A distributor pricing strategy is not one price with three discounts. It is three separate lists — an installer trade list, a retail list and a project price — each built to carry different costs and serve a different buyer. Keep the three lists apart on paper and in practice, and each channel can earn without undercutting the others.
Key Takeaways
- Run three lists — trade, retail and project — each for a different buyer and job.
- Build all three from the same landed cost; the channel’s own costs explain the differences.
- Keep trade prices inside the account, let project prices expire, and write every exception down.
Three Lists, Three Different Jobs
| Price list | Who sees it | What it must carry | Collision it must avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installer trade | Account-holding installers only | Landed cost, account handling, warranty first response and room for the installer to earn on the job | Never published where an end buyer can hold it against the installer’s quote |
| Retail | Any buyer, often published | Landed cost, single-unit handling, consumer support and returns handling | Never set so low that it becomes the installer’s effective buying price by another route |
| Project | The named project buyer, in a written quote | Landed cost at that quantity, staged delivery, documentation and the service duties the quote promises | Never a standing price: it expires with the project quote and its quantity |
Build Each List From the Same Landed Cost
All three lists start from the same landed cost per exact model and variant: factory price plus freight, clearance and currency movement to your warehouse. Different cost bases make the gaps meaningless.
One illustration only, with index numbers invented for this example: set landed cost at index 100. Each list is then a selling price built upward from that same 100, adding what its channel must carry. Retail carries the most per unit — single-unit handling and consumer support are real work. Trade carries less of that and leaves the installer’s earning inside the job. A project price is rebuilt per project, because quantity, staging and documentation change what it must carry. The index shows relative structure only — not a price, discount or margin for any real charger.
For context, U.S. Department of Energy figures put public Level 2 at about $3,500 equipment plus $2,500 installation per connector — U.S. installed costs, not distributor prices. They show why project buyers separate hardware from installation.
Habits That Keep the Lists Apart
- One owner per list. Name who may issue, change or approve an exception to each list. Most collisions start as a favour given off-list.
- Trade prices travel with the account. They are quoted to account holders against the account terms, not printed in public catalogues or marketplace listings.
- Project prices expire. Every project quote states its quantity, site and validity window. A later project is a new build from landed cost, not a copy of the last one.
- Exceptions are written down. If a trade buyer is matched to a project price once, record why, for which order, and that it does not set the account price.
- Review against landed cost, not habit. When freight or currency moves the landed cost, rebuild all three lists from the new base so the structure survives.
Pricing EVDANCE Lines as a Distributor
The same discipline applies across the EVDANCE range. A wallbox such as the EV-ACT3204PE 22 kW wallbox (three-phase, Type 2, RFID and app, IP66, CE) sits on all three lists. A station such as the EV-AC03201T dual-connector AC station (up to 43 kW shared, 22 kW per connector, OCPP 1.6J, RFID, IP54, 7-inch touchscreen — a display, not a payment terminal) is usually project-priced, quoted per site. EVDANCE is a Shenzhen manufacturer founded in 2011, exporting to 30+ countries, with a 3-year standard warranty. Review the reseller and distributor program and contact the team to discuss supply terms for their market.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should the gap between trade and retail be a fixed percentage?
No sourced standard gap exists. Build each list from your landed cost plus what that channel must carry in your operation. The gap is the result of that build, not the starting point.
Can an installer buy at the project price for stock?
That is how lists collide. A project price is built for a named quantity, site and delivery plan. Selling it as shelf stock transfers project economics into the trade channel and breaks the trade list. If the installer has a real project, quote it as a project.
What should a distributor do when a retail listing elsewhere is cheaper than trade?
Check the exact model, variant and what the listing includes first. Then answer from your own lists: what your trade price carries — local stock, documentation and warranty first response. Do not chase a listing by quietly rewriting the trade list off-record.
Related Reading
- How Distributors Can Build a Profitable EV Charger Product Line
- How Much Do Commercial EV Chargers Cost?
- How to Choose a Portable EV Charger Supplier: A B2B Checklist for Importers
- 11 kW vs 22 kW Wallbox: Which Should Distributors Stock for Europe?
