When you buy off-price inventory, the most useful thing you can give a buyer team is not a long wish list. It is a clear price range. A good range tells your team, your suppliers, and any sourcing partner which offers are worth a second look and which ones can be skipped right away.
Without one, every deal turns into a debate. With one, you can review offers in minutes and spend your time on the few that actually fit. Here is a practical way to build a price range that works in day-to-day buying.
Start from the shelf price, not the supplier price
Most buying mistakes start with a supplier quote that looks cheap. The better starting point is the price your customers will pay on your shelf. Ask yourself, for each category you buy, what price points sell well in your store and which ones tend to sit.
From there, work backward. If a product needs to sell at a certain price to move, and you need a certain gross margin to cover your costs, you can calculate the most you should pay per unit. That number becomes the top of your range.
A simple way to write it down:
| Step | What to decide |
|---|---|
| 1 | Target shelf price for the item or category |
| 2 | The gross margin your store needs on that category |
| 3 | Maximum landed cost per unit that still meets that margin |
| 4 | Maximum supplier price after freight and handling are subtracted |
Count the costs that are easy to forget
The supplier price is only part of what a unit really costs you. Off-price loads often come with extra costs that change the math. When you set your range, make room for:
- Freight: pallet, partial, or full-truck shipping from the supplier's location to your store or warehouse.
- Unsellable units: a realistic allowance for damaged, incomplete, or unsellable items, especially in returns and mixed lots.
- Labor: time to sort, test, clean, tag, and repack goods before they reach the floor.
- Storage: space the goods will occupy until they sell, particularly for large or seasonal items.
- Payment and fees: wire or card fees and any marketplace or platform costs if you also sell online.
Once you add these, the real ceiling for the supplier price is often lower than it first appears. It is better to know that before an offer arrives than after the truck is unloaded.
Set ranges by category, not one number for the store
A single store-wide target rarely works. Home goods, apparel, toys, health and beauty, and electronics all have different shelf prices, sell-through speeds, and damage rates. Set a range per category, or at least per group of categories that behave similarly.
It also helps to define two limits instead of one. The first is your target cost, the price where a deal is clearly attractive. The second is your walk-away cost, the highest price you would accept for a strong item that you know will sell. Anything above the walk-away number is an easy no.
Write down the deal breakers
Price is only one filter. Your buyer team can work faster if they also know what you will not buy at any price. Common examples include categories you do not carry, minimum quantities you cannot absorb, conditions you cannot sell, and products with regulatory or safety concerns for your market.
Keep the list short and specific. "No opened cosmetics" or "no furniture over a certain size" is more useful than a vague note about quality.
Review the range regularly
Your range should change as your store changes. Review it when shelf prices move, when freight costs shift, when a category starts selling faster or slower, and before major seasons. Look at recent buys: which ones sold through at the expected price, and which ones needed markdowns? Use that feedback to tighten or relax your numbers.
A price range is not about saying no to more deals. It is about saying yes faster to the right ones.
How BuyerCrew helps
BuyerCrew is an AI sourcing agent that learns your store, your categories, and your price range, then sends matching off-price deals to you by WhatsApp or email. When a deal fits, you talk to the supplier and buy directly from them.
