Cost Pass-Through Checklist: Raise, Absorb, and Tell Customers
A simple pass-through checklist helps first-time owners identify affected products, size the margin hit, choose what to absorb, and give customers a review date.
| By | Business Basics Desk — Newsroom |
|---|---|
| Filed | 8 November 2026 |
| Read | 3 MIN |
A supplier email can change your margin before your customers notice anything. The 16GB Raspberry Pi 5 became $80 more expensive, reaching a $385 price. The board had launched in January 2025 at $120, and the later price exceeded three times that launch price. The owner's job is to find which products carry that cost, choose how much to pass through, and tell customers why the price is changing.
Run the pass-through checklist in order
Each step exists to stop a common mistake. The product check keeps the later numbers from becoming guesses. The number check keeps the decision from becoming a panic. The choice separates a pricing decision from a permanent price hike. The note gives the customer a clear reason and a review date.
- Find the products that actually carry the cost increase.
- Calculate the cost delta and the margin impact.
- Decide how much to pass through and how much to absorb.
- Tell customers the reason and the end condition.
The product list comes before the price change
The 16GB Raspberry Pi 5's November 2026 price increase was part of a cumulative rise that began when the board went from $120 to $145 in December 2025. The 16GB Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 variants received a $40 price increase. The Raspberry Pi 500+, which also contains 16GB of RAM, did not receive this price increase.
The increases were driven by insufficient alternative 16GB DRAM supply and other component shortages. Raspberry Pi said it would reverse them once memory costs decline.
The same supplier letter can mean different pricing problems. A maker who sells a kit built around the affected board feels the change. A seller of the 500+ does not feel it. A reseller of the module feels a smaller hit. The owner who ties the input to the product avoids raising prices on products that never touched the cost.
The cost delta decides how much you can absorb
Before you talk to a customer, write the old unit cost, the new unit cost, and the gross margin, the gap between price and direct cost. The cost delta is the difference between the old and new unit cost. The margin impact is the amount of gross margin the delta consumes.
Compare the delta with the margin before you choose. If the delta is small relative to the margin, absorbing it may be easier to explain. If the delta is large relative to the margin, a partial pass-through may keep the price from jumping too far.
If the product is a low-volume specialty, a small margin hit may be worth keeping the price stable. If the product is a high-volume staple, the same hit can erase profit quickly. Pride is the wrong guide. The choice is about which price change protects the business without pushing away the customers you need.
Full pass-through restores the old margin. Partial pass-through keeps the price softer and the margin thinner. Absorbing the cost keeps the price flat and the margin smaller. The pricing strategy should match the product's role in your revenue and the customer's tolerance for change.
The customer note needs a review date
When the cause is outside your control, the note should say what changed, why it matters, and when you will look again. A vague apology invites distrust. A clear reason invites patience. If the supplier says the increase is temporary, the customer note should carry that same condition.
Do not promise a permanent price. Promise a review. Keep it short. Name the input. Name the affected products. State the price change. State the review condition. If the customer buys a bundle, the bundle can soften the hit without cutting prices across the whole list. Product bundling can appeal to consumers tired of inflation, and discounting may be less necessary than assumed.