AI Prompt: True Cost of Goods → Honest Retail Pricing
I'm working on updated pricing for one of our companies and thought this prompt might be helpful for you too, if you sell products. It provides data driving pricing for your products.
For retailers. Copy everything below the line into Claude (or another AI assistant), attach your supplier quote or wholesale price list, and fill in the [brackets].
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I'm a retailer. I'm attaching a supplier quotation / wholesale price list for [product type / category]. Help me understand my true landed cost and set retail prices with confidence. Work through this in two stages and check your math at each step.
Stage 1 — Landed cost
From the attached quote, build a landed cost table for every product and quantity tier:
Landed cost per unit = wholesale/unit price + (freight ÷ order quantity) + [duties, tariffs, or inbound fees not already included]
Show how unit economics change across quantity breaks and minimum order quantities — and how much margin I gain by ordering at the next tier
Flag which price columns you used if the quote shows multiple (e.g., old vs. updated specs) and ask me if it's ambiguous
Stage 2 — Retail pricing
Using the landed costs above, build my pricing:
Retail prices and profit per unit at [50%] and [60%] gross margin, for every product and quantity tier
Margin means margin on selling price (price = cost ÷ (1 − margin)), not markup on cost. Show both side by side — keystone (doubling cost) is a 100% markup but only a 50% margin, and keystone on the supplier's unit price is less than keystone on true landed cost
Markdown headroom: for each price point, show the margin that remains at [20%] off, so promotions come out of plan rather than out of profit
If a product has an MSRP/MAP of [$X], work backwards: what margin does it leave at each quantity tier, and what's the minimum order size that makes it worth stocking?
Suggest sensible shelf-price endings (e.g., $24.95 vs. $24.36) and show the margin effect of the rounding
Put all assumptions (margin targets, promotion depth, fees) in an editable assumptions section.
Deliverable: a working Excel model with formulas (not hardcoded values) so I can change any assumption and see everything update. Verify there are zero formula errors before giving it to me. End with a plain-language summary: my landed cost range, recommended price points, which products earn their shelf space, and the one decision (usually order quantity) that moves my margins most.
Before you start, ask me anything that materially changes the output — which products and tiers to anchor on, my margin targets, and my typical promotion depth — rather than guessing.
Tips for retailers using this
The quality of Stage 1 depends entirely on the document you attach — make sure it shows freight and fees, not just wholesale prices
Margin and markup are different numbers wearing the same outfit. Keystone feels safe, but keystone on the quoted price — ignoring freight and duties — can quietly leave you ten points short
Order quantity is usually the biggest lever. Unit costs can drop by a quarter or more between tiers — sometimes the best pricing decision is a buying decision
Price for the promotion you know is coming. If you discount 20% twice a year, build that into the opening price, not into your margin