Skip to content

Match Your Direct Price to Stockists

Your own website sells the product for less than the shelf price your stockists have to charge, and the reorders are slowing. Ivanka Menken uses the Channel Price Mirror inside Clarity Shift Mastermind, a 10-month peer group at AUD $2,000 per month ex GST, to put direct, wholesale and shelf price side by side, name the gap on each line and set your direct price at the price your stockists sell at.

The Channel Price Mirror is a tool inside the programme, not a separate product. Not legal or financial advice.

The brand’s own site was the cheapest place to buy its product.

  1. SHELF PRICEwhat stockists must charge, example$45
  2. DIRECT PRICEthe brand’s own site, $7 under the shelf$38
  3. WHOLESALEwhat stockists pay the brand$22.50

THE RULE

“The direct price is the shelf price. No customer should find the product cheaper on your site than in a stockist’s shop.”

Your prices will be your own.

Your own site is undercutting your stockists

  1. 01Your website sells below the price your stockists have to charge.
  2. 02Stockists reorder less often and stop answering about new lines.
  3. 03Nobody has put direct, wholesale and shelf price on one page.
  • Stockists: about 40
  • Shelf price stockists must charge: $45
  • Direct price on the brand’s site: $38
  • Gap: $7 under the shelf
  • Stockists who skipped a reorder last quarter: 11

Every price made sense on its own. Side by side, they compete.

The founder who priced each channel alone

  1. 01

    A customer who walked out to buy online

    A stockist you have supplied for years rings to say a customer put the product back on the shelf in the shop. The customer had just found the same product on your own website for $7 less. The stockist is polite and tired. Their reorder, due this week, does not arrive. You realise you set the website price on its own, and never next to the price you asked them to charge.

  2. 02

    A bigger wholesale margin for stockists

    In this case, the founder ran a product brand at about $1.2m revenue, selling on its own website and through about 40 stockists. When reorders slowed, the founder offered stockists a better wholesale price on the next order. Stockists took it, and still watched customers find the product cheaper on the brand’s own site. The margin went down and the reorders did not come back.

  3. 03

    Three prices, never on one page

    Ivanka noticed the founder could name every price but had never put them side by side. The website price had been set to win online sales, the wholesale price to win stockists, and the shelf price had been left to the stockists. The brand was competing with its own best accounts, and paying for it twice.

A channel conflict, not a wholesale margin problem

The real problem was not the wholesale margin. It was a direct price set below the shelf price, so every stockist was competing with the brand on its own product.

The reframe: price is a cash decision before it is a market decision, and one product has one price in front of a customer. Put the direct, wholesale and shelf price on one page, set the direct price at the shelf price and let the wholesale margin do its job.

One product, one price in front of the customer, wherever they buy it.

Every sale the site wins below the shelf price costs a stockist a sale, and every stockist who stops reordering takes a year of shelf space with them.

The Channel Price Mirror, for one product brand

The Channel Price Mirror is how Clarity Shift Mastermind lines up what one product sells for in every channel. It puts direct, wholesale and shelf price side by side, shows the gap on each line and records one decision per line, so the founder brings a priced choice to the room instead of a hunch.

The Channel Price Mirror, for one product brandA price scale from $0 to $50 runs down the middle. On the right, the stockist shelf price at $45, marked 1. On the left, the brand's own site before, at $38, marked 2, with the $7 gap under the shelf marked 3. On the scale, the wholesale price of $22.50, marked 4, with a dashed line showing the stockist keeps $22.50 a unit at the shelf price. In gold, marked 5, an arrow lifts the brand's own site to $45, and a gold dashed line joins it to the shelf price: one price wherever a customer buys. Below, one decision per line: direct, raise $38 to $45; shelf, publish $45 as the recommended price; wholesale, keep $22.50 as it is. Underneath, the rule to copy. All prices are an example.ONE PRODUCT, ONE PRICE (EXAMPLE)STOCKIST SHELF$451SITE, BEFORE$3823$7 under the shelfWHOLESALE$22.504Stockist keeps$22.50 a unitSITE, AFTER$455DIRECTRaise $38 to $45SHELFPublish $45 as recommendedWHOLESALEKeep $22.50 as it isTHE MIRROR, AS WRITTENShelf $____. Direct $____.Wholesale $____.If direct is under the shelf,raise it. The stockist margin stays.

Tap a part. The prices are an example; your three lines will be your own.

Channel Price Mirror · a framework by Ivanka Menken

What it is

It is one page. On the left, the brand’s own site. On the right, the stockist’s shelf. Between them, the wholesale price the stockist pays. Each line shows its gap to the shelf price and the decision taken: raise the direct price to the shelf, publish the shelf price as the recommended price, and keep the wholesale price where it is.

What it replaces

It replaces a website price set to win online, a wholesale margin cut to win back stockists and a shelf price nobody on the brand side ever wrote down.

It sits inside Clarity Shift Mastermind, next to the five-number scorecard shared each month, because the direct price changes margin and the reorders change cash. It is peer advisory, not legal or pricing compliance advice, and there is no separate checkout.

  • 01Shelf price stockists charge: $45
  • 02Direct price on the brand’s site: $38, a $7 gap, raised to $45
  • 03Wholesale price to stockists: $22.50, left as it is
  • 04Stockist margin at the shelf price: $22.50 a unit
  • 05The decision on each line, written beside it
  • 06The measure to watch: stockist reorders, reviewed at the next session

Three prices on one page, questioned by the room

In the session, the founder took the Anchor Seat with the price list and the stockist reorder report. Ivanka asked them to write the shelf price, the wholesale price and the direct price in one row, then the gap between each. The room asked what a stockist sees when a customer checks the brand’s site in the shop. The founder left with one decision per line and one cash number to watch.

