Sublimation Wholesale and Batch Pricing Calculator

Start with

Preset numbers are editable examples, not industry averages.

1. Order and materials

Sellable quantity Finished items the customer receives.

Blank cost per attempt

Ink per attempt

Paper per attempt

Other consumables per attempt

Packaging per attempt Included in the failure-rate adjustment.

Failure rate % Expected material cost is divided by the good-yield rate, not multiplied by 1 + failure rate.

2. Time and labor

Setup time min / batch

Active time min / item

Target hourly rate per hour

3. Fees, shipping, and pricing goal

Shipping cost per order What shipping actually costs you.

Shipping charged per order Shown separately from the product subtotal.

Fixed selling fee per order

Variable selling fee % Applied to product subtotal plus shipping charged.

Target marginProfit as a share of customer revenue Target markupProfit as a share of operating cost

Target profit margin %

Advanced costs

Equipment allocation per item

Overhead allocation

Overhead applies

Wholesale tiers

Each quantity recalculates setup allocation before the optional discount. Negative-profit tiers are flagged.

Wholesale quantity and discount inputs
Quantity	Discount
Tier 1 quantity	Tier 1 discount percent %
Tier 2 quantity	Tier 2 discount percent %
Tier 3 quantity	Tier 3 discount percent %

Wholesale tier check

A discount is applied after each quantity receives its own setup-cost calculation. Status compares the result with the selected margin or markup target.

Qty	Discount	Product / item	Profit / batch	Margin	Hourly return	Status

Planning estimate only. Verify your own costs, marketplace terms, taxes, and local obligations before quoting a customer.

A volume discount has to come from a real saving

Quantity can reduce setup cost per item and may unlock a lower blank price. It does not automatically reduce every cost. If active labor, packaging and marketplace fees remain the same, an arbitrary percentage discount can turn a large order into your least profitable job.

Practical rule: calculate each tier as a complete batch. Show the customer a unit price, but make the business decision using batch revenue, batch profit and total production time.

The U.S. Small Business Administration defines break-even as the point where total cost and total revenue are equal. Use the sublimation break-even guide to test each quantity tier before treating a lower unit price as safe.

Where wholesale savings can come from

Possible saving	Verify before reducing price
Blank case pricing	Minimum quantity, inbound freight and defect/replacement terms
Setup spread	Whether the artwork, size and personalization are truly identical
Production efficiency	Observed active minutes, not an optimistic machine-only time
Packaging	Bulk carton versus individually boxed finished products
Selling fees	Whether one invoice replaces many marketplace transactions

Build three defensible tiers

Start with a small batch, a middle tier and the largest quantity you can produce reliably. Update the blank cost and setup time for each tier. Keep the same target margin unless a documented saving gives you room to reduce it. If the largest tier requires overtime, outsourced work or extra equipment, its unit price may not be the lowest.

Protect the quote

State what artwork, product, size and packaging the tier includes.
Separate setup or rush charges when they do not scale with quantity.
Set a validity date when blank prices or freight are moving.
Collect a deposit before buying material for a custom large order.
Recalculate changes instead of absorbing them as “small extras.”

Read how to build quantity-specific pricing tiers, then use the markup-versus-margin guide to check what a discount spends. The pricing formula documents the math; use the mug or shirt calculator when a product-specific preset is useful.