How to Price Thai Products for Resale: Landed Cost and Margin

This article is general information for reference only and does not constitute advice or a commitment.

Why a price list is not a pricing strategy

Many new resellers of Thai products make the same mistake: they take the supplier's price, add a round-number markup and publish it. It feels simple, but it hides the real costs between a Bangkok shelf and your customer's hands. A healthy price is built backwards from your landed cost, your channel fees and the margin you actually need to stay in business.

This guide walks through a practical way to think about pricing Thai consumer products, whether you sell through a shop, a marketplace, social media or to other retailers. The figures you use will always be your own; the logic below simply helps you avoid surprises.

Step 1: Understand your landed cost

Landed cost is everything it costs to get one unit into your warehouse or home, ready to sell. Start with the product price from the supplier, then add each of the following that applies to you:

• International freight from Bangkok to your destination, by air, sea or courier, divided across the units in the shipment.
• Export and shipping documents and packing costs, which depend on the product and destination.
• Import duties, taxes and customs clearance fees in your own country. These are the importer's responsibility and change by product type, so confirm them with your local customs authority or customs broker.
• Local transport from the port or airport to your storage point.
• Bank and payment charges, including currency conversion.
• Allowance for damage or loss, since a small share of any shipment can be affected in transit.

Divide the total by the number of sellable units. That single number is your landed cost per unit, and every later decision rests on it.

Step 2: Markup is not margin

Markup and margin are often confused. Markup is the amount you add on top of cost; margin is the share of the selling price that is profit. If a unit costs 100 and you sell it for 150, your markup is 50 percent, but your margin is only about 33 percent. When you plan expenses such as advertising, staff or rent, margin is the number that matters, because those costs are paid out of the selling price.

A simple habit helps: decide the margin you need first, then work out the selling price from your landed cost, rather than the other way round.

Step 3: Add your channel costs

Where you sell changes the price you need. A physical shop carries rent and staff. Marketplaces such as Shopee, Lazada or TikTok Shop charge commissions and sometimes payment and voucher costs. Social selling often means advertising spend and delivery to individual customers. Wholesale to other shops usually means a lower unit margin but larger and more predictable orders.

Write down the percentage fee and the fixed cost per order for each channel you use. Many resellers keep one set of prices for retail and a separate, lower set for trade customers, so they never have to cut retail prices when a retailer asks for a discount.

Step 4: Check the market price

Cost-plus pricing only tells you the minimum. Next, look at what similar products are selling for locally. Thai skincare and beauty brands such as Mistine, Cathy Doll, Srichand, Sivanna Colors and Precious Skin, herbal brands such as Siang Pure and Tiger Balm, and everyday brands such as Vaseline, Hygiene and Downy each sit in different positions in different countries. Some are seen as affordable daily essentials, others as attractive imports. Browse local shops and online listings, note the typical range, and decide where you want to sit within it.

If the market price is lower than the price your costs require, you have three honest options: improve your costs, for example by consolidating shipments or choosing different products; choose a different channel; or choose different products. Cutting margin below what you need is rarely sustainable.

Step 5: Build a simple price structure

Once you know your landed cost and channel costs, a small table is usually enough. For each product, record landed cost, retail price, trade price and the resulting margin on each. Review it whenever freight, exchange rates or supplier prices change, because a shift in currency alone can quietly remove your profit.

• Use consistent rounding so prices look clean to customers.
• Bundle slower items with popular ones instead of discounting everything.
• Keep promotions time-limited and calculate the margin during the promotion, not only the normal price.
• Track which products sell fastest. A modest margin on a quick-selling item often earns more than a high margin on one that sits on the shelf.

Step 6: Start small and learn

Before committing to larger purchases, many importers begin with a small mixed order to test demand and confirm real costs. Prices and availability are confirmed in the quotation, so share your target market and product ideas with the ThaiNex team and they will advise on what suits your plan.

If you would rather sell Thai products in your own country without importing by yourself, you can also learn about the Seller Partner program.

Next steps

Browse the ThaiNex product catalogue and the available brands to shortlist items, then use the wholesale enquiry page to tell us your market and channel. To request a wholesale quote or catalogue from ThaiNex, contact our team and they will be glad to help you plan.