Wholesale online store: customer-specific pricing, order minimums and repeat orders
A wholesale online store isn't a retail store with lower prices. Each customer logs in, sees their own price list, follows your order minimums and can repeat last week's order in one tap. It replaces the PDF price list and the order read out over the phone.
A wholesale online store lets your customers, who are businesses themselves, place orders on their own: they log in, see their price list, add quantities that respect your minimums and repeat what they bought last time. For a distributor or manufacturer, it means no more typing up orders that arrive as phone calls, voice notes or a photo of a handwritten sheet.
It isn't a retail store with a discount. People buying to resell think in cases, restocking and account terms, not in a shopper's cart. Here's what changes and what to sort out first.
How wholesale ordering usually works (and why it wears you out)
In a lot of wholesale businesses the routine looks the same. There's a price list in a PDF or spreadsheet that goes out by message every time it changes. The customer reads it, writes the order in a message or calls it in, and someone keys it into the system. If their list was outdated, there's an argument about the price. If they ordered something you dropped, someone has to call them back.
None of that is a big deal once. It's exhausting because it repeats with every account, every week, and it depends on whoever takes orders never making a mistake. I compared that format with something interactive in 3D configurator vs PDF catalog, written for manufacturers.
Four things it has to handle
- Pricing per customer or per tier: a corner store, a regional chain and an out-of-town reseller don't pay the same. Each one logs in and sees their list, with no need to send three different PDFs.
- Order minimums: full cases, case multiples or a minimum order total. The store won't let them check out until it's met and shows how much is missing.
- Repeat orders: a shop that restocks the same items every week opens its last order, changes two quantities and sends it.
- Account balance and order status: what they ordered, what shipped, what's backordered and what they owe, visible to them and to you.
Prices stay hidden until they log in
People often ask whether wholesale prices should be public. Almost always, no. The catalog can be visible so Google finds you and new retailers can see your range, but prices only show up once the customer logs in. You approve new accounts yourself, so someone who claims to be a store and isn't sees nothing.
The same question comes up with manufacturers' quoting tools; I wrote about it in keeping prices private in a configurator.
When prices change often
For a wholesaler, updating the price list is practically a standing chore. With a store, you change the price in one place and every customer sees the new one right away. No more “I was going off last week's list.” You can raise prices by category, by supplier or across the board, and decide what happens to orders already placed.
In a different business, Boca de Lobo, a grill restaurant in Buenos Aires, has a menu of more than 250 items and changes prices, dishes and specials from its own admin panel without calling me. A wholesaler needs the same thing for its price list, plus the customer and order side.
PDF and messages vs a wholesale store
| Situation | With a PDF and messages | With a wholesale store |
|---|---|---|
| Prices change | You send everyone a new list | It changes in the store and each account sees its price |
| A customer restocks the usual | They write out the whole order again | They repeat the last one and tweak quantities |
| Below the minimum | You find out while keying it in | The store tells them before they submit |
| “What do I owe?” | You dig through the spreadsheet | They check their account |
| Rep out on the road | Writes it on paper, enters it at night | Enters the order in the store from their phone |
Your reps use it too
A common mistake is building the wholesale store only for customers. In practice, the rep who visits shops is the heaviest user at first: they enter the order in front of the buyer, with current stock and pricing, and it goes straight in. If your team carries a catalog on the road, see sales catalog app for reps.
If you want something simpler, just a place where retailers drop their orders, I explained that in wholesale ordering portal. The stock, warehouse and restocking side is in inventory system for distributors.
How I work
I work on my own, remotely from Buenos Aires (UTC−3), with video calls and progress you can check through a link. We start with your current price list and how your biggest accounts place orders today. From that I build a first version for a small group of trusted customers; they try it, we adjust, and then it opens to everyone. I quote per project, and you can see more of my work under services.
Frequently asked questions
Will anyone be able to see my wholesale prices?
Not unless you want them to. The usual setup shows the catalog with photos and descriptions, and prices only appear once a customer logs in. Shoppers never see your list, and each retailer sees theirs.
Will my long-time accounts actually use it?
Some will from day one, others will keep calling for a while. That's why your sales reps should be able to enter orders in the same store on the customer's behalf. Everything ends up in one place even if the customer never logs in.
Can customers buy on account?
Yes. An order can go on their account, and they can see their balance, past orders and what's still open. You decide the terms; the store just makes them clear to both sides.
What if I also sell to the public?
Both can live in the same store. Visitors without an account see retail prices, and registered businesses see theirs, with their minimums. It needs careful setup so nobody sees what isn't meant for them.
If you sell wholesale and want your customers to place orders on their own, message me on WhatsApp at +54 9 11 6193-3176 or email contacto@facundocampo.com.ar. I answer in English and Spanish. Tell me how you put together your price list and how orders reach you today.