How much should I spend on a first wholesale order?

Most boutique owners overbuy their first order. A focused test of 3–6 styles you can promote in one week beats 20 styles you can't market.

What sell-through rate should I plan for?

Use 60–70% sell-through over 6–8 weeks for evergreen items. For trend or seasonal items, plan tighter and budget for markdowns on what doesn't move.

Should I buy deeper in fewer styles or wider in more styles?

Wider is usually safer the first time you're testing a new supplier or category. Go deeper once you have proof of demand and can reorder.

How do I avoid tying up cash in inventory?

Only buy what you can promote in 60 days, prefer suppliers with reorder availability, and never spend your full budget on one drop.

Does this account for shipping and packaging?

Yes — total investment includes freight, and profit is reduced by packaging cost on units actually sold.

Free buying planner

Boutique Inventory Buy Planner

Buying inventory can feel exciting, but overbuying the wrong products can tie up your cash fast. Use this planner before you place a wholesale order so you can estimate revenue, profit, and risk.

🛍️ Your buy plan

Most boutique owners overbuy. Pressure-test your order here before you wire money to a supplier.

Total inventory budgetWhat you can actually spend without stressing cash flow.Product cost per unitWholesale price per piece — before freight.Planned selling price per unitYour retail price. Aim for at least a 2.5× markup.Number of stylesFirst buy with a new supplier? 3–6 styles is plenty.Sizes per styleApparel: usually 4–6 (XS–XL). One-size items: 1.Units per sizeGoing deeper than 4 per size on an untested style = risk.Expected sell-through %60–70% over 6–8 weeks is a healthy plan for evergreen.Total shipping / freight costVendor shipping for the whole order — ask before checkout.Packaging cost per unitPolybag + mailer + thank-you card per shipped order.Reorder available?If the supplier reorders fast, you can buy shallower.Product typeTrend & seasonal items need tighter buys + markdown planning.Have you sold something similar before?Prior demand proof drops your overbuying risk.

About this tool

How this planner works

How it works

We multiply styles × sizes × units to find total units, model expected sell-through, then score risk based on budget, reorder availability, product type, and prior demand proof.

Who it's for

Boutique owners about to place a wholesale order — and aspiring owners sanity-checking a first buy before they wire money to a supplier.

What to do next

If your risk score is over 40, narrow your styles or reduce units per size. If it's under 20 and reorder is available, you have room to test confidently.

Planning is easier when you know how the last buy performed. The inventory turnover calculator shows how quickly your existing stock moved, which is a useful input into how deep this order should go. If the product is something you restock rather than buy once, the reorder point calculator sets the unit level that should trigger the next order. If this is your very first wholesale buy, the first-order planner walks you through the budget, the vendor list and the retail math line by line.