The tempting hundred
Your supplier offers a better price if you buy more. As a retailer, you want the saving, but you also need cash for next week's bills. The tempting assumption is that a lower unit cost makes the larger order better for the business.
Consider one hypothetical shop. Its record for item LAMP-4 shows Paid units: 40 and Enquiries: 60. Customers pay €20 each; the shop must keep €200 of these receipts for rent. The supplier offers 40 units at €10 each or 100 at €8, payable today. All figures are illustrative, not reported results.
Follow the money past the discount
The owner chooses 100 units and fulfils the 40 paid orders. Revenue is €800. Those sales produce €480 in gross profit before other costs: €800 minus €320 for the units sold. But the supplier receives €800 now, and 60 units remain.
Buying 40 would leave €400 from the batch's receipts; buying 100 leaves none. The shop is overstocked relative to confirmed orders. Enquiries do not establish purchases. The discount lowers unit cost while the minimum order increases cash committed to inventory.
Check the record before agreeing
Match the item code and delivery dates in the customer record to the supplier's offer. Count paid units separately from enquiries, then compare the purchase payment with cash needed for committed bills.
Here, the 100-unit plan spends the rent reserve and relies on enquiries for further sales. That fails the cash check. Order 40 or negotiate staged purchases. Buy the extra 60 only if you can fund that inventory risk while protecting the reserve; a cheaper unit price alone does not justify it.
When bulk buying fits
Now change one assumption in a hypothetical boundary case: the same shop has 100 prepaid units for delivery this week. The larger purchase then matches demand. Choose it if the supplier can meet that date and the payment leaves enough cash for committed bills. Otherwise, revise the order or its payment terms.