marketing
How to Create a Wholesale Line Sheet for Handmade Makers
A wholesale line sheet is the document boutique buyers need to see before they'll place an order. Here's what goes on it, how to lay it out, and the one number most makers get wrong.
A boutique buyer emails you. They love your products. They want to know if you do wholesale. You say yes (obviously), and then they ask for your line sheet.
And you think: What’s a line sheet?
This is exactly where a lot of makers freeze up. You know your products inside-out. You have retail prices. But a line sheet is a different document entirely. Sending a rambling email with a photo attachment instead of a proper one-pager is a fast way to lose a buyer who had real potential.
This post covers what goes on a wholesale line sheet, how to structure it, and (most importantly) how to make sure the prices on it actually work for your business.
What Is a Wholesale Line Sheet?
A wholesale line sheet is a simple document you send to retail buyers that shows your products, wholesale prices, and ordering terms. Think of it as a product catalogue stripped down to just what a buyer needs to decide whether to place an order.
It is not a brochure. It’s not a look book. It’s not a lengthy pitch deck. A line sheet is a reference document: clean, scannable, built for someone who looks at dozens of these from different makers every week.
Retailers use line sheets to check your range at a glance, compare prices across suppliers, and pass the document to their purchasing team for a final decision. If yours is hard to read or missing information, it gets set aside.
What Goes on a Wholesale Line Sheet
A line sheet doesn’t need to be fancy. But it does need to include specific information, in a format buyers are used to seeing.
Your Brand Identity
Start with your logo, brand name, and contact information: email, website, phone if relevant. This sounds obvious, but buyers often receive line sheets without contact details and have no way to follow up. Make it impossible to lose you.
A Short Brand Description (Optional but Useful)
Two or three sentences about what you make and who you make it for. Not a marketing speech. Just context. “Handmade soy candles made in small batches in Portland, Oregon. Seasonal scents, wholesale minimum of 12 units per scent” tells a buyer what they need to know in under ten seconds.
Product Listings
This is the main body of the sheet. For each product, include:
- Product name (clear, not a clever internal code)
- SKU or item number (especially if you have variants)
- Brief description (one line: materials, scent, size, finish, whatever distinguishes it)
- Retail price (what you sell it for direct to consumers)
- Wholesale price (what the buyer pays you)
- Minimum order quantity / MOQ (per item or per order, be specific)
- Lead time (how long to produce and ship once an order is placed)
- Product photo (small but clear; buyers need to visualise the product on a shelf)
Most line sheets list products in a simple table or grid. You don’t need anything elaborate. One product per row, columns for the details above, one product photo per row.
Ordering Terms
Buyers need to know the rules before they commit. Include:
- Minimum order value (many makers set a dollar minimum, e.g. $150 for a first order)
- Reorder minimum (often lower than the first-order minimum)
- Payment terms (do you require payment upfront? Do you offer net-30? Most small makers require 50% upfront, balance on shipping)
- Accepted payment methods (bank transfer, credit card, Faire if applicable)
- Shipping policy (who pays, how it’s calculated, typical carrier used)
- Return and damage policy (what happens if something arrives broken)
Seasonal or Collection Notes
If your range has seasons or limited editions, note them. “Winter collection available August–October. Place orders by September 15 for holiday delivery.” Buyers plan far ahead and appreciate knowing your schedule.
That’s the whole document. One to two pages. Clean layout. No clutter.
How to Format Your Line Sheet
You don’t need design software. A well-structured Google Doc or Canva template is fine. What matters is readability.
Keep it to two pages maximum. Buyers don’t read long line sheets. They scan them. If your range is large, split into collections and send the relevant one.
Use a consistent grid for products. Alignment matters. If your photos are different sizes, crop them all to the same ratio before you drop them in. Inconsistency looks amateurish and distracts from the products themselves.
Use your brand fonts and colours, but sparingly. A line sheet should feel like your brand, not compete with the product photos for attention.
Export as PDF. Always. A Word doc or Canva link can look completely different on a buyer’s screen than yours. PDF locks the formatting.
Name the file something useful.YourBrandName-LineSheet-SS2026.pdf is far better than document_final_v3.pdf. Buyers save dozens of these files and need to find yours later.
The Number Most Makers Get Wrong
Here’s where most wholesale line sheets fall apart: the wholesale price itself.
Makers often set wholesale prices by taking their retail price and halving it. Keystone pricing. It’s the standard in retail. But “half of retail” only works if your retail price was calculated from your actual costs in the first place.
