{"id":903,"date":"2026-09-24T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fameaccessories.com\/blog\/?p=903"},"modified":"2026-09-03T09:07:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T16:07:55","slug":"how-to-price-wholesale-jewelry-for-retail-keystone-markup-and-what-actually-sells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fameaccessories.com\/blog\/2026\/09\/24\/how-to-price-wholesale-jewelry-for-retail-keystone-markup-and-what-actually-sells\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Price Wholesale Jewelry for Retail: Keystone, Markup and What Actually Sells"},"content":{"rendered":"

Quick summary:<\/strong> Most new retailers price by doubling the wholesale cost and stop there. That leaves money on the table on some items and prices others out of the market entirely. This covers keystone, the markup-versus-margin confusion that trips almost everyone, and how to set price points that hold up.<\/p>\n

Keystone, and why it is a starting point rather than a rule<\/h2>\n

Keystone pricing means retailing at twice the wholesale cost. A necklace at $6 wholesale sells at $12. It has survived as a rule of thumb because it roughly covers rent, staff, shrinkage and a modest profit in a normal retail business.<\/p>\n

Independent accessory shops mostly price above keystone, at 2.2 to 2.5 times cost, and they are right to. Accessories are low-ticket items where the customer is not comparison shopping to the dollar, and the labour of merchandising a $6 necklace is identical to the labour of merchandising a $60 handbag.<\/p>\n

So a $6 necklace realistically sits at $13 to $15, not $12.<\/p>\n

The markup and margin mix-up<\/h2>\n

This one costs people real money, so it is worth being precise.<\/p>\n

Markup<\/strong> is measured against your cost. Margin<\/strong> is measured against your selling price. They are not the same number and the gap is bigger than people expect.<\/p>\n

Take that $6 necklace sold at $14. Your gross profit is $8. As a markup that is 133 percent, because $8 is 133 percent of the $6 you paid. As a margin it is 57 percent, because $8 is 57 percent of the $14 you took. Same transaction, two very different numbers.<\/p>\n

Keystone, the classic double, is a 100 percent markup and a 50 percent margin. If someone tells you they run at 50 percent and you assume they mean markup, you will underprice everything you own by a third. Always ask which one they mean.<\/p>\n

Margin is the more useful number day to day, because it answers the question that matters: of every dollar through the register, how much stayed with you.<\/p>\n

Price points beat precision<\/h2>\n

Once you know your floor, stop calculating each item and start sorting items into a small number of price points.<\/p>\n

A workable structure for a jewelry assortment, given wholesale necklaces and earrings typically run $5 to $9.25:<\/p>\n