wholesaler

Everyday

A person or business that buys goods in large amounts from makers and sells them in large amounts to shops, not to the public. tree →

In the lessons

In business and maths lessons: wholesalers sell cheaply in bulk; shops (retailers) buy from them and sell to people at a higher price to make profit. In maths problems: profit = shop price − wholesale price.

Examples

• The corner shop buys its sweets from a wholesaler. tree →
• The wholesaler sells crisps in boxes of 48. tree →
• A retailer buys from a wholesaler and sells to customers. tree →
• The wholesaler charged 20p a bar, and the shop sold them for 50p, a profit of 30p each. tree →
• Farmers sell their apples to a fruit wholesaler. tree →
• You usually need a business card to shop at a wholesaler. tree →

Note

Countable. Related: wholesale (adjective, adverb), retailer (the shop that sells to the public). Comes from «whole» (in bulk) + «sale», not «hole». In maths: profit per item = selling price − buying price.