THE MIRROR, AS WRITTEN

Shelf price
What stockists charge, published as the recommended price.
Direct price
The same as the shelf price, on the brand’s own site.
Wholesale price
What stockists pay, so the shelf price leaves them a margin.
The measure
Stockist reorders, reviewed at the next session.
Review
At the next session, with the reorder report

Your prices and channels will be your own.

  1. 1The one thingA direct price set below the shelf price.
  2. 2The numbers$45 on the shelf, $38 direct, $22.50 wholesale.
  3. 3The storyWhy a better wholesale price did not bring reorders back.
  4. 4The commitmentDirect at the shelf price, one written price test.
  • What does a stockist have to charge on the shelf?
  • What does your own site charge for the same product?
  • What is the gap, and who pays for it?
  • What happens to the stockist’s margin if you change the wholesale price?
  • Which number will show the change worked?

Before the next session, the founder set the direct price to the shelf price, wrote to every stockist with the recommended price and tracked reorders for the room.

One price in front of every customer

By month 10, the direct price matches the shelf price, stockists see one recommended price, and the scorecard shows margin and reorders side by side each month. Every new product is priced across all three lines before launch.

BEFORE

  • A site price set to win online.
  • Customers finding it cheaper direct.
  • Wholesale margin cut to win stockists back.
  • Reorders slowing with no clear cause.

BY MONTH 10

  • Direct price equal to the shelf price.
  • One recommended price for stockists.
  • Wholesale price left to do its job.
  • Every new line priced on one page.
  1. 1Room
  2. 2Room + 1:1
  3. 3Room + 1:1
  4. 4Room
  5. 5Room + 1:1
  6. 6Room + 1:1
  7. 7Room
  8. 8Room + 1:1
  9. 9Room + 1:1
  10. 10Room

The container: 10 months of monthly two-hour group sessions with eight founders, plus two 1:1 check-ins each quarter.

In this case, the founder set the website price to the shelf price, wrote to every stockist with the recommended price and brought the reorder report to the next session, with one written price test and one cash number to watch.

Ivanka Menken speaking with a microphone in front of a presentation screen, in a green patterned jacket
One price for the product, wherever a customer buys it.

Put the three prices on one page

Ivanka Menken chairs Clarity Shift Mastermind for founders of A$1M to A$10M businesses who carry the big decisions alone. Pricing across channels is one of those decisions, and one of the easiest to make one channel at a time.

This fits if you sell direct and through stockists and have never seen the prices side by side. It does not fit if you want legal advice on resale pricing or someone to set your prices for you. The decision in front of you is one row of numbers. Write it, then let the room question it.

“Helps founders lead with clarity and integrity by modelling vulnerability, emotional intelligence, and grounded decision-making. Creates an environment where leaders can openly explore challenges and grow without fear of judgement.”

R.W., founder

It fits

  • You sell a product direct and through stockists.
  • Your site price and the shelf price differ.
  • Stockists are reordering less often.
  • You will bring one priced decision to the room.

It does not fit

  • You want legal advice on resale pricing.
  • You sell in only one channel.
  • You want someone to set your prices for you.
  • You are not yet at A$1M in revenue.

AUD $2,000

per month ex GST

10 months · 10 monthly group sessions

The Channel Price Mirror is part of Clarity Shift Mastermind, a 10-month peer programme at AUD $2,000 per month ex GST. It is not sold separately.

  • 10 monthly two-hour group sessions
  • Two 1:1 check-ins each quarter
  • The five-number scorecard shared each month
  • The Anchor Seat for one decision a month

Questions about direct and wholesale pricing

Should my direct price match my stockists?

In most cases, yes. When your own site is cheaper than the shelf, stockists lose sales on your product and stop reordering. Set the direct price at the shelf price and let the wholesale price give them a margin. Ivanka Menken works this through in the Anchor Seat inside Clarity Shift Mastermind, 10 months at AUD $2,000 per month ex GST.

Why are my stockists reordering less?

Check the prices before the product. If customers can find it cheaper on your website, a stockist is competing with you on your own product. Put direct, wholesale and shelf price on one page and look at the gap. Ivanka Menken chairs that conversation inside Clarity Shift Mastermind, 10 months at AUD $2,000 per month ex GST, with a room of founders questioning it.

Will a better wholesale price win stockists back?

Rarely on its own. In this case, a better wholesale price cut the brand’s margin and the reorders still did not come back, because the website stayed cheaper than the shelf. Fix the gap first. Ivanka Menken helps you price all three lines inside Clarity Shift Mastermind, 10 months at AUD $2,000 per month ex GST. It is not legal advice.

How long is Clarity Shift Mastermind?

Clarity Shift Mastermind runs for 10 months at AUD $2,000 per month ex GST: ten monthly two-hour group sessions with eight founders, two 1:1 check-ins each quarter and the five-number scorecard shared each month. Ivanka Menken chairs every session. The Channel Price Mirror is part of the programme and is not sold separately.

Line up the three prices

If your own site is cheaper than your stockists, bring the decision to Clarity Shift Mastermind. The Channel Price Mirror is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether the room fits.

Not legal or pricing compliance advice.

See the Clarity Shift Mastermind programme →