How many units should you order? A practical guide

Ordering too much locks up cash and ordering too little loses sales. Use this simple method to find the right quantity.

Work from sales per month

Start with a realistic estimate of what you can sell in a month, after sharing the Buy Box with other sellers. If you expect to sell 12 units a month, ordering 200 is not a plan.

Choose a cover period

Decide how many weeks of stock you want to hold. For a first order, four to six weeks is sensible. For a proven product that you can reorder quickly, you might hold more. Multiply the monthly sales by the number of months you want to cover.

Respect the supplier minimum

Many suppliers set a minimum order or sell in case packs. If the case pack is 24 and you expect to sell 10 a month, the case is more than two months of stock. That may still be fine if the ROI is strong, but it should be a decision rather than an accident.

Set a spending cap

Decide how much of your cash a single product may use, for example 10 percent of your budget. This limits the damage if your estimate is wrong. A capital allocation plan spreads your budget across the best products instead of putting it all in one.

Reorder on evidence

Start small, and reorder when the first units have sold at your expected profit. Wholesale Analyzer recommends a quantity for each product and has a capital allocation view that spreads your budget across the best opportunities.