The real ROI of buying wholesale — and why most buyers calculate it wrong.

Hey {{first_name}} 👋

Welcome to The Wholesale Primer — a 5-part series I built for buyers who want to stop guessing and start running the numbers. I'm Dan, and I've spent 25 years watching small retailers either thrive or quietly bleed margin because of one decision: how they buy.

Most people think wholesale ROI is just "buy low, sell high." It's not. The buyers who win calculate three things first — and that's what today is about.

The 3 numbers that actually matter

1. Landed cost. Not the invoice — the invoice plus freight, duties, and the hour your team spent unboxing. If you're not tracking this, your "30% margin" is probably 18%.

2. Sell-through velocity. A SKU that moves in 14 days isn't the same as one that sits 90. Wholesale ROI lives in how fast your shelf turns, not just the markup.

3. Reorder cycle. Your supplier's lead time + your sell-through = when you should be placing the next PO. Miss this and you stock out right when demand peaks.

Tomorrow: the 4-question framework I give every new buyer before they place their first order. Short, brutal, useful.

Talk soon,

Dan Weaver

Founder · Wholesale For Everyone