For distributors, wholesalers and trade counters
Wholesale Decorative Pebble Buying Guide
A wholesale range succeeds on stock turn, not on how many SKUs it contains. Start narrow and expand on evidence.
Start with three SKUs, not thirty
White, black and a natural mixed blend in one or two size bands will cover most first-year demand. Adding polished and feature lines later is easy; clearing slow-moving stock is not.
Understand your landed cost properly
Landed cost is the stone plus packing plus freight plus duty plus handling. Packing choice often moves the total more than a small change in stone price, which is why we quote packing as a separate line.
Plan replenishment before the first container lands
Tell your supplier your reorder cycle at the start. It lets sorting be planned so your second container matches the first, which matters enormously when a customer is topping up an existing installation.
Decide your packing format early
Retail bags, jumbo bags and loose bulk each imply different equipment, storage and pricing at your end. Changing format after the quotation usually changes the quantity that fits in the container.
Track sell-through before adding new colours
Resist adding a fourth or fifth colour until the first three are turning over reliably. A wide range that sells slowly ties up warehouse space and cash more than a narrow range that turns fast.
Build a simple reorder trigger
Set a stock level that automatically prompts a reorder conversation, factoring in your realistic lead time from enquiry to delivery. Waiting until stock is empty before reordering usually means a gap on the shelf.
Separate pricing for packing from pricing for stone
Ask your supplier to quote stone and packing as two lines. It lets you compare suppliers fairly and adjust packing format independently if your storage or resale channel changes.
Worked container cost breakdown
A simple way to compare options is to list stone cost, packing cost, freight and destination handling as separate lines for each packing format under consideration, then divide the total by tonnes delivered. A format with a slightly higher packing cost can still produce a lower landed cost per tonne if it allows more weight to load within the container's payload limit, so compare the final per-tonne figure rather than the packing line alone.
A first-range planning checklist
Work through this before placing a first wholesale order.
- — Have you chosen three to five SKUs rather than a wide range?
- — Is packing quoted as a separate line from the stone price?
- — Have you agreed a realistic reorder cycle with your supplier?
- — Do you have storage and handling suited to the packing format chosen?
- — Is a stock-level reorder trigger set against your actual lead time?
Related questions
- How many SKUs should a new distributor start with?
- Three to five well-chosen SKUs across one or two size bands generally outperform a broad range in the first year.
- Should packing always be quoted separately from stone?
- Yes, it makes supplier comparisons fair and makes it easier to change packing format later without renegotiating the stone price.
Products covered in this guide
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