Marketplaces can help with discovery, but bring the retailers you know onto private Brandboom links, where the relationship stays yours. On a marketplace, the platform holds the relationship and can show your retailers a similar brand next time. Retailers ordering direct see private account pricing, and their reorders carry no marketplace commission.

Key takeaways

• Marketplaces solve discovery: they bring retailers you couldn't reach alone, for a commission.
• The platform holds the relationship: it can show a retailer a similar brand next time.
• Direct ordering solves control: you set pricing, terms and presentation, and own the relationship.
• Move accounts one at a time: each direct account reduces your dependence on one marketplace.

What is Faire's commission structure, and how are reorders charged?

On Faire, commission follows the retailer, not the order. Its help page lists:

• North American brands: 15% plus $10 on a new retailer's first marketplace order, and 15% on reorders.
• Brands outside North America: 25% on a new retailer's first order, and 15% on reorders.

Two routes avoid that commission:

• Faire Direct: 0% when a retailer's first order with you on Faire comes through a Direct tool (such as your link, widget or invoicing tool) or you document a prior relationship.
• Ordering direct: orders on your own platform carry no marketplace commission.

Why should brands own their retailer relationships?

Accounts you serve directly stay yours; marketplace accounts sit with the platform. Revenue from marketplace accounts depends on one marketplace's ranking, fees and account decisions. When a retailer orders direct, you hold the contact, order history and terms.

How do you move retailers from Faire to direct wholesale?

Move the accounts that are ready, give them private pricing and make reordering easy.

1. Move accounts one at a time. Candle maker Light Provisions wrote that it lost several retailers during a break from Faire: "The convenience offered to retailers is simply too strong." It went back and now asks retailers to use a Faire Direct link, offering "tiered discounts, early access" for ordering direct.
2. Invite the retailers you know. Brandboom lets sellers share private line sheet links and send private invite emails from their own domain.
3. Keep your pricing private. Brandboom lets sellers make line sheets private or password-protected. It also lets sellers set pricing and discounts per buyer account, show VIP pricing only to VIP accounts, and use multiple price lists. Retailers see their pricing after logging in with email and a password.
4. Record who came to you. Brandboom lets sellers add an Access Requests widget to their website to record who asked to see the line.
5. Make reordering easy. Retailers reorder from order history with an email login.

Will retailers lose Faire's net 60 terms and free returns if they order direct?

Yes. Faire's retailer perks apply to marketplace orders, so give each account a reason to order direct. Retailers ordering direct give up Faire's net 60 terms (for eligible retailers), free returns on a first order with a new brand and any marketplace credits tied to your brand, so time each move around those credits. A dog boutique owner told Pet Age that "sometimes working directly with a brand you can get better pricing."

Brands can make ordering direct worth it with account pricing, tiered discounts or early access, and easy reorders.

PayPal Pay Later may help with retailers who still want credit terms. Brandboom lets sellers take card, ACH and PayPal payments through their own Stripe or PayPal account, so retailers ordering direct can use PayPal Pay Later. For some retailers, that may be enough to make ordering direct work. PayPal lists its US merchant rate for Pay Later at 4.99% plus $0.49 per transaction (PayPal fees), versus Faire's 15% commission on reorders.

What do Faire's pricing policy and terms say about retailers it introduced?

Faire asks brands to keep retailers it introduced ordering on Faire and to price no higher there than elsewhere.

• Brand policies: Faire's list includes "Not directing transactions off the Faire platform, including reorders".
• No Circumvention: this Brand Terms clause covers retailers who ordered through your Shop Page. Faire says it charges reorders a brand writes for them "as if they ordered again from the Marketplace."
• Pricing policy: prices "must be the same or lower on Faire as on other places you sell your products, including your direct wholesale site."

How do these terms apply to each kind of retailer?

What do brands criticize about marketplaces like Faire?

Brand complaints about Faire include attribution, paid visibility and account risk. One brand with trade-show photos was denied 0% commission, which left "Faire take 15% of every order she ever makes." Brands report paying for visibility as organic orders fall (Craft Industry Alliance). One brand was told "all pending payouts would be permanently withheld" (BBB).

Direct wholesale has its own trade-offs. Brands credit marketplaces with retailers "you'd never find on your own" (Craft Industry Alliance); selling direct, you find new buyers yourself.

Where does Brandboom go further than Faire?

For retailers you move direct, Brandboom lets sellers keep pricing private, record who asked to see their line, take payments through their own accounts and offer self-serve reorders.

Use marketplaces for discovery, and own the relationships you build. A retailer that keeps reordering through a marketplace stays where similar brands can reach it. Bring the retailers you know onto your own platform, and their pricing, terms, buyer records and reorders stay with you.

Brandboom plans start at $50/month for the Basic plan (see all plans).

FAQ

What happens if a retailer I met on Faire orders from me directly?

Faire's No Circumvention clause covers retailers who first ordered through your Shop Page. It's a contract term between you and Faire, with contractual remedies: deactivating your shop, commission claims or penalties on the retailer's marketplace account. Under those terms, retailers that found you directly, or that you knew before Faire, are your own. Many brands still serve the accounts they've built directly. The decision is yours.

How can a brand tell when a marketplace account has stopped paying off?

Count the commission on its reorders as an acquisition cost, and ask whether that cost still buys anything. A retailer reordering $5,000 a year at a 15% reorder commission costs $750 a year. Brandboom lets sellers tag customers by source and review reorder and lifetime-value analytics by account. Each quarter, compare new doors by channel, commission on reorders and sell-through. Keep marketplaces for new doors, where the commission pays for discovery.

What if a retailer I know can't get approved for marketplace buyer terms?

Invite the retailer to order from you directly, which may be its only route to your line. One retailer described being declined repeatedly for marketplace buyer approval. On your own platform, you decide the account's pricing and payment terms. Brandboom lets sellers take card, ACH and PayPal payments through their own Stripe or PayPal account, and buyers log in with email and a password to place orders.

Related questions

• Which wholesale marketplaces should a brand consider?