Jewelry markup & wholesale calculator
One cost basis, four markup strategies, five sales channels. See exactly what the same piece earns on your own site, on Etsy with and without Offsite Ads, at a craft fair, and sold wholesale — and whether your markup leaves room for all of them.
Don't know your true cost? Calculate it first.
Retail price
$114.00
Wholesale price (2x)
$76.00
| Channel | You charge | Fees | Profit/piece | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your own site (DTC)payment processing only | $114.00 | −$3.42 | $72.58 | 64% |
| Etsylisting + 6.5% transaction + processing | $114.00 | −$13.68 | $62.32 | 55% |
| Etsy + Offsite Adsadds 12–15% ad fee on attributed sales | $114.00 | −$27.36 | $48.64 | 43% |
| Craft fair / marketbooth cost amortized + processing | $114.00 | −$9.12 | $66.88 | 59% |
| Wholesale to stockistyou sell at 50% of retail | $76.00 | −$0.00 | $38.00 | 50% |
Wholesale buyers evaluate your line sheet photos before your prices. Build one with the free line sheet generator — and make every SKU catalog-ready with consistent AI photography.
The wholesale-retail ladder
Sustainable jewelry pricing is a ladder: cost basis → wholesale (2x) → your retail (2.5–4x) → stockist retail (2x your wholesale). Every rung must hold. If your retail is below 2x your wholesale price, stockists won't carry you — you'd be undercutting them in your own shop. This is why the markup decision isn't cosmetic: it determines which sales channels are even available to your business.
Channel economics, honestly
The table applies each channel's real fee load to the same piece. DTC keeps ~97% of the price but you pay for traffic; Etsy trades ~12% for its marketplace; Offsite Ads trades ~24% for buyers you didn't find yourself. Wholesale pays least per piece but moves volume — if your line sheetand catalog photography are strong enough to win stockists. Fees are fixed; conversion isn't — your photos are the variable you control.
Frequently asked questions
What is keystone pricing in jewelry?
Keystone means doubling your cost basis (2x) — it's the wholesale floor. If a piece costs you $38 in materials, labor, and overhead, keystone wholesale is $76. Stockists then apply their own keystone, putting retail near $152 — which is why your own retail must be at least 2x wholesale to avoid undercutting your stockists.
What markup should handmade jewelry use?
3x cost basis is the handmade standard; 2.5x is the minimum viable if you're fee-exposed on Etsy; fine jewelry positions at 4x or higher. Below 2.5x, marketplace fees and ads consume the margin — and wholesale becomes mathematically impossible.
Why is my Etsy profit so much lower than my craft fair profit?
Fee load. Etsy takes roughly 10–12% of every sale (listing + 6.5% transaction + processing), and Offsite Ads pushes attributed sales to ~24%. A craft fair's amortized booth cost typically lands near 8%. The calculator shows the same piece across all five channels so the difference is explicit.
How do I make wholesale profitable?
Wholesale profit = (2x cost) − cost = your cost basis, per piece. It's profitable by definition if your cost basis is honest — the danger is an understated cost basis (unpaid labor). Calculate your true cost first, then check that your retail is at least 2.5x so the wholesale-retail ladder holds.
More free jewelry tools
- Jewelry Pricing CalculatorMaterials + labor + overhead → wholesale and retail prices with a jewelry-industry margin check.
- Break-Even CalculatorHow many pieces you need to sell each month to cover your fixed costs — and the two levers that lower it.
- Etsy Fee CalculatorExact Etsy fees on a jewelry sale — listing, transaction, processing, Offsite Ads — and true profit per piece.
- AI Listing OptimizerGenerate an Etsy-ready title, 13 tags, description, and image alt text for any jewelry piece — free AI.
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