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What Is Faire Wholesale? How Handmade Sellers Use It to Get into Boutiques
Faire Wholesale connects handmade sellers with independent boutique retailers worldwide. Learn how it works, what the fees are, and how to price profitably.
If you are a handmade craft seller looking to expand into wholesale, you may have heard about Faire.
If not, and you are keen to learn about this online wholesale channel, keep reading. In this article we will cover how Faire works, what it costs, and what you need to know before signing up.
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In this article we will cover:
- What is Faire?
- How much does it cost to sell on Faire?
- How does Faire work?
- Understanding Faire’s Commission Structure
- Faire Direct — 0% commission for your existing accounts
- Faire Backorders
- Pricing on Faire
- How to price your products on Faire
- Using Software to Manage your Faire inventory
- Frequently Asked Questions
What is Faire?
Faire (also called “Faire Wholesale” or “Faire Wholesale Marketplace”) is a wholesale marketplace that connects independent “brands” to independent boutiques. Faire was created in 2017 with a vision to help small businesses come together to compete on a more level playing field with the likes of Walmart and Amazon. Today, they have over 700,000 retailers and 100,000+ brands worldwide.
It’s one of the leading wholesale marketplaces for independent makers: other options in the same arena include IndieMe and Tundra.
If you have previously dismissed Faire because you don’t see yourself as a “brand”, it’s time to take another look. Faire calls any independent shop a “brand”: if you make your own products, that’s you.
How much does it cost to sell on Faire?
If you are an independent handmade seller, you can sign up to Faire for free. The fee structure has three main parts:
| Order type | Commission | Other fees |
|---|---|---|
| New retailer’s first order | 15% | One-time $10 new-customer fee + payment processing |
| Repeat orders from same retailer | 15% | Payment processing only |
| Your existing customers (Faire Direct) | 0% | Payment processing only |
A few things to note:
- The $10 new-customer fee is one-time: it applies only to a retailer’s first order, not every order
- Payment processing (1.9-3.5% + $0.30) applies to every order, depending on how fast you choose to be paid
- For a new retailer’s first $300 order, you’d receive about $245 after the 15% commission + $10 fee (before payment processing)
- No monthly subscription fee, so Faire only earns money when you do
See our complete Faire fee breakdown → for worked examples and how to build these costs into your pricing.
👉 Use our free Faire commission and payout calculator → to see exactly what you’ll net on any order.
How does Faire work?
Faire is a wholesale marketplace that connects independent “brands” (sellers) to independent boutiques (buyers).
Faire has spent a lot of time and money attracting wholesale retailers to the platform, including offering 60-day payment terms and free returns on opening orders to make it as risk-free as possible for buyers. In a similar vein to Etsy, they have created a ready audience looking to purchase your products that you can take advantage of.
As a brand, you can sign up for free and only be charged a commission on orders placed by new customers who found your brand through the marketplace. For repeat orders from the same customer, the commission is lower. You can also use Faire’s free tools to take orders from your existing customers and prospects via Faire Direct (more on that below).
When you join Faire, your brand will go live in the marketplace and retailers will be able to discover your products and place orders.
Faire also runs a number of popular online wholesale fairs which work like a virtual tradeshow (without the travel).
Understanding Faire’s Commission Structure
So how does payment work? When a customer orders from you on Faire, they pay Faire first and then Faire pays you. Faire offers payment protection for all orders: if a customer doesn’t receive their order or is not happy with it, Faire will refund the customer and you will still get paid.
All orders are paid directly to your bank account. Importantly, even though Faire offers retailers net-60 payment terms (buyers have 60 days to pay), you don’t wait on the retailer. Faire fronts the money and lets you choose your payout speed: as fast as the next business day, or after 30 or 60 days for a lower processing fee. This is one of Faire’s genuine advantages over managing wholesale invoices yourself: no chasing late payments.
Faire Direct — 0% Commission for Your Existing Accounts
Faire Direct is probably the most underused feature on the platform.
If you have existing wholesale accounts (boutiques you already sell to, shops that have emailed asking about wholesale, people you’ve met at trade shows), you can send them to your Faire storefront using your unique Faire Direct link. When they place orders through that link, Faire charges you 0% commission. You still pay payment processing, but the 15% commission disappears entirely, and because they came to you rather than through the marketplace, there’s no $10 new-customer fee either.
On a $400 order from an existing account:
- As a new-customer first order: you’d net about $320 (after the 15% commission and $10 new-customer fee)
- Via Faire Direct: you’d net about $390 (0% commission, just payment processing)
That’s a meaningful difference for accounts you already have. If you’re moving several existing wholesale accounts onto Faire, Faire Direct saves you hundreds in commission fees that you’d otherwise pay on the same orders.
Faire Backorders
Faire also features a backorder process: when a full order cannot be fulfilled (i.e. you don’t currently have enough stock on hand to send the entire ordered quantity), you have the option to place a portion of the order on Backorder status via the Faire interface.
This will split the order into two; the original updated to contain the quantity fulfilled now, and a second order created for the remainder to be fulfilled later.
Pricing on Faire
Now that we’ve gone over the basics of how Faire works, let’s talk about pricing. You set your own prices on Faire. There is no minimum order size, so you can sell just one item if you want to. You can set two different prices for each of your products on Faire: one for retail and one for wholesale.
All sellers on Faire must follow the pricing policy: wholesale prices must be the same or lower on Faire as on other places you sell your products, and retail prices must be the same or lower on Faire as elsewhere. This makes sure retailers on Faire can always find competitive prices.
If you sell in different currencies, prices can differ, but the same rule applies. They need to be the same or lower than on your other sales channels in the same currency.
Faire does check pricing periodically and will reach out if your prices are higher on Faire than elsewhere. If you don’t adjust, your products can be suspended from the platform.
How to Price Your Products on Faire
Now that you know how Faire works and what the fees are, you may be wondering how best to price your products.
As you will need to price competitively for wholesale purchasers, it’s hugely important to have a complete awareness of your margins.
This means calculating and knowing your base production cost and time to make for each of your products (this is also referred to as your COGS). This should include all materials required to make the product and an estimate of your internal labor to produce the item.
See also: Why you need to create a Bill of Materials (BOM) for your DTC products →
Some products, as much as you would like them to, will just not work in a wholesale situation: they may have small margins already, or be time consuming to make in bulk. It’s worth making sure each product you sell on Faire will make the margins you require.
From here, you’ll want to use your base cost to calculate a wholesale price point. This should allow the retailer to onsell your product to customers with a reasonable margin.
Retailers who sell in this manner usually apply a margin of 50% or 2x the wholesale price. We recommend using a 50% markup on Faire, which is in line with the industry average. A useful formula for your minimum viable Faire wholesale price:
Minimum Faire price = COGS ÷ (1 − commission rate)
For a product with an $8 COGS and Faire’s 15% commission: $8 ÷ 0.85 = $9.41. That’s your break-even point on commission alone, before profit margin. Don’t forget the one-time $10 new-customer fee on first orders (on a small order that can add $1–2 per unit) and payment processing (1.9-3.5% + $0.30) on every order.
Use our wholesale price calculator to quickly determine what your wholesale price should be based on your COGS.
See also: How to price handmade items →
Want to go deeper on Faire’s fee structure? See: How much does Faire charge? Complete fee breakdown →
Using Software to Manage Your Faire Inventory
Managing your inventory on Faire can be smooth and effortless with the right software, and Craftybase is a solution worth considering. Craftybase is an inventory and bookkeeping system designed specifically for in-house DTC manufacturers that features an integration with Faire.
It keeps your product quantities, costs, and sales in one place across all channels including Faire. See Craftybase + Faire in action: Spade to Fork uses Craftybase to manage inventory across Faire, Shopify, and Amazon, with automatic sales syncing eliminating manual reconciliation across systems (critical for their expansion into brick-and-mortar retail). Similarly, Kasia from Rustic Maka, a 10-year Craftybase customer, manages her natural body care inventory across Faire, Shopify, Square, and Amazon, using components for product bundling and auto-manufacture to keep her two-person operation running smoothly.
Craftybase includes real-time inventory tracking, cost calculation, and profitability analysis based on your unique costs of production.
This allows you to make informed decisions about your pricing and production strategies. The software can easily integrate with other sales platforms, keeping all your sales data in one place for convenience and efficiency.
Start your free 14-day trial →
Summary
In short, Faire is a strong option for connecting with new wholesale customers and getting your products in front of boutique retailers. It’s free to sign up, and the commission model means you only pay when you sell.
The key is going in with your numbers in order. Know your COGS, price for the commission, and use Faire Direct for accounts you already have.
Still deciding which wholesale marketplace to use? See our comparison of wholesale marketplace options →
And if you want to understand how Faire’s fees stack up against direct wholesale: How to sell on Faire — a complete wholesale guide →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Faire wholesale and who is it for?
Faire is an online wholesale marketplace that connects independent brands and makers with boutique retailers. Founded in 2017, it now has over 700,000 retailers browsing for products to stock. It's designed for any maker who manufactures their own products, even small, one-person operations. If you make it yourself and want to get it into shops, Faire is built for you.
What commission does Faire charge brands?
Faire charges brands a 15% commission on all marketplace orders, first order or repeat. On a new retailer's first order only, there's also a one-time $10 new-customer fee, plus a payment processing fee (1.9-3.5% + $0.30) on every order. If you bring an existing customer to Faire via your Faire Direct link, the commission drops to 0%. There is no monthly subscription fee.
How does Faire pay brands and how long does it take?
Faire lets you choose your payout speed and fronts the money, so you don't wait on the retailer. You can be paid as fast as the next business day (at a higher processing rate) or after 30 or 60 days for a lower fee. Faire offers retailers net-60 terms and extends that credit on their side, so you're not chasing late payments regardless.
Can I sell on Faire if I also sell on Etsy or Shopify?
Yes, most makers on Faire also sell retail on Etsy, Shopify, or their own site. Faire operates as a separate wholesale channel. The key rule is that your wholesale and retail prices on Faire must be the same or lower than on other platforms. The main practical challenge is keeping inventory accurate across channels so you don't oversell. Tools like Craftybase sync orders from Faire, Shopify, and Etsy so your stock levels stay accurate automatically.
What countries can I sell on Faire from?
Faire is available to brands in many countries, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and across Europe (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland). The commission structure is the same globally, though fee details may vary slightly for international sellers.
Is Faire worth it for small handmade businesses?
For many small makers, yes, but only if you price for the commission. Faire gives you access to a large, active retailer base without the cost of trade shows or cold outreach. The 15% commission plus the one-time $10 new-customer fee is real money, but reorders drop the fee and settle at a clean 15%. The makers who do well on Faire know their cost of goods sold precisely and price their wholesale products accordingly. Those who guess at their costs often find the margins don't work once the fee comes out.