If your retail price was set by looking at what competitors charge, or by gut feel, or by “what feels right,” then your wholesale price is built on nothing. And at 50% margins, “built on nothing” means you could be selling at a loss without realising it.
The right starting point for wholesale pricing is your cost of goods: what it actually costs you to make each unit. Materials, packaging, a portion of your overheads, and your time. Not an estimate. The real number.
From there, the math is simple:
- Start with your true cost per unit
- Apply your target margin: typically 2x to 2.5x cost gives you your wholesale price
- Retail should be 2x wholesale (keystone)
So if a product costs $8 to make, a reasonable wholesale price is $16–$20, and retail would be $32–$40. Both ends of that margin stack need to work, for you and for the retailer.
If your current retail price doesn’t have room for that stack, the problem isn’t your line sheet. It’s that your retail prices are too low. You then have two options: raise retail, or reduce production costs. Either way, you need to know your actual costs before you can make that call.
This is why tracking recipes and materials properly matters before you go after wholesale. Guessing at cost per unit means guessing at profitability, and wholesale is where guesses get expensive.
What MOQ to Set (and Why It Matters)
Minimum order quantity is one of the decisions makers agonise over most. Too high, and you put buyers off. Too low, and wholesale isn’t worth the overhead.
Your production setup. If you batch-produce in runs of 24, it makes sense to set a MOQ of 12 or 24. If you make to order, a lower MOQ might work, but price the extra effort in.
Your packaging. Wholesale often means you’re packing for retail display. If each unit needs to be shelf-ready (hang tags, branded packaging, barcodes), there’s a per-unit cost for that. A higher MOQ spreads that cost across more units.
The retailer relationship. A first-time buyer placing a small order is low risk for you both. A reorder minimum can be lower; they’ve already proven they sell your product.
A common starting point for handmade makers is a $150–$200 minimum order value, with a 6-unit minimum per product. That’s not a rule, just a range that tends to work for small-batch production. Set yours based on what makes a single order genuinely profitable to fulfil.
Updating Your Line Sheet
A line sheet isn’t a set-and-forget document. You’ll need to update it when:
- You add or discontinue products
- Material costs change and your prices need to adjust
- Your lead time changes due to seasonal demand or capacity shifts
- You launch a new collection
A good habit is to version your line sheet by season: Spring/Summer 2026, Fall/Winter 2026. Buyers know they’re looking at current information, and you have a clear review point built in.
On that note: if your material costs have shifted significantly since you last updated your wholesale prices, recalculate before you send the sheet out. A 20% rise in fragrance oil prices doesn’t just affect your retail margin. It compresses your already-thinner wholesale margin even further. Catching that before a buyer places a 60-unit order is much easier than trying to renegotiate after the fact.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a wholesale line sheet for handmade products?
A wholesale line sheet is a one-to-two page document listing your products, wholesale prices, retail prices, minimum order quantities, and ordering terms. It contains everything a retail buyer needs to decide whether to place an order with you. It is not a brochure or look book; it's a reference document designed for buyers who review many brands at once.
How do I calculate wholesale prices for handmade products?
Start with your true cost per unit (materials, packaging, and overheads) and multiply by 2 to 2.5x to get your wholesale price. Your retail price should then be at least 2x your wholesale price. If your retail price doesn't leave room for that margin stack, you'll need to raise retail prices or reduce production costs before wholesale is viable.
What minimum order quantity should I set on my line sheet?
A common starting point for handmade makers is a $150–$200 minimum order value, with 6 units minimum per product. Base your MOQ on your production batch size. If you make in runs of 12 or 24, set your minimum to match. This keeps fulfilment efficient and ensures each wholesale order is worth your time and cost to fulfil.
How long should a wholesale line sheet be?
One to two pages is standard. Buyers scan line sheets quickly and review many brands at once, so a long document is less likely to be read in full. If your range is large, split it into collections and send only the relevant section to each buyer.
Does Craftybase help with wholesale pricing?
Yes. Craftybase calculates your true cost per unit from your material costs, quantities, and overheads, so you can set wholesale prices that actually cover your costs and leave a real margin. When material prices change, your cost-per-unit updates automatically, so you'll know straight away if your current wholesale prices still hold up.
Ready to Price Your Wholesale Line Sheet with Confidence?
The hardest part of creating a wholesale line sheet isn’t the formatting. It’s knowing that the numbers on it are right.
If you’re not sure what your products actually cost to make, Craftybase can help. It tracks your raw materials, calculates cost per unit from your recipes, and updates automatically when material prices change. So when a buyer asks for your line sheet, you’re not guessing at the prices. You know they work.
