Glossary: Pricing
Price list
A price list is a set of prices assigned to a customer group, market or account in place of the standard retail prices. Wholesale sellers use price lists so each buyer group sees the right price without duplicating products.
In detail
A price list separates what you sell from what each buyer pays. The product stays the same, and the list decides its price for a given group. Lists usually work in one of two ways: a fixed price for each product or variant, or a percentage taken off the regular price. The same product can then sit at $12 for retail shoppers, $9.50 on a silver list and $8 on a gold list.
Sellers use price lists instead of duplicate products or discount codes because they keep the catalog clean. There is one product page, one inventory count and one set of reviews. Price lists also make it easy to build tiers (bronze, silver, gold), to give a distributor a different set than a retailer, and to price by market or currency.
Two things need a decision before you build lists. First, who gets which list: by customer tag, by company, by market, or by logged-in status. Second, what happens when two lists could apply to the same product. Good tools let you set a priority, or apply a clear rule such as lowest price wins. Write the rule down so support staff can explain a price to a buyer.
Price lists need upkeep: review them when supplier costs change. Some teams call this a price book, the same idea of a named set of prices for a defined group.
Example
Retail price: $12 per hand lotion. Gold price list: $8. A gold distributor buying 100 units pays $800 instead of $1,200, a saving of $400 or about 33%, while retail shoppers still see $12.
On Shopify
Shopify's native B2B uses catalogs for this. A catalog sets which products and prices a company or market sees. You set prices as an overall percentage adjustment, as fixed prices per product or variant, or by importing fixed prices from a CSV. If several catalogs apply to a product, the lowest price shows. Shopify's catalog pages do not use the term price list. Basic, Grow and Advanced allow up to 3 active catalogs across all B2B markets, and direct assignment to a company location is Shopify Plus only.
Sources: Shopify Help Center: Creating catalogs (read October 4, 2026); Shopify Help Center: Catalogs and pricing in B2B (read October 4, 2026).
In BSS B2B apps
BSS B2B Solution has a Price List module that sets prices per product or variant for a customer group. It is managed inside the app and is separate from Shopify catalogs. It is on the Platinum plan. If a Price List and Custom Pricing match the same variant, the Price List wins, and quantity breaks then apply on top of that price.
Learn more
Read the Wholesale pricing hub for guides, use cases and setup docs, or the complete Shopify B2B guide.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Is a price list the same as a Shopify catalog?
Not exactly. A Shopify catalog is a native B2B object that sets the products and prices a company or market can see. A price list is the general idea of a named set of prices, and BSS B2B Solution's Price List is a separate module managed in the app.
What happens when two price lists match the same product?
It depends on the tool. In Shopify, the lowest price displays when several catalogs apply. In BSS B2B Solution, rules carry a priority number from 0 to 99 and the lower number wins within the same module.
Should I use a price list or a discount code?
Use a price list when a group should always see its own price. A discount code needs the buyer to enter it, applies at purchase and suits one-off offers.