Tiered pricing (also called volume pricing) is a structure where the unit price falls as the quantity ordered rises. Instead of one flat price, you define quantity ranges (tiers), and each tier carries a lower per-unit rate. It is one of the most common pricing models in wholesale and B2B quoting because it rewards larger commitments while protecting your margin on small orders.
How it works
You set price breaks tied to quantity thresholds. A typical table looks like this:
- 1 to 49 units: $10.00 each
- 50 to 199 units: $8.50 each
- 200+ units: $7.25 each
There are two ways to apply the tiers. In all-units pricing, the whole order takes the rate of the tier the total quantity lands in. In incremental (marginal) pricing, each tier’s rate applies only to the units inside that band. All-units is more common in wholesale because it is simpler for buyers to reason about, but it can create a jump where buying one more unit lowers the total cost.
Why it matters
Tiered pricing lets you quote consistent, defensible numbers instead of negotiating each deal from scratch. It nudges buyers toward larger orders, and it keeps your margins predictable across order sizes. For a Shopify merchant, the challenge is that native Shopify pricing is largely per-variant, so volume breaks usually live in a quote or a draft order rather than the standard product page.
In B2B quoting on Shopify
When a buyer requests a quote for a bulk quantity, tiered pricing is where you translate their volume into a real number. The tier logic can sit in your quote before it becomes a Shopify draft order the buyer accepts and pays through checkout. See the B2B quoting glossary for related terms, or pricing for plan details.