📦 Wholesale to Retail Price Calculator

Keystone pricing is a common retail rule of thumb: double your wholesale cost to set the retail price. Enter your wholesale cost and adjust the multiplier if you use a different rule.

Wholesale cost ($)

Multiplier

The multiplier and the margin it implies

Retail is your wholesale cost times a multiplier, and the margin that results depends only on the multiplier - never on the size of the cost:

retail = wholesale × multiplier
margin = (retail - wholesale) / retail × 100
       = 1 - 1 / multiplier

$15 doubled is $30 and a 50.0% margin. That second formula is worth memorising, because it means every item you keystone lands on the same 50% whatever it cost you:

Multiplier	Margin
×1.5	33.3%
×2.0	50.0%
×2.2	54.5%
×2.5	60.0%
×3.0	66.7%

What the doubling has to cover

That 50% is gross margin on one unit, not profit. Freight and duty on the way in, card fees, theft and breakage, staff, rent, and the stock you eventually discount all come out of it before anything reaches you.
Markdowns are the quiet killer. Sell a third of the run at 30% off and the realised margin on those units drops to about 28.6%, well under the 50% the shelf ticket promised.
Going the other way, a maker setting wholesale at half of an intended retail must still cover materials, labour and overhead inside that half. Check it before you agree to a stockist's terms.
A multiplier below 1 prices under cost and reports a negative margin.

Keystone is a convention that spread because it is easy, not because it is right for your shop. Categories with slow turns or high returns often need 2.2 to 2.5; commodities that shoppers can price-check in seconds will not carry it at all.

Frequently asked questions

What is keystone pricing?

Doubling the wholesale cost to set the retail price. A $15 item retails at $30, which is a 100% markup and a 50% margin - the same sale described two ways.

What multiplier should I use instead of 2?

Whatever your costs and your market allow. Bulky, slow-selling or frequently-returned goods often need 2.2 or more to survive; anything shoppers compare online may not bear even 2. Work out your floor from costs first.

How do I set a wholesale price from my retail price?

Divide the retail price by the multiplier: $30 at keystone is $15 wholesale. Then check that $15 still covers your materials, labour and overhead with profit left, or the account will lose money at volume.