Wholesale Pricing Isn’t About Greed — It’s About Survival
Why disciplined wholesale pricing creates repeat buyers, fewer retrades, and more annual income.
Wholesale Pricing Isn’t About Greed — It’s About Survival
Wholesale pricing is not about being “cheap.”
It’s about being closeable.
The fastest way to burn a buyer list is consistently overpricing deals and hoping someone shows up.
Buyers don’t forget that.
Repeat buyers are the whole business
There are two kinds of buyers:
- One-time buyers who might close something
- Repeat buyers who close monthly/quarterly
Repeat buyers are your distribution channel.
When a repeat buyer stops responding, that’s not “they’re busy.” It’s feedback.
What overpricing actually costs you
Overpricing doesn’t just risk one deal.
It creates second-order damage:
- more retrades
- smaller deposits
- slower closings
- weaker credibility
- lower marketing ROI
A deal that drags is expensive.
The velocity math most wholesalers ignore
Compare two operators:
Wholesaler A (big fee, low close rate)
- 2 deals/month × $12,000 = $24,000/month
Wholesaler B (fair fee, high close rate)
- 6 deals/month × $7,000 = $42,000/month
Wholesaler B also gets:
- referrals
- repeat buyers
- easier title relationships
- less time wasted chasing flakes
The goal is not a trophy fee.
The goal is reliable closings.
Pricing is a function of uncertainty
Your assignment fee is a function of:
- deal spread
- rehab certainty
- access quality
- neighborhood demand
- buyer pool depth
- title speed
When uncertainty rises, price needs to compensate buyers for risk.
Foundation unknowns? Old cast iron plumbing? Tenant situation? Roof near end of life?
Those aren’t minor. They affect buyer appetite and margin requirements.
The #1 way to reduce retrades
Retrades happen when buyers feel surprised.
The cure is boring but effective:
- disclose issues upfront
- include photos and scope notes
- provide closed comps and adjustments
- don’t “sell” ARV—defend it
Buyers pay for certainty.
A simple closeability framework
Before you blast a deal, ask:
- If ARV drops 5%, does the buyer still have a win?
- If rehab rises 20%, does the buyer still have a win?
- If timeline slips 60 days, does the buyer still have a win?
If the answer is “no” to all three, you’re asking buyers to gamble.
Gamblers are not repeat buyers.
Bottom line
The best wholesalers aren’t the ones who win the biggest fee once.
They’re the ones who:
- price to clear
- protect credibility
- build repeat buyers
- close consistently
That’s survival. That’s scale.