Reading a volume price table, and when ordering more costs less

Products with price breaks have a small table under the price on the product page, labeled Volume pricing. Each row is a quantity band and a unit price: 1,000 to 4,999 at one price, 5,000 to 9,999 at a lower one, and so on. Reading one is easy. What people miss is what happens to the total just under a price break, which is why the product page works that out for you.

The price at the top

The large price at the top of the pricing card is the unit price at the first band, which is normally the minimum order. If the table goes lower, the cheapest price shows next to it with the quantity where it starts. We lead with the entry price on purpose, since the cheapest band is often a quantity most first orders never reach.

Under the table is the minimum order. It's sometimes a range, because the same item can come from more than one supplier with different minimums. Once in a while the published prices start above the minimum, and the page says that too. Anything under the first band gets priced on a quote.

Where the total drops

Here's a made-up table for a pre-roll tube:

• 1,000 to 4,999: $0.20 each
• 5,000 to 9,999: $0.15 each
• 10,000 and up: $0.12 each

Say you were planning on 4,000. That's $800. But 5,000 at $0.15 is $750, so you'd get a thousand more tubes and pay $50 less. There's a stretch like that just below every break, because the lower price on the bigger quantity more than pays for the extra units.

It doesn't hold across a whole band, though. At 7,000 tubes you'd pay $1,050, and jumping to 10,000 would be $1,200. You'd get 3,000 more tubes for $150, which might be a good deal for you, but you'd be spending more. The crossover is quick to find: multiply the next break's quantity by its price and divide by the price you're on. Here that's 10,000 times $0.12, divided by $0.15, which comes to 8,000. Anywhere from 8,000 to 9,999 tubes, ordering 10,000 costs the same or less.

The quantity box

Below the table there's a box that asks how many you need. Type a quantity and it multiplies it out, highlights the row you've landed in, and tells you how many more units it takes to reach the next cheaper price. When the bigger order costs less in total, it tells you how much less. When it doesn't, you just get the numbers. We left the saving out there deliberately. A box that called a bigger bill a saving is one you'd stop trusting.

It'll also tell you:

• how many more units you need if you're under the minimum
• that your quantity will be priced on a quote, if it's below the first published band
• that you're on the best published price, once you reach the cheapest band
• on products where we publish stock, whether that many ships from the shelf or gets made to order

Now and then a table goes up at a higher band instead of down. We show those prices the way an order at that quantity would actually be charged, rather than smoothing them over, and the box skips past the pricier band to the next one that really is cheaper. If you run into one, ask us about it.

Published prices and your own

Everything on the public page is our published price, the same for anyone who visits. Final pricing still depends on customization and shipping. If your business has negotiated pricing with us, sign in and open the product in your catalog to see your own.

Before you round up

A lower total is a good reason to order more, but the extra units still have to sit somewhere. They tie up cash and shelf space, and packaging changes more often than you'd think. A label rule changes, or you rebrand. If a thousand extra tubes will take you eight months to get through, that $50 may not be worth it. There's more on weighing the break against holding costs in our post on minimums and price breaks. When you've settled on the number, the cart post covers sending it with the rest of your order.