If you are looking to purchase wholesale chances are you have seen listings that say things like “MSRP: $500” or “Total RTV: $3,000”, but what does this mean? Let’s find out!

MSRP means “Manufacturers Suggest Retail Price”. This is the price printed on the paper store tag:

As you can see from the image above, this specific authentic Ralph Lauren Camel Hair (Yes, it’s actually made from Camel Hair!!) sweaters “MSRP” is almost $400! Which I suppose makes a lot of sense because I don’t even understand the process of obtaining Camel Hair…. Anyhoo, let’s say you were purchasing 10 pieces of this sweater in bulk. The “TOTAL RETAIL VALUE” also referred to as “RTV” or “Total Retail” for this would be almost $4,000 ($3,980, to be exact!).  "RTV" is basically a slang term that online sellers use so they do not confuse buyers with MSRP.  However, in many companies, "RTV" means "Return to Vendor"; but you will likely never come across any wholesale listing that mentions "Return to Vendor", so if you see "RTV" followed by a dollar amount, it means that is the price of the merchandise, if it was sold at full price in a store like JC Penny (or whatever).   

BUT before you rush to buy anything on the internet, be sure to read our blog post called 3 Ways to Tell if a Wholesaler is Scamming You because in this article we discuss the MSRP Trick.