What Is a Wholesale Line Sheet?
Short answer
A line sheet is a short wholesale catalog, usually a PDF, that shows shops your products, wholesale and retail prices, minimum orders and ordering terms. It lets a buyer decide without seeing or smelling the candle. Keep it to a page or two and update it each season.
A line sheet is a wholesale catalog for shops. CandleScience says having one is "a must to share with retailers and shops," and that it is typically a PDF. It shows what you sell, what the shop pays, what the shop should charge, and how to order. A buyer reading it is not seeing or smelling your candles, so the sheet has to do that job with photos and clear numbers.
What goes on a line sheet?
CandleScience lists these sections:
- Cover: a lifestyle image, your logo, the year (and season if it applies) and the words "line sheet" or "wholesale catalog."
- About: your brand story and what sets the products apart.
- Contact: website, social media and email. Phone and mailing address are optional.
- Products: one photo per product on an uncluttered background, cropped the same way each time.
- Product details: name, a description with fragrance and materials, dimensions, net weight, wholesale and suggested retail price, variants such as sizes and scents, and a minimum order quantity if one applies.
- Terms: accepted payment methods, when payment is due, any net terms, opening and reorder minimums, lead times, shipping and carriers, and returns.
- How to order: a call to action and clear directions by email, phone or website.
Craftybase adds two product fields that CandleScience does not name: a SKU or item number ("especially if you have variants") and lead time. It says to keep the sheet to two pages at most, and to split a large range into collections.
What are good minimums?
CandleScience gives no number. It says to set an opening minimum and a reorder minimum and state them in dollars or units. Craftybase says "a common starting point for handmade makers is a $150-$200 minimum order value, with a 6-unit minimum per product," and that the reorder minimum is usually lower than the first order. Treat that as a starting point and work backward from your own packing and shipping costs.
What prices go on it?
Both a wholesale and a retail price. Craftybase says wholesale is typically 2x to 2.5x cost and retail should be 2x wholesale (the keystone idea). CandleScience says the shop's retail price is at least twice the wholesale price. Our wholesale pricing guide has the math from cost.
Worked example
These products and prices are made up. A small line sheet has three products, each with wholesale and retail prices at 2x:
| Product | SKU | Wholesale | Suggested retail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 oz (227 g) jar candle | JAR-08 | $13.00 | $26.00 |
| 4 oz (113 g) travel tin | TIN-04 | $8.00 | $16.00 |
| Votive set of 3 | VOT-03 | $9.50 | $19.00 |
Terms: $200 opening minimum, 6 units per product minimum, reorder minimum $100.
A shop orders the smallest allowed amount of each, 6 units. Check the total: 6 x 13.00 = $78.00, 6 x 8.00 = $48.00, and 6 x 9.50 = $57.00. Add them: 78 + 48 + 57 = $183.00. That is under the $200 opening minimum, so the shop has to add $17.00 or more. One more jar and one more tin makes 183 + 13 + 8 = $204.00, which clears it.
The point of the example is that the two minimums interact. Run your own line sheet through a few likely orders before you send it, so the numbers do what you want. On the $26.00 jar, the shop keeps $13.00 of the retail price, and your side of the margin depends on your own cost.
How do I make one?
CandleScience says to build it in a tool you can easily edit, such as Google Docs, Google Slides or Canva, and that you must "make sure you can easily update the file." Save it as a PDF and share it by email, on your website, or as a link to a Drive or Dropbox file. Craftybase suggests a descriptive file name, such as the brand and season. Carry a printed copy to an in-person meeting or trade show.
Common mistakes
- Prices with no suggested retail, so the shop has to guess your intent.
- No minimums, so a shop orders two candles and you lose money on postage.
- Photos of different sizes and backgrounds.
- Leaving off lead times, then missing a shop's holiday window.
- Letting the sheet go stale after a price rise or a discontinued scent.
- A cover that does not say the season or year.
Questions
Is a line sheet the same as a catalog?
Close. CandleScience uses the words "line sheet or wholesale catalog" together. In practice a line sheet is the short, plain version for buyers.
Do I need a line sheet to sell wholesale?
CandleScience says to have one. Without one, you answer the same questions by email each time.
Should the line sheet show my cost?
No. It shows wholesale and suggested retail only. Keep your cost on your own books.
How BatchLab helps
The maker behind Ark & Dove built BatchLab for his own candle business. The wholesale line sheet is part of the Maker plan, and products, customers and orders are in the core app. BatchLab does not decide your minimums or terms, so write those yourself.
Sources
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