to the wholesale cost.
Imagine that an accessory costs 80p per unit and you sell it for £2.40:
- Cost price: 80p
- Selling price: £2.40
- Gross profit: £1.60
- Markup: 200%
Markup and gross margin are different. In this example, the gross margin is approximately 67%, because the £1.60 gross profit represents around 67% of the £2.40 selling price.
The best selling price should also account for overheads, card fees, potential markdowns and how quickly the line is likely to sell.
Do Wholesale Prices Include VAT?
Trade prices are often shown excluding VAT, but this is not universal. Look for wording such as:
- Ex VAT
- Plus VAT
- VAT included
- Inc VAT
Where the standard UK VAT rate applies, adding VAT to an excluding-VAT price means multiplying it by 1.2. A £10 order excluding VAT would therefore cost £12 including VAT.
VAT-registered businesses can normally reclaim eligible VAT paid on business purchases, subject to the usual rules. Non-VAT-registered retailers should treat the VAT-inclusive total as part of their stock cost.
Before ordering, check the pack quantity, price basis and VAT position. Retailers can open a Mermaids Hair Accessories trade account to explore wholesale products selected for straightforward stocking and resale.
