wholesale

Everyday

1. (money) Selling goods in large amounts to shops and businesses, who then sell them on to customers at a higher price. tree →
2. (adjective, money) To do with such selling: "wholesale prices". tree →
3. Done on a very large scale, often too much and without care: "wholesale destruction". tree →
4. (adverb) In large amounts, or completely. tree →

In the lessons

In money and business lessons, the chain goes: a factory makes goods, a wholesaler buys lots of them cheaply, a shop buys from the wholesaler, and you buy from the shop at the retail price. The difference between wholesale and retail prices is how shops make a profit. In the news, "wholesale" can also mean huge and sweeping, often bad: "wholesale changes", "wholesale destruction". Phrases: "buy wholesale", "wholesale price", "wholesale changes".

Examples

• The shop buys its sweets wholesale and sells them one by one. tree →
• The wholesale price of a pen was 20p, and the shop sold it for 50p. tree →
• Grandad runs a wholesale fruit business. tree →
• The storm caused wholesale damage to the forest. tree →
• The new head teacher made wholesale changes to the timetable. tree →
• Buying wholesale is cheaper because you buy a lot at once. tree →
• Then came the mother herself, in crinoline, Madame AUGUST, a wholesale dealer in fruit, proprietress of a large number of fish ponds and a land cultivator. tree →

Note

Opposite: retail (selling to the public). A wholesaler is the business that sells wholesale. Maths: profit per item = retail price minus wholesale price; for example, bought at 20p and sold at 50p gives 30p profit per item. Wholesale prices are usually lower per item because you buy in bulk.