Free tool and guide

DTC or wholesale: which keeps more per unit?

Put in your price, cost of goods and what a DTC order costs you, then the price a retailer offers. See what one unit keeps each way, how many units a retailer must buy to match 100 of your own orders, and the ad cost where the answer flips. Nothing is sent anywhere.

By Oliver Silen. Published October 18, 2026. Shopify's card rate checked October 18, 2026.

Fictional example for a $40 item. Replace the numbers with yours.

The product

Retail price $What a consumer pays, on your store or the retailer's shelfLanded cost of goods $ per unitProduct, packaging and freight to your warehouse

Sold on your own store (DTC), per order of 1 unit

Card fee %Shopify Payments on BasicCard fee $ per orderShopify Payments on BasicShipping and packing $ per orderWhat you pay, less any shipping the customer paysAds $ per orderAd spend divided by orders

Sold to a retailer (wholesale), per unit

Wholesale price $Half of retail in the exampleFee %0 on your own invoice, 15 on a Faire marketplace orderFreight $ per unitYour cost to ship the order to the retailer, per unit

What one unit keeps

	DTC	Wholesale

Part 1

Read the answer

Do this first

Type your retail price and landed cost of goods.
Change the card fee, shipping and ads per order to your own store's.
Type the wholesale price the retailer offers, and any freight you pay.
Copy the result for your co-founder or your notes on the deal.

In the example, DTC keeps $12.54 a unit and wholesale $7.50. DTC pays $8 of ads, $6 of shipping and $1.46 of card fees. Wholesale gives up $20 of price and pays $0.50 of freight.
168 wholesale units keep what 100 DTC orders keep. One purchase order can do that, where 100 DTC orders take 100 customers.
Above $13.04 of ads an order, wholesale keeps more per unit. Ad cost per order is usually the number that decides it, so put in your real one: ad spend over a month divided by that month's orders.

Part 2

Wholesale margin against retail margin

One unit carries 2 margins once a retailer sells it. Each is a share of the price that party sells at. In the example:

Margin	Sum	Example
The retailer's margin (retail margin)	(retail price − wholesale price) ÷ retail price	($40 − $20) ÷ $40 = 50%
Your wholesale margin	(wholesale price − cost of goods) ÷ wholesale price	($20 − $12) ÷ $20 = 40%
Your DTC margin	(retail price − cost of goods) ÷ retail price	($40 − $12) ÷ $40 = 70%

The 70% DTC margin isn't what DTC keeps. Card fees, shipping and ads come out of it, which is why the calculator above shows 31% kept.
Margin is not markup. Markup is a share of cost. The retailer's $20 on a $20 cost is a 100% markup and a 50% margin. Ask which one a buyer means before you agree a number.
A retailer's target margin sets your wholesale price. At a $40 retail price and a 50% target, the retailer pays $20. At 40%, it pays $24, and the example keeps $11.50 a unit.

Part 3

What the comparison leaves out

Left out	Why it matters
When you get paid	A DTC order is paid at checkout. A retailer pays on the terms you agree, so a big order ties up cash in stock first
Retailer deductions	Chargebacks, markdown support and returns can come off the invoice. Ask for them in writing and subtract them from the wholesale price
DTC returns and repeat orders	Returns cost you on DTC, and a customer who reorders brings later orders with no new ad cost
Orders of more than 1 unit	Shipping and the 30¢ card fee are per order, so a 2-unit DTC order keeps more per unit than the calculator shows
Faire's other fees	Faire takes $10 more on a new retailer's first order, and its processing fee depends on payout speed²

Every channel side by side, Amazon to Faire, per order: the channel margin calculator.
The same sum over 13 weeks on one brand, with where each channel reports its fees: profit by sales channel.
After the retailer says yes, check the units sell through: the retail velocity calculator.

Want it from your real orders?

This prices one unit. Our monthly report reads your actual exports, fees, refunds and ad spend for every channel, wholesale included, and shows which one keeps the most each month. You send the standard exports, with no logins or store access. Your first month is free, and it ends on its own.

Get your first month free See the sample report

Sources

Shopify Payments on the Basic plan: "Card rates from 2.9% + 30¢ USD" for online cards, and a 2% fee on Basic when you use a third-party payment provider. Shopify pricing, read October 18, 2026.
Faire: 15% commission on marketplace orders, $10 on a new retailer's first order, and 1.9% to 3.5% + 30¢ processing by payout speed. Faire Help Center, read October 7, 2026. Every platform's fees in one place: marketplace fees 2026.
Wholesale price, shipping, ads and cost of goods in the example are fictional, set to show the sum. Replace them with yours.