When running a retail business, you have so much to consider — from the styles and products you’ll offer to the colors of your branding. However, one of the most important factors you may not initially consider is how to price and sell your products.

Price is a critical factor. It’s how consumers perceive the quality and affordability of your goods. When compared to the cost, it determines your profit margins.

If you price your goods too low, you risk not making enough profit and cheapening consumers’ perception of your products. Conversely, price your items too high, and you will struggle to make sales — consumers will feel the goods are not worth the price tag.

So, how do you price and sell the clothing in your store? Here’s what you need to know to make a profit for your business in 2023 on everything from men’s slim-fit pullovers to sweatpants.

Cost

When determining the price of goods and how to sell them, the first — and arguably one of the most important factors to consider — is the cost of goods. Some brands may label this as “COGS” or the cost of goods sold.

The COGS includes the total cost of producing an item, including:

• Materials
• Labor
• Storage
• And more

While companies manufacturing their own clothes have a more comprehensive range of factors to consider, brands that are buying wholesale men’s slim-fit hoodies and other goods have far fewer elements to factor in their cost of goods.

Brands buying wholesale instead need to consider the actual cost of the items they are buying, plus any shipping or other fees.

An excellent way to look at this number in terms of pricing items is to figure out the total per-unit cost of a product.

For example, if you buy a batch of 50 wholesale slim-fit pullover hoodies at $7/unit and pay $20 shipping, the total cost equals $370, equaling $7.50/unit for each hoodie.

Additional Expenses and Operating Costs

The next factor to consider when calculating the ideal price at which you will sell products is any other expenses.

Expenses may include everything from your website domain to your marketing and advertising costs. 

If you have a brick-and-mortar-store, this may include:

• Rent or mortgage
• Payroll for staff
• Utilities
• Equipment and shelving for store
• Signage
• And more

Consider all expenses. When setting prices for your product, you want to ensure you’re making enough money to cover all costs — and not end up in the red.

Selling Price

Once you’ve crunched all your costs, you can begin to think more about the selling price. It’s not just as simple as breaking even or making a slight profit to stay afloat. You also don’t want to price products as high as possible to make the most considerable profit.

Consumer Willingness To Pay

Consumer willingness to pay (WTP) is one of the best ways to determine how to appropriately price men’s slim-fit pullovers and other products in your store.

You should conduct market research and look at competitors to see what they charge. Therefore, giving you a good idea of a reasonable price for products where consumers still feel like they’re getting a good deal — without sacrificing quality or overpaying.

There are two kinds of questions you can ask consumers when determining their WTP.

1. Open-ended: This allows the consumer to create their own answer.
   1. How much would you be willing to pay at maximum for a men’s slim-fit pullover hoodie?
2. Dichotomous choice: This gives a consumer two options.
   1. Would you buy a men’s slim-fit pullover hoodie at $50? Yes or no.

Giving consumers the open-ended option can give them more freedom to show their WTP. However, both options can help show how your brand should price its products.

MSRP

You will often see a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP), also dubbed the “suggested retail price.”

While it’s not a law to follow the MSRP, this is the price at which the company that made the clothes suggests selling. Of course, you can go above or below this figure — like if you’re adding custom print or embroidery to your slim-fit pullover hoodies or offering a promotional sale.

However, staying close to the MSRP is a great way to know how to price your products.

Profit

Cost, expenses, and selling price are all crucial factors in determining a reasonable price to sell your products.

As a business, you, of course, want to make a profit. However, you want to ensure you’re setting reasonable prices where consumers don’t feel overpaying. You also want to assure customers you are selling at a low price because your sweatshirts are of cheap quality.

These above figures give you a solid idea of how much profit you could make compared to your COGS and other business expenses.

One great way to ensure you can profit is to search for wholesale companies that focus on quality while offering competitive industry prices. Bella + Canvas, for example, uses premium quality materials and offers unbeatable prices on wholesale pullover hoodies and other styles.

Choosing a wholesale company focused on quality allows you to offer your customers clothing built to last — which will keep them coming back for more.

Selling Men’s Slim Fit Pullovers Successfully

Setting prices consumers are willing to pay while ensuring you can still earn a profit is just one step to selling successfully.

Here are a few tips to help you grow and scale your business with more sales in 2023:

1. Clearly define your target market: Whether it’s other retailers or a specific age group of consumers, like Gen Zs and Millennials, ensure you have a set target market. Knowing your ideal customers will help you market to them and ensure you take the right approach in all aspects of your business.
2. Establish a cohesive social media presence: Make sure your profiles are complete and you post consistently. Whether you post daily or a couple of times a week, this can help extend your reach and boost engagement with a loyal customer base.
3. Make it easy for customers to shop: Whether it’s ironing out bugs on your website, adding online size charts, or simplifying your in-store shopping experience, ensure it’s as easy as possible for customers to shop. If they have to worry about a site that’s slow to load or if they can’t get answers to questions on your products, they may be quick to head to competitors. Make shopping with your brand as seamless as possible to help make sales and grow a profit for your brand.