Price per 100, per 1,000 and pack size changes
Updated 29 September 2026 · Proceny
Four things on every price line
| Term | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Source price | The amount as printed, after any discount you are given | €84.00 |
| Price basis | How many sales units that amount covers: 1, 100 or 1,000 | per 100 |
| Pack quantity | How many base units are in one sales unit (a box, carton, roll) | 1 (sold by the piece) |
| Unit cost | What one base unit costs — the number you compare | €0.84 each |
unit cost = source price ÷ (price basis × pack quantity)Worked examples
| As printed | Basis | Pack | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| €84.00 per 100 pcs | 100 | 1 | €0.84 each |
| 12,50 € / 100 St. | 100 | 1 | €0.125 each |
| $450.00, price unit M | 1,000 | 1 | $0.45 each |
| $18.00 per box of 25 | 1 | 25 | $0.72 each |
| £29.00 per roll of 50 m | 1 | 50 m | £0.58 per m |
| $142.00 per 1,000 ft of wire | 1,000 ft | — | $0.142 per ft |
| €210.00 per carton, contents not stated | 1 | ? | unknown |
The last row is the important one. A carton has no fixed size, so there is nothing to divide by. Ask the supplier, or take the contents from your own item record — but never assume last year's pack.
Where the price basis hides
- A price-unit column with codes. Many North American distribution systems use E (each), C (per 100, from the Roman numeral) and M (per 1,000). The codes are a convention, not a standard every supplier follows — check the list's legend.
- The column header: “Price/100”, “Preis je 100 St.”, “Price per 1000”.
- The price cell itself: “12,50 € / 100 St.”.
- The unit column: “100 pcs” or “per 100 m” instead of “EA”.
- A section heading or page note in a PDF: “All prices per 100 metres”.
If two of these say different things for the same row, stop. A basis stated twice, differently, is a question for the supplier.
Units and containers
| Printed as | Means | Unit cost needs |
|---|---|---|
| EA, PC, PCS, ST, STK, Stück, adet | each / piece | nothing more |
| BOX, BX, PACK, PK, VPE, CASE, CS | a container | the pack quantity |
| KAR, KRT, CTN, carton | carton | the pack quantity |
| ROL, RL, roll, coil, reel | roll or reel | its length or count |
| M, FT, KG, L | a measure | a fixed factor to convert (1 ft = 0.3048 m) |
Some abbreviations are ambiguous: in German lists SA can mean a sack or a set. Ask rather than pick one. Each and kilogram, or piece and metre, cannot be converted into each other without the item's weight or length.
When the pack size changes
| List | Sales unit | Price | Per metre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old | Roll of 100 m | £52.00 | £0.520 |
| New | Roll of 90 m | £49.50 | £0.550 |
The roll got 4.8 % cheaper. The metre got 5.8 % dearer. A pack change is the most common way a price increase hides in a list that looks unchanged or lower — compare per unit, and flag every pack change for a look.
Back into your ERP's unit
Your system may stock the item per box of 10 while the supplier prices it per piece. Normalise to one piece to compare, then convert back: €0.84 each is €8.40 per box of 10. Importing the per-piece cost into a per-box item understates the cost ten times over, and nothing in the import will complain.
Why a huge change is usually a basis error
A price of 36.00 “C” is 0.36 each. Read as each, it is a hundred times too high; read the other way round, a genuine 0.36-each price becomes a 99 % “decrease”. Treat any change beyond about ±40 % as a basis, pack or unit question before you treat it as a price change. Large decreases deserve extra suspicion: real price cuts are rarely that big.
When not to normalise
Hold the row, and ask, when:
- the sales unit is a container and its contents are not stated;
- the pack column says
1.000— one thousand, or one with three decimals? - the basis is stated twice, differently;
- the contents are only in the description text (“Rolle à 500 m”) and not in a column;
- the price is qualified: “from”, “ab”, “approx.”;
- the units cannot be converted (each vs kilogram).
Checklist
- Every row has a known basis and, for containers, a known pack quantity.
- Both lists normalised to the same base unit before comparing.
- Every change of pack, unit or basis between lists looked at.
- Changes over ±40 % checked as possible basis errors first.
- Costs converted back to your ERP's stocking unit before import.
For the whole comparison, step by step: how to compare supplier price lists